WESTERLY – Carly Callahan was named the Ocean Community United Theatre’s new executive director, the organization’s board of directors announced Tuesday.
“Thanks to the work of our dedicated search committee, we are enormously excited to welcome Carly to the United and catapult this amazing complex to new heights within our expansive community,” said board Co-Chairmen Charles Royce and Nicholas Moore in a joint statement. “Under Carly’s dynamic leadership, we look forward to reaching out and engaging individuals and institutions in the distinct geographical areas within our wider region in order to develop unique relationships and programming with the United.”
Callahan, a Brown University graduate, recently served as managing director of Seaview Productions, a Tony and Oliver award-winning theater, film, television and media company based in New York City. Her Broadway credits include Selina Fillinger’s “POTUS,” Jeremy O. Harris’ 12-time Tony-nominated “Slave Play,” and four-time Tony-nominated “Sea Wall / A Life.” Additional Seaview work included the Webby Award-winning “Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical,” and bway.io, Broadway’s first non-fungible tokens marketplace.
“After a wonderful four-year tenure at Seaview, I am so excited and invigorated to lead this hub of culture and community in Westerly and further the work of this dedicated board and phenomenal staff,” Callahan said in a statement. “This extraordinary complex provides a world-class center of gravity for creative work in our region and is a testament to the power of the arts to singularly bring our community together. It’s an honor and privilege to take the helm and propel the United forward.”
Callahan’s work in the nonprofit sector includes co-founding and serving on the board of the Guilford Performing Arts Festival in Connecticut, co-founding the public art and music program Free Keys, which placed pianos painted by local artists throughout the Connecticut shoreline, and serving on the boards of The Madison Chamber of Commerce, the Ivoryton Playhouse in Essex, Conn., and Gallim Dance in Brooklyn, N.Y.
