Pictured: Jamal Howard. Photo courtesy of Emerald City Theatre.

Emerald City Theatre has announced Jamal Howard as the company’s new full time Artistic Associate. As a key leadership position the Artistic Associate will be responsible for supporting all artistic aspects of Emerald City Theatre’s productions, events, and educational programs. Howard will work closely with Artistic Director Jacqueline Stone to maintain Emerald City Theatre’s artistic vision and programming, serve as artistic liaison to over 100 artists per season, and support casting and new work development.

“I am honored and thrilled to welcome Jamal Howard to Emerald City Theatre,” says Stone. “He is an exciting artist and educator who has committed himself to inspiring children all over the city of Chicago. I look forward to collaborating with him on engaging new scripts, culturally relevant stories, and surprising and playful programming.”

Howard will be directing THE WIZ, his first production for Emerald City Theatre, this spring. “Bringing theater to young audiences is a great responsibility. I look forward to sharing new and creative works and forms of story-telling that engage audiences of all ages,” says Howard. “THE WIZ is a show that fits right into ECT’s mission. The universal story of learning what home is and how we fit into the world resonates with me deeply. I’m proud to bring a show to young Chicago audiences where a lot of students and families will feel represented on stage.”

Howard is the Co-Artistic Director of the Chicago theater company, New American Folk Theatre (NAFT), where he most recently directed the original musical, My Life is a Country Song, a part of Underscore Theatre’s Chicago Musical Theatre Festival. Howard graduated from Loyola University Chicago with a B.A. in Theatre and co-founded NAFT in 2012 where he directed Dirty Girl (2015), Dark of the Moon (2014), and Kennedy’s Children (2013). With NAFT, he was featured on stage in Trash (2016), The Marvelous Land of Oz (2013), Two From the Trailer Court (2012), and Witches Among Us (2014). He’s directed, choreographed, and taught performing arts in grade schools on Chicago’s south side as well as The Beverly Arts Center.

THE WIZ opens March 25th. For more information on Emerald City visit www.emeraldcitytheatre.com