EN GARDE ARTS FOUNDING EXECUTIVE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Anne Hamburger (she/her) Founded En Garde Arts in 1985. As Executive Artistic Director, she is responsible for pioneering site-specific theatre in New York, using its streets and historic landmarks as her stage. Hamburger has produced the work of artists that are now internationally renowned: Anne Bogart, Charles L. Mee, Tina Landau, Jonathan Larson and Reza Abdoh, with large-scale predominantly outdoor work. As its Executive Artistic Director, her leadership model is highly collaborative and anti-hierarchical while leading the creative and strategic vision of the company.

Anne is committed to nurturing a new generation of theatrical risk-takers, encouraging artists to explore and rigorously experiment with their creative practice. Her relationship with artists extends beyond the stage—offering mentorship, friendship, and a commitment to their creative and personal growth.  For her work, Hamburger has won 6 Obie Awards, 2 Drama Desk Awards, an Outer Critics Circle Award, Lee Reynolds Award and the Exceptional Merit in Media Award from The National Political Women’s Caucus. She graduated with a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Yale School of Drama and is the proud mother of two children Hannah and Owen Jenney.

PRODUCER

Since 1985, En Garde Arts has turned unexpected places into unforgettable stages. New York City’s streets, piers, and hidden corners become sites where audience and architecture blur, and urgent, poetic, and political stories come alive. Born from the belief that art belongs everywhere and to everyone, En Garde launched the site-specific theater movement, redefining how audiences experience performance by collapsing the distance between space, story, and spectator.

Now, as we approach our 40th anniversary, En Garde Arts is more alive than ever. We’re investing in tomorrow’s voices; artists who demand change, invent new forms, and hold space for stories too often silenced. Through our signature programs like Uncommon Voices, The Joan D. Firestone Award, and Playdate / Playdate FEST, we incubate 5–7 bold new projects every year. Recent works by artists such as Samora la Perdida, Irina Kruzhilina, Sarah Gancher, Aya Ogawa, and Jared Mezzocchi push boundaries and reimagine how theater can heal, unsettle, and transform.

We believe in theater that is socially resonant, deeply rooted in a distinct place, and unafraid of the messiness of now. The city is our stage, and our craft is connection. Connection between artist and audience, site and story. As we step into the next decade, En Garde Arts remains dedicated to risk, reinvention, and making performance that speaks to the world as it is, and what it might become.