ERin daley (ARTISTIC DIRECTOR)

Erin rises to the role of Artistic Director at Primary Stages after holding the position of Interim Artistic Director since early 2023, building upon her extensive experience and contributions to the company since 2016. Throughout her tenure, Erin has curated and produced a repertoire of 26 productions working alongside Artistic Director Andrew Leynse, while also spearheading the establishment of five groundbreaking Artistic Development Programs, helping develop dozens of new plays for the American Stage.

Production highlights at Primary Stages include Ibsen’s Ghost by Charles Busch (3 Dorian Award Nominations, including LGBTQ Trailblazer Award for Charles Busch), Dig by Theresa Rebeck (Outer Critics Circle Nomination - Outstanding Off-Broadway Play), On That Day in Amsterdam by Clarence Coo (2 Lortel Nominations, 3 Drama Desk Nominations, Off-Broadway Alliance Award Nomination -  Best New Play); peerless by Jiehae Park (Off-Broadway Alliance Award Nomination - Best New Play); The Confession of Lily Dare by Charles Busch (3 Drama Desk Nominations, Drama Desk winner for Outstanding Costume Design); Little Women by Kate Hamill; God Said This by Leah Nanako Winkler (Lortel Nomination); Pride and Prejudice by Kate Hamill (Lortel Nomination, Off-Broadway Alliance Award Nomination -  Best Unique Theatrical Experience, Best of Theater 2017 - Huffington Post); Downstairs by Theresa Rebeck (Lortel Nomination); and Feeding the Dragon by Sharon Washinton (Lortel, Audelco, Outer Critics Circle Nominations).

Beyond her curatorial work, Erin has made significant strides in creating and supporting various Artistic Development programs that champion playwrights and respond to the needs of the industry. She founded Primary Plus, a developmental reading series aimed at fostering inclusivity among playwrights and introducing audiences to the new play process. The program has evolved to include audience engagement activities that bring together playwrights and the audiences that love them. Erin also inaugurated The Latinx Playwrights Circle as Primary Stages' first Company-in-Residence, providing crucial resources and guidance, and co-producing their Intensive Mentorship and Infinite Stories Reading Series. In response to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Erin introduced Creative Development Grants, an innovative initiative providing financial, institutional, and artistic support for writers embarking on ambitious projects. Additionally, she commissioned four playwrights to create virtual theatrical works specifically tailored for online platforms to ensure Primary Stages continued to support and share the art of playwriting despite the industry shutdown. Through the support of the Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation, Erin established the Echoes Writers Group in 2021, offering mentorship and community for women, non-binary, and gender non-conforming artists as they develop their unique voices. In her time at Primary, Erin’s noteworthy commissions include Morning in America, a series of 75 monologues written in response to the 2016 election, A People’s Guide to History in the Time of Here and Now by Rehana Lew Mirza, and a co-adaptation of A Christmas Carol with Theresa Rebeck.

Erin also leads the Dorothy Strelsin New American Writer’s Group and its Fresh Ink New Play Festival, which in the last 7 years has produced over 50 new plays, many which have gone on to further development opportunities or productions. Notable playwrights and plays include Chisa Hitchinson (Whitelisted, Proof of Love, Amerikin), Susan Soon He Stanton (We, The Invisibles), Madhuri Shekar (Dhaba on Devon Avenue), Leah Nanako Winkler (God Said This, Hot Asian Doctor Husband), Benjamin Benne (Manning), Eleanor Burgess (Wife of a Salesman), Charly Evon Simpson (Sandblasted),  Rehana Lew Mirza (Four Woke Baes), Mat Smart (Eden Prairie), Elizabeth Irwin (Support), Jordan Seavey, Hilary Bettis, and Liliana Padilla.

Erin came to Primary Stages after spending four years at The Flea in TriBeCa, where she managed a robust resident company of artists and worked on developing new plays, such as The Mysteries (featuring the work of over 50 playwrights), Wolf in the River by Adam Rapp, Smoke by Kim Davies, the place we built by Sarah Gancher, and many others. Prior to New York, she was an Allen Lee Hughes Fellow at Arena Stage, where she produced the Eugene O'Neill Festival, and cut her teeth in film/commercial production at La Banda Films in Los Angeles. She is a proud graduate of Skidmore College and a Massachusetts native.