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Jenny (Wiener) Steingart '82 Founder of Ars Nova Can you talk a bit about Ars Nova? Ars Nova is a not-for-profit theatre company in New York City. Its mission is to develop and produce artists in the early stages of their professional careers. Artists whose careers started at Ars Nova include Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton), Beau Willimon (creator of House of Cards), Liz Meriwether (creator of New Girl), Alex Timbers (co-creator of Mozart in the Jungle and former Day School student!), Tommy Kail (director of Hamilton and Grease Live!), Billy Eichner (Billy on the Street), Sam Gold (director of Fun Home), and many more. is year, Ars Nova produced its first Broadway production, Natasha, Pierre, & the Great Comet of 1812, starring Josh Groban. I co-founded Ars Nova with my (now) husband, Jon. e theatre was created in memory of my brother, Gabe Wiener '84. At the time of his death, Gabe had been working as a sound engineer and had his own record label devoted to early music. Just months before he died, Gabe had purchased a small building in Hell's Kitchen and was in the process of tearing it down to build mastering studios. He had named the venture Ars Nova, which in Latin means "New Arts." After my brother died, I did a lot of soul searching. Gabe and I had been fortunate to be able to pursue our creative dreams, and I wanted to find a way to give that same opportunity to others. I decided to view the building as a gift from Gabe that could help us serve the creative dreams of new artists. My own passion had always been the theatre. I worked for several years, during and after college, as a professional actress before transitioning into the role of producer, for which I was much more suited. My husband and I began to conceive the plan for Ars Nova within the theatre community. We wanted to provide a safe environment in which risk-taking and collaboration would be paramount. We decided to focus our efforts on supporting the next generation of artists and audiences, pushing the boundaries of live entertainment. We thought that "Ars Nova" was the perfect name for this theatre. What are some of your main responsibilities and roles there? In the first years we were open (start- ing in 2002), there was a very small number of us who did absolutely everything at the theatre—from making the programs, to taking the tickets, to tending the bar! In the beginning, I essentially lived at the theatre, putting in 14–16-hour days, 6 days a week. It was incredibly challenging but I loved every minute of it. Very early on, Jason Eagan, our brilliant Founding Artistic Director, came on board, and he took over the development and programming of the space. Since we develop and produce everything that is seen on our stage, and because the theatre has something happening virtually seven nights a week, it has always been a labor-intensive environment. We gradually staffed up to accommodate our growing needs. After I became a mother (Jon and I have three children), I wanted to spend more time at home with the kids, so my role morphed from day-to-day-in- the-trenches to that of president of our Board of Directors, which deals with macro issues regarding the theatre. How do you find and support the new talent? We have several people on our staff who are always on the lookout for new talent—attending shows in obscure 3 2 T R E V O R D AY S C H O O L n W I N T E R 2 0 1 6 – 1 7

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