Press Release
For Immediate Release
Friday, May 9, 2008
CONTACT: Patrick Finlon, PR Director
315-443-2636 or StagePR@syr.edu
Syracuse Stage Announces Appointment of
Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj as Associate Artistic Director
(Syracuse, NY)—Timothy Bond, Producing Artistic
Director of Syracuse Stage, announces today the
appointment of Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj as the
Associate Artistic Director of Syracuse Stage.
Maharaj is an award-winning director, writer and
producer and has been featured in numerous
publications including a feature story in
American Theatre magazine. Already slated to
direct Godspell for the holiday production in
Syracuse Stage’s upcoming 36th season, Maharaj
will begin his new appointment at Stage on
August 1, 2008.
As Associate Artistic Director, Maharaj will serve
as advisor and proxy for Bond. His
responsibilities will include assisting in the
planning of Syracuse Stage seasons, in addition
to assisting with planning for The Department of
Drama in Syracuse University's College of Visual
and Performing Arts; directing for both Syracuse Stage and the Department of Drama;
assisting in the search for directors, designers, playwrights and actors; acting as an
ambassador for Syracuse Stage in developing community partnerships and artistic
programs; participation in local and national auditions; mentoring students in the
Department of Drama; and serving as Artistic Advisor of the Department of Drama’s
Black Box Theatre.
Bond has followed Maharaj’s career and has corresponded with him for a number of
years. “I immediately recognized the work of a rising star in theatre, and I’m simply
overjoyed at his acceptance of this position,” said Bond, who sees Maharaj’s
appointment as an important step for Stage. “Rajendra is full of fresh and innovative
ideas, with a keen sense of presenting to a wide variety of audiences. He also offers
years of experience directing in New York City and around the country, and his
seasoned style and magnetic personality will undoubtedly bring increased exposure to
the great work being done here in central New York.”
-more1
“I am very thrilled that Tim and Jeff asked me to come on board, as I have respected
both of them for many years as artists and activists in the American theatre. For me,
this is a great blessing,” said Maharaj. “As a New York Theatre Artist it is a wonderful
opportunity to be able to work at what I consider to be the premiere regional theatre
in the state. To share my talents and gifts in this unique way and to be connected to
this exciting chapter at Syracuse Stage, which has been filled with new energy,
excitement and dynamic leadership, is a dream come true. It’s also a wonderful
opportunity to share my craft with young American theatre artists who will hopefully
grow into ambassadors for Syracuse University and Syracuse Stage in the future.”
Maharaj is a co-founder and Producing Artistic Director of Rebel Theater in New York
City, www.rebeltheater.org. He will continue holding this position in conjunction
with his new appointment at Stage.
His Directing credits include The Public Theater, Classical Theatre of Harlem, Lark
Play Development Center, New Federal Theatre, Second Stage, Making Books Sing,
and Here. He was the Assistant to the Director on the Tony Award Winning Broadway
revival of A Raisin in the Sun at the Royale Theatre, and he is a former director in
training of the daytime Emmy Award-winning directing team at ABC’s All My Children.
At Carnegie Mellon School of Drama, he has been a visiting lecturer where he taught
directing and acting. His regional credits include Freedom Theatre, Actors Theatre of
Louisville, St. Louis Black Rep, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Alabama Shakespeare
Festival, Prince Musical Theatre, Theatre of the Stars, The Goodman Theatre and New
London Barn Playhouse.
Maharaj has also held artistic residencies with The Public Theater, Freedom Theatre,
The Kennedy Center, Crossroads Theatre, Lark Play Development Center, Arkansas
Repertory Theatre and Amas Musical Theatre.
As a writer, Maharaj has penned several plays including It Happened In Little Rock,
Mississippi Night, Diss Diss & Diss Dat, Twenty-Five, Gray and BlackfootNotes. He is
the Co-Conceiver of the spoken word plays Exposures, History of the Word and Union
Square.
Maharaj is the recipient of several prestigious grants and awards including National
Endowment for the Arts/Theatre Communications Group Career Development Program
for Directors TCG New Generations Grant in partnership with the Arkansas Repertory
Theatre, the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation,
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Brooklyn Arts Council Grant, Puffin Foundation and
Time Warner Diverse Voices Fund, Van Lier Directing Fellowship. He is also the
recipient of the Woodie King Jr. Award for Outstanding Direction and of four AUDELCO
(Audience Development Committee, Inc.) awards for his direction and choreography
and 14 AUDELCO nominations over his career. He has been featured in American
Theatre Magazine, Yale Review, The New York Times, The NAACP Crisis News,
Chicago Sun Times, Ebony, Arkansas Times, Uptown Magazine and Variety for his work
in the American theater.
-more2
Holding a Masters Degree in Fine Arts in Directing from CUNY Brooklyn College,
Maharaj is an alumnus of Lincoln Center Directors Lab, a member of Society of Stage
Directors and Choreographers, Dramatists Guild of America, Negro Ensemble Co., and
the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Maharaj has also
served as a panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts and Theater
Communications Group.
Syracuse Stage is Central New York’s premier professional theatre. Founded as a
nonprofit theatre in 1974 by Arthur Storch, Stage has produced more than 220 plays in
35 seasons including numerous world and American premieres. Each season upwards
of 90,000 patrons enjoy an exciting mix of comedies, dramas and musicals featuring
the finest professional theatre artists. In addition, Stage maintains a vital
educational outreach program that annually serves over 30,000 students from 24
counties. Syracuse Stage is a constituent of the Theatre Communications Group
(TCG), the national organization for the American theatre, and a member of the
League of Resident Theatres (LORT). In addition to ticket sales, Syracuse Stage
performances are made possible by funds from Syracuse University, Central New York
Community Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts, The Shubert Foundation,
Onondaga County, and corporate and individual donors.
###
Syracuse Stage I Producing Artistic Director: Timothy Bond I Managing Director: Jeffrey Woodward
820 E. Genesee St. I Main: 315-443-4008 I Box Office: 315-443-3275 I www.syracusestage.org
3