Studio Theatre has announced that director Danilo Gambini will assume the role of Associate Artistic Director. He will begin working part-time immediately and will assume the full-time position on March 20. Gambini, currently the Associate Artistic Director of Rattlestick Theatre in New York. Studio’s previous Associate Artistic Director was Reginald L. Douglas (now Artistic Director of Mosaic), hired in January 2020.
Gambini, a native of São Paulo, Brazil, most recently received acclaim for directing the one-person show Ni Mi Madre at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater. The production was nominated for a Drama Desk Award, a Drama League Award, and an Outer Critics Award and was selected as a New York Times Critic’s Pick and a TheaterMania Editor’s Pick. Actor Arturo Luís Soria also won an Obie Award for his performance. Gambini’s other recent work includes the new musical Sabina, by Willy Holtzman, with music by Louise Beach and lyrics by Darrah Cloud, co-directed with Daniella Topol at Portland Stage in Maine; and the new musical Thebes, developed by him, in collaboration with Emma Hathaway, Katie Hathaway, and Solon Snider.
“Danilo brings to Studio a wealth of relevant experience, an interesting artistic sensibility, and, maybe most importantly, a warm collaborative spirit,” said Studio Artistic Director David Muse. “We’re very excited to welcome him into the fold.”
He will serve as Studio’s local casting director, act as a primary liaison for visiting directors, and help shepherd shows through the production process, as well as help lead community engagement and education efforts. Gambini will also direct some productions at Studio and participate actively in season planning.
“I am absolutely thrilled to be the new Associate Artistic Director at Studio Theatre,” said Gambini. “I always say that if music is the art of sound, dance is the art of movement, and painting is the art of colors — theater is the art of community, the art of togetherness. I can’t wait to join the exceptionally talented team at Studio, as well as to have DC become my new home, my new community. I feel incredibly lucky to work alongside (and learn from!) the visionary leader and artist that is David Muse. I am looking forward to creating some more beauty and joy together, with everyone!”
Gambini worked as both a director of opera and musical theater and as a casting director for film and television in Brazil before entering the directing program at the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale. After a distinguished stint at Yale, including work with the Yale Repertory Theater and serving as Artistic Director of the 2019 Yale Summer Cabaret, Gambini moved to New York, joining Rattlestick as Directing Fellow and becoming a member of the Roundabout Director’s Group. He is also a founding member of Midnight Oil Collective, an artist-led investment group striving for economic and social justice through equitable art project development.
About Studio Theatre
Studio Theatre is a longstanding Washington cultural institution dedicated to the production of contemporary theater. Over more than 40 years and 350 productions, the theater has grown from a company that produced in a single rented theater to one that owns a multi-venue complex stretching half a city block, but has stayed committed to its core distinguishing characteristics: deliberately intimate spaces; excellence in acting and design; and seasons that feature many of the most significant playwrights of our time. Studio is a values-focused organization that pursues artistry and inclusion, and brings characteristic thoughtfulness and daring to our efforts, onstage and off. The theater serves nearly 75,000 people each year, including more than 1,000 youth and young adults through community-engagement initiatives. Since Studio’s founding in 1978, the quality of its work has been recognized by sustained community support, as well as 78 Helen Hayes Awards for excellence in professional theater.
