Many who worked at NPT in the early years of their careers went on to have productive careers in the arts.
Here are a few. (There are many to be added - soon!)
I first met Karen when she was an undergrad at the University of MD, College Park, MD. Our paths crossed now and then because of mutual friends, but the best thing that happened is that we were able to lure her away from the JCC in Rockville to become our first development director for New Playwrights’ Theatre. I think it can be said that Karen’s work in her short couple years at NPT totally altered our theatre company in many very good ways. Karen boosted our donated income by a major percentage, helped grow our Board and laid the groundwork for all future fund-raising. Her success in Washington did not go unnoticed. Harvey Lichtenstein at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) lured her to NYC and off she went. That was 35 years ago. This past June (2015) Karen retired at President of BAM (1999-2015). Her extraordinary work at BAM resulted in the organization being awarded The Presidential Medal of Arts in 2014. If I can find a better picture of her and President Obama, I will.
Marcia Gay Harden (right) pictured here with TG Finkbinder in Deborah Pryor's play BURRHEAD. Marcia currently stars in TV's CODE BLACK and has numerous other TV, Broadway and feature film credits. Marcia received two Academy Award nominations and won best supporting actress for her performance as Lee Krasner in POLLOCK.
Russ came to Washington, DC as a puppeteer in 1970 and stayed on designing sets and entire theatres (Studio). He haslong sincemoved to NYC, his base for working up set designs for a long list of regional theatres - yet he is still in Washington,DC, kind of... one of the Studio Theatre theatres is named the"Russell Metheny."