Guthrie Theater

Joe Dowling, Director

Joe Dowling is widely known for his association with the Abbey Theatre, Ireland's national theater. In 1970 he founded The Young Abbey, Ireland's first theater-in-education group, and three years later he became artistic director of the Peacock Theatre, the Abbey's second stage. In 1976 he was appointed artistic director of the national touring company, the Irish Theatre Company. He became the youngest-ever artistic director of the Abbey Theatre in 1978. His tenure is particularly remembered for the encouragement and development of new plays and young playwrights. After leaving the Abbey in 1985, Mr. Dowling became managing and artistic director of Dublin's oldest commercial theater, The Gaiety Theatre. While there he founded and directed The Gaiety School of Acting, now widely regarded as Ireland's premier drama school. Since 1990 he has directed extensively in North America including Juno and the Paycock (Helen Hayes Award nomination) at Arena Stage as well as on Broadway, at the International Edinburgh Festival and in Israel; Othello with Raul Julia and Christopher Walken at the New York Shakespeare Festival; Philadelphia, Here I Come!, London Assurance and Tartuffe at the Roundabout Theatre on Broadway; and A Midsummer Night's Dream and Uncle Vanya at the Stratford Festival in Ontario.

Since coming to the Guthrie in 1995, he has directed more than 30 mainstage productions. Most recently he directed the American premiere of Brian Friel's The Home Place in the fall of 2007, and his signature production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, complete with flying fairies and original music, made its return to the Guthrie stage in April 2008. 

Under Mr. Dowling's leadership, in June 2006 the Guthrie Theater opened its new three-theater complex on the banks of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minn. This complex, which Time Magazine called a "21st-century dream factory," has allowed the Guthrie to broaden its repertoire and provide audiences with a range of presentations in all three dynamic spaces.

Mr. Dowling is a member of the artistic directorate of the Globe Theatre in London. He holds Honorary Doctorates of Humane Letters from The University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minn., and from St. Johns University in Collegeville, Minn., as well as an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the National University of Ireland and an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Gonzaga University.

SENIOR MANAGEMENT TEAM

Dianne Brennan, Director of Development

Dianne Brennan is Director of Development at the Guthrie Theater, where she has led the theater's fundraising since 1997. Dianne directed the Guthrie on the River campaign, working with campaign chair Margaret Wurtele and other board members, which raised $90 million from more than 4,100 donors to build the Guthrie's acclaimed new home on the banks of the Mississippi River. She oversees the Guthrie annual fundraising from corporations, foundation, individuals and government agencies which provides approximately 30 percent of the Guthrie Theater's annual revenue. She serves as a member of the Guthrie senior management leadership team. Prior to joining the Guthrie, Dianne served as development director for the Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle and was executive director of the Pillsbury Foundation in Minneapolis and worked for public television. In addition to her work with the Guthrie, Dianne is active in various arts organizations. She serves on the board of directors of the Mixed Blood Theatre and the National Corporate Theatre Fund, and previously served on the board of Intermedia Arts and the Independent Feature Project. Dianne is a graduate of the University of Minnesota.

Jacques Brunswick, Chief Administrative Officer

Jacques Brunswick is Chief Administrative Officer for the Guthrie Theater and serves on the senior management team. At the Guthrie, he works with the board of directors and oversees the departments of Finance, Information Systems, Human Resources, Company Development and Facilities. Previously, he was vice president finance and administration at Mystic Seaport Museum for 14 years. As CFO he managed the business affairs of the museum. Prior to joining the museum he held a similar position at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, a performing arts center, in New York City. Jacques holds a masters degree in business administration from the Bolz Center for Arts Administration at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, along with a B.A. in English from Grinnell College.   

Frank Butler, Production Director

Frank Butler is now in his eleventh year at the Guthrie Theater after eleven years in production at the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts. During his years at the ART, he worked with such distinguished directors as Andrei Serban, Liviu Ciulei, Richard Foreman, Robert Wilson, and our own Joe Dowling. Prior to his tenure as Production Manager at ART, Mr. Butler served as Production Manager at Trinity Repertory Company with Artistic Director, Anne Bogart. Mr. Butler has also toured extensively; taking shows to Moscow, Paris, Madrid, Taipei and Sao Palo. A native of the Midwest, Mr. Butler received a M.F.A. in Lighting Design from the University of Wisconsin.

Trish Santini, External Relations Director

Trish joined the Guthrie in August 2006 as External Relations Director. She previously served as the Vice President, Broadway Division at TMG-The Marketing Group, a national marketing and press agency for Broadway and National Tours. She directed and managed the marketing campaigns for more than two dozen Broadway shows including The Drowsy Chaperone, WELL, Mamma Mia!, Doubt, Hairspray, Avenue Q, Lestat, and Movin' Out as well as sponsorship for Roundabout Theatre Company and Manhattan Theatre Club. Trish returned to New York after spending more than two years in Los Angeles as Director of Marketing at the Kodak Theatre. Prior to moving to LA, she was the Marketing Manager for Dodger Theatricals in New York and was involved with Into the Woods, Urinetown, the musical, 42nd Street, The Music Man and Blast!. Her other New York credits include the Off-Broadway production of Urinetown, Neil Simon''s The Dinner Party, Gore Vidal's The Best Man and Dirty Blonde. Ms. Santini was the founder of the not-for-profit theatre company The Working Group and served as its Executive Director for four years.