UArts Appoints Director of Polyphone Festival  

In October, Maggie-Kate Coleman will join University of the Arts’ Ira Brind School of Theater Arts as the Suzanne and Doug Kreitzberg Director of the Polyphone Festival of New and Emerging Musicals, a position that is generously supported by the Kreitzbergs.

Coleman wrote the book and lyrics for Marie in Tomorrowland, which was the outstanding success of 2019’s festival. She also wrote the book and lyrics for Pop, the recipient of seven Helen Hayes Award nominations for a 2011 production at the Studio Theater in Washington, D.C. Additionally, Coleman received a Jonathan Larson Grant in 2017 and has considerable experience in the curation and production of new musicals. She is also well-versed in fundraising and theatrical administration and has worked with the O’Neill Theater Center in Connecticut and Ars Nova and the Drama League, both in New York City. A graduate of New York University, she has lectured and given workshops at numerous universities, including Pace, Penn State and Yale.

“Coleman was a unanimously popular choice with the Brind students, faculty and staff who got to work with her last spring,” says David Howey, dean of the Brind School. “We are looking forward to a new partnership and continued innovation and success.”

Under the direction of Cesar Alvarez—the festival’s co-founder and artistic director—the Polyphone Festival of New and Emerging Musicals at University of the Arts has become one of the most successful and innovative theatrical events of its kind. It takes place at UArts each spring.