Dallas, TX – Kitchen Dog Theater Board of Directors recently named Elizabeth Kegley as the company’s first-ever full time Managing Director. A recent graduate of SMU’s prestigious MA/MBA program in Arts Management, Ms. Kegley officially started her full-time duties at KDT on July 1, 2012.

Bolstered by a generous anchor grant from the Communities Foundation of Texas, KDT Board of Directors tirelessly championed the fundraising efforts for over 4 years and throughout a downturn in the economy in order to fully fund this position for two years, in hopes of giving the managing director an adequate ramp for success. Alongside KDT Co-Artistic Directors Christopher Carlos and Tina Parker, it is the sincere hope of the Board that adding this position will help take Kitchen Dog to the next level by growing the budget and culitivating new ticket buyers and individual and corporate donors.

“It’s been a long time coming but the wait has definitely been worth it”, says KDT Co-Artistic Director Tina Parker. “It has long been a dream of ours to have someone committed full time to the business side of KDT, to invigorate budget growth so we can continue to expand and excel artistically as a company. I think Elizabeth, with her fresh perspective and impressive pedigree, is a great fit with our organization. I applaud the KDT Board for their incredible efforts and I look forward to this new chapter in KDT’s history.”

“All of us at Kitchen Dog Theater are thrilled that Elizabeth Kegley has joined our team as Managing Director.  She brings a great attitude and wealth of experience to this new role”, says KDT Board of Directors President  Paul Barnes.  “Not only is she fun to be around but she is also whip-smart. You will enjoy getting to know her.”

“During my time in Dallas, whether stage managing or as a student, I have always been impressed by the commitment of the Kitchen Dog company and their fiercely loyal supporters, not to mention the consistently high-quality artistic product being put on stage,” Kegley says. “I am thrilled to be joining the company and look forward to working with the KDT board, staff, and artistic company to expand the impact of Kitchen Dog in the artistic community, both here in Dallas and on the national level.”

Elizabeth Kegley recently received her MBA from Southern Methodist University’s Cox School of Business and her Master’s in Arts Management from Meadows School of the Arts. While in school, Elizabeth worked with The Dallas Opera, Dallas Business Council for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington, D.C. An AEA stage manager for 10 years, Elizabeth was lucky enough to work with Dallas Theater Center, Two River Theater, SITI Company, The Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival, American Repertory Theater, Atlantic Theater Company, Signature Theatre Company, and Colorado Shakespeare Festival, and to cross paths with theater luminaries like Anne Bogart, Les Waters, Bill Irwin, and just about anyone on Law & Order. She recently spent time at Bocconi University in Milan studying cultural policy and international arts funding systems and previously studied in London and Florence through the Arts in Context program of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest. Elizabeth graduated cum laude from Macalester College with a degree in Dramatic Arts and a minor in German Studies.