Pictured: Fin Coe and Stephanie Shum

The Board of Directors of The New Colony have announced the appointment of Fin Coe and Stephanie Shum as the company’s new Co-Artistic Directors. Coe and Shum succeed Founding Members and Co-Artistic Directors Andrew Hobgood and Evan Linder, who will step down at the conclusion of the company’s ninth season.

“We are so pleased to welcome Coe and Shum as our new artistic leaders,” comments Board President Emilee Lales. “We are fortunate they will gift us with their outstanding artistry, numerous relationships within the Chicago theater community, a detailed knowledge of the company’s history and an infectious enthusiasm for telling new and original stories on stage. We are grateful to our outgoing Co-Artistic Directors Linder and Hobgood for their visionary work the past decade – and we are extremely excited by the fresh, inclusive and creative vision that Coe and Shun will use to take us into our second decade. The entire board and staff looks forward to working with them in their new roles.

Comments Coe, “I am a longtime admirer of Andy and Evan’s work with The New Colony, a company that immediately captured my imagination when I first moved to Chicago. It’s been an honor to get to know and work with the company, and then join this artistic family. The New Colony is the place where you’re going to find a play that must surely have been written just for you, and you alone, and that’s something incredibly special. I’m thrilled that I can now use the experience and skills I’ve acquired since I saw my first show here to help keep the vision and the artistic dream growing and thriving.”

Adds Shum, “I’m thrilled to be a part of The New Colony’s future in this new capacity alongside one of my dearest collaborators and the company’s dedicated board and inspiring ensemble. I count myself very lucky to call The New Colony home and I look forward to charging into our tenth season in fierce support of furthering our mission and new works process.”

For more information on The New Colony visit thenewcolony.org.