Cheryl Katz

Biography

Cheryl Katz has been developing and directing new plays for over 35 years. She began her career in New York City, developing and directing new works, and upon moving to New Jersey, she served as Director of Play Development at Luna Stage from 2003 to 2011, before becoming Associate Artistic Director (2011-2013), and Artistic Director (2013-2018). During her tenure at Luna, she contributed to the development of over eighty new works for the stage, most notably taking a leading role in the development of The Whipping Man by Matthew Lopez, The Dangers of Electric Lighting by Ben Clawson, and Lines in the Dust by Nikkole Salter.  On the Luna MainStage, she directed the world premieres of Razorhurst, a musical by Kate Mulley and Andy Peterson, Tranquil by Andrew Rosendorf, The High Water Mark and King of the Mountains by Ben Clawson, Tar Beach by Tammy Ryan, Carnaval by Nikkole Salter, Mercy and The Firefly by Amy Hartman, The Fastest Woman Alive by Karen Sunde, the critically-acclaimed NJ professional premiere of Thrill Me by Stephen Dolginoff, and three Luna Stage productions of The Man In Room 306 by Craig Alan Edwards (1995 and 2008 in New Jersey, 2010 in New York). Cheryl is the co-founder of The New Jersey Play Lab, the only theater company in New Jersey solely dedicated to the development of new work for the stage. Cheryl is a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, and an adjunct professor of theatre at Montclair State University and Drew University.