Department of Theatre, Drama, and Contemporary Dance

Celise Kalke joined Synchronicity Theatre as Managing Director in October, 2018. From 2005 to 2018, Celise led the Alliance Theatre’s New Work programs, notably the Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwright Competition and the Reiser Atlanta Artists Lab. She served as Dramaturg for many Alliance productions and world premieres. Before moving to Atlanta Celise served as the Director of the Literary Department for New York’s Public Theatre producing the New Work Now! reading festival while working as a Dramaturg for Shakespeare’s work. Her career began at Chicago’s Court Theatre and the Juilliard School. Her administrative skills have been displayed as a new work producer, Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas (LMDA) conference planner, LMDA Administrator, and administrator in the Brooklyn Academy of Music Education Department. She has been an Artistic Associate at NEXT Theatre in Chicago, an Affiliated Artist with Independent Art HERE in New York, an Advisory Council Member, instructor, and Dramaturg for Working Title Playwrights, and frequent teacher at Actor’s Express. She began her career in Prague, the Czech Republic, working with Misery Loves Company, the Narodni Divadlo, and Divadlo Pod Palmovko. Celise was named a 2009 Theatre Artist of the Future by American Theatre Magazine.