HONORING ARS NOVA’S FOUNDING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR JASON EAGAN

Since joining Ars Nova in 2003, Jason Eagan has been instrumental in the organization’s rise to prominence. During Eagan’s tenure, Ars Nova has played a vital role in discovering, developing, and launching the careers of countless artists, including Rachel Chavkin, Billy Eichner, Bridget Everett, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Dave Malloy, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Isaac Oliver, Shaina Taub, Alex Timbers, Bess Wohl, and Bowen Yang. These artists, among many others, have gone on to achieve significant success across theater, film, and television, expanding Ars Nova’s impact far beyond the stage. Under his leadership, Ars Nova has become a premier launchpad for new work, commissioning and producing productions such as boom, Freestyle Love Supreme, Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, Underground Railroad Game, KPOP, Oratorio for Living Things, and (pray). These productions achieved widespread critical and commercial success and have helped shape the cultural landscape of Off-Broadway, Broadway, and beyond. Eagan’s influence extends beyond high-profile productions and well-known artists; it encompasses the thousands of projects and countless emerging voices that have been nurtured under his guidance, cementing Ars Nova’s relevance and necessity as an incubator. Under his leadership, Ars Nova has consistently provided a platform for emerging voices to explore and present their work, ensuring that the company’s legacy of innovation and creativity will continue to thrive.

Jason Eagan is a Tony-nominated Producer, Director and the Founding Artistic Director of Ars Nova, a not-for-profit organization in New York City committed to supporting theater, comedy and music artists in the early stages of their professional careers. During his time with the organization, he has had the great fortune of discovering, developing and launching thousands of artists, many of whom are now cultural drivers, whose work has begun to expand across the globe. Directing credits include world premieres: Love Around the Block, an immersive musical by Dave Malloy and Isaac Oliver for Hermés, A House Tour of the Infamous Porter Family Mansion with Tour Guide Weston Ludlow Londonderry by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb and Now Circa Then by Carly Mensch; as well as new productions of Gypsy starring Andrea McArdle and the award-winning San Francisco commercial production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Eagan first made his way to New York City to oversee Disney Theatrical’s Design Studio for The Lion King on Broadway. He has enjoyed affiliations with Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, England’s Improbable Theater, New York Theatre Workshop, Manhattan Theatre Club, Los Angeles Opera and San Francisco Opera among many others.