New York Theatre Workshop Names Maya Choldin As New Managing Director

New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) has announced that Maya Choldin will succeed Jeremy Blocker as the company’s managing director, effective February 1. Choldin comes to NYTW after an extensive international career, most recently serving as executive director of Theatre Calgary since 2020. The selection followed a dedicated search led by the Tom O’Connor Consulting Group.

Choldin, who grew up in Alberta and is a graduate of Mount Allison University, returns to the U.S. having spent six seasons prior to her time in Canada as managing director of Philadelphia’s Pig Iron Theatre Company. Her vast arts management résumé also includes roles at the Pennsylvania Ballet, George Mason University’s Hylton Performing Arts Center, the Kimmel Center, Opera Philadelphia, the Mann Center, and FringeArts. Choldin has consistently prioritized equity, diversity, and inclusion, reflected in her service on various community boards.

A Shared Vision for Vital Work

In a statement, Choldin expressed her long-standing admiration for NYTW's "history of groundbreaking theatre" and its deep commitment to improving spaces for artists. She enthusiastically looks forward to joining the team led by Artistic Director Patricia McGregor.

“I look forward to jumping in this February and working with the many incredible artists, the staff and the audiences that call New York Theatre Workshop home, as we continue the 2025 spring season and look forward, together, to all that’s next.”

Patricia McGregor is equally excited about the new partnership, highlighting Choldin’s dynamic leadership. "I am thrilled to welcome the extraordinary Maya Choldin to New York Theatre Workshop," McGregor said, praising Choldin’s "unflappable dexterity animating ideas and solving problems." McGregor noted that Choldin has a strong history of centering visionary artists while establishing practical systems to achieve organizational goals. She called Choldin’s combination of "intelligence, humor, curiosity, and strategy" an exceptional match for the workshop at this time.

NYTW is the storied Off-Broadway venue responsible for developing major Broadway hits like Rent and Hadestown, as well as championing influential works by Caryl Churchill, Tony Kushner, Jeremy O. Harris, and Will Power.

A Return to the Ensemble Spirit

Reflecting on her journey, Choldin described her move to Theatre Calgary during the pandemic as a unique opportunity, as the regional theater is one of Canada’s largest and plays an important role in the nation’s arts ecosystem. She felt her skills were well-suited to help the organization navigate the global crisis. However, the chance to return to an organization so focused on new work and celebrating new voices at NYTW was irresistible.

Choldin draws heavily on her experience at Pig Iron, an ensemble-based company. While NYTW is not a formal ensemble company, it fosters an "ensemble spirit" through its Usual Suspects program and resident artists. Choldin defined this spirit as ensuring that artists have a real, influential voice in the organization’s direction, allowing it to be less driven by the box office than other theaters.

A key difference Choldin noted between the U.S. and Canadian arts models is funding: Theatre Calgary receives 12 to 14 percent of its budget from the government, relying on corporate and individual fundraising for the rest, as Canada lacks the strong foundation culture found in the U.S. She believes that moving to New York removes the need to constantly articulate the necessity of great arts institutions, noting that cultural organizations like NYTW are foundational to American theater.

Navigating the Post-Pandemic Landscape

The state of audience return was a major challenge for Theatre Calgary. Pre-pandemic, the organization had experienced a slow loss of trust, which was severely compounded by COVID-19 and a crash in Alberta’s oil and gas economy. Attendance saw a "terrifying decline" in the 2022-23 season.

In response, Choldin and Artistic Director Stafford Arima launched Theatre for All in 2023-24—a three-pronged effort that:

1. Re-evaluated the pricing structure.

2. Changed programmatic choices.

3. Re-established the education and outreach team to enhance audience experience and build a new generation of theatergoers.

This intervention successfully almost doubled attendance between the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons, demonstrating a successful recovery.

Choldin sees her experiences at both Pig Iron and Theatre Calgary as the "perfect merger" for her role at NYTW. Pig Iron provided the experience of supporting artists who "swing for the fences" and are willing to take risks, even if it means failure. Conversely, the necessity of serving the community and managing the infrastructure of a large regional theater like Theatre Calgary—which operates on a similar budget of $10-$12 million CAD—required a smaller margin for error.

She also brings valuable experience in developing commercial enhancements through relationships with U.S. and Canadian producers, a skill that aligns perfectly with NYTW's regular role in developing works that move on to commercial success. At NYTW, she looks forward to a new kind of "magic" where she can combine the stability of a regional model with the experimental spirit of a true workshop setting, creating a safety net for artists to genuinely explore and succeed or fail at wild experiments.

Choldin is ready for her new chapter, having secured an apartment in Hamilton Heights, New York, just blocks from a close friend. The move also simplifies life for her spouse, sound designer Nick Kourtides, who primarily works in New York. Choldin will begin her full-time in-person duties in March.