For Immediate Release
Contact: Walter Zooi
213-503-2300

Mark Murphy Named Executive Director of REDCAT

Valencia, October 1, 2002 - Following his appointment as acting artistic director of the Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater (REDCAT) this past winter, Mark Murphy has been named executive director of the performance and gallery space, which opens in downtown Los Angeles as part of the Walt Disney Concert Hall complex in October, 2003.

"My wonderful experience consulting with CalArts in the development of this remarkable project made me extremely enthusiastic about the potential of REDCAT both locally, nationally, and internationally," says Murphy. "I am thrilled to be a part of what I know will be a very important cultural center and influential force in the Los Angeles cultural ecology."

Murphy made a name and reputation for himself as the artistic director of the influential On the Boards performance center, a center that has presented, among others, such luminaries as Laurie Anderson, Bill T. Jones, Meredith Monk, Kronos Quartet, Spalding Gray, Mabou Mines, Sankai Juku, Ping Chong, and the Wooster Group. His work at On the Boards served as a unique model for combining the disparate acts of producing and presenting-helping emerging and established artists to create and tour new work, while at the same time hosting major international and national productions.

Murphy is currently finalizing plans for REDCAT's inaugural season, plans that will include week-long residencies by international contemporary performance ensembles; regular concerts ranging from chamber music to experimental jazz to pioneering works using the newest technologies; theatrical premieres from CalArts' School of Theatre; innovative film series and festivals; readings from literature's brightest and most provocative stars; art exhibitions, dance performances, and more.

According to Murphy, REDCAT will serve as a venue for new artistic work, as a performance and gallery space for CalArts' students and faculty, and as a cultural center for the communities of Southern California.

"One-third of the programming will be drawn from national and international artists, one-third from CalArts' students and faculty, and one-third from Southern California-based artists not expressly connected with the college," says Murphy. "It's my hope and goal that rather than just have performances, we create a sense of community around the place. We want to have a culture around us that changes us and affects us.

"There is a network of organizations around the nation and the world that focus on producing and presenting contemporary works, and for our students to have successful careers doing work that makes new demands on an audience, it's important for them to be wired into that national and international network. We'll see that our students and the artists who come to the space spend time with each other directly."

A graduate of Fairhaven College, Murphy has served as chairman of the Choreographer's Fellowship Panel for the National Endowment for the Arts, as a founding board member of the National Performance Network, as advisor to the National Dance Project, and as a member of the advisory board for the Japan Foundation's Performing Arts Program. He is a much sought-after speaker, and has addressed international conferences on the topics of international exchange and collaboration in Japan, Brazil, Indonesia, and throughout Europe.

Murphy's own work includes writing, performing, and directing. He has performed in original solo and group projects at numerous venues throughout the U.S., and has developed three projects for the PBS affiliate, KCTS-TV. He is the winner of first place awards for feature writing and documentary production from the Society of Professional Journalists.