Tyrone Davis has been named Center Theatre Group’s associate artistic director. (photo by Marc Cartwright)

Center Theatre Group announced the first step in an ongoing organizational shift with the addition of an existing staff member into the organization’s artistic staff and leadership team. Tyrone Davis will shift from the education, engagement and community partnerships department into the artistic department to become the associate artistic director.

“When we began reimagining Center Theatre Group we knew we would need to look at the very foundations of the organization,” CTG Artistic Director Michael Ritchie said. “Still early in that reevaluation we have realized that Tyrone has already been operating at the core of Center Theatre Group’s mission to nurture new artists and audiences.”

“For three years, Tyrone has shaped the pre- and post-show engagement that allows audiences to dive deeper into our mainstage productions, and he has curated programs that develop our audiences’ understanding of our productions as well as our mission and values,” he added. “As we started to expand our thinking about audience engagement and development, and centering our attention on racial equity in our work, particularly in this time without onstage productions, we realized that we truly needed his thought leadership and contributions embedded in the heart of our artistic strategy and team.”

“As a native Angeleno, it is a great honor with much responsibility to take on this position where artistic decisions are being made for the Taper, the Ahmanson and the Douglas – three theaters I grew up on,” Davis said. “I owe a true debt of gratitude to BIPOC artists like Diane Rodriguez, Lee Kenneth Richardson and so many others who laid the foundation for me, and know that I am taking on a responsibility to those that will follow. I will keep both in mind as I help to shape Center Theatre Group’s future.”

Since joining CTG in 2017, Davis has provided direction and leadership for audience engagement programming designing programs that reach across generations, demographics, and circumstance. Davis previously served as community artistic director with American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, where he helped ensure access to live theater for diverse communities throughout the Bay Area.

For more information, visit centertheatregroup.org.