Mervin P. Antonio, who has held positions in literary management and dramaturgy at New York's Public Theater and Seattle Repertory Theatre, has been appointed director of new play development at Actors Theatre of Louisville.
The announcement, made by Artistic Director Marc Masterson on March 9, puts the 41-year-old Antonio in charge of one of the country's busiest and most prestigious literary departments, where he will work closely with Masterson in planning the theatre's 29-year-old Humana Festival of New American Plays, which is currently running through April 9.
At Seattle Rep, where Antonio worked most recently, he served as director of new project development. From 1996 to 2001, he was the literary manager at the Public Theater. Earlier in his career, he worked at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., in the position of literary associate/education coordinator, and before that he worked with the now-defunct Body Politic Theater in Chicago.
In a written statement, Masterson said that Antonio "makes a dynamic addition to the artistic staff here at Actors Theatre. He brings significant expertise and strong passion to an important post at our organization as we continue as a leader in the creation of new plays for the American theatre."