Christopher Burney, who currently serves as artistic producer for New York’s Second Stage Theater, has been named the new artistic director for New York Stage and Film. Longtime Associate Artistic Director Liz Carlson has been promoted to the newly created position of artistic producer.

Burney will be the creative leader behind NYSAF’s numerous programs, including the Powerhouse Season in partnership with Vassar College, the NYC Reading Series, the Winter Season currently at the Lark Barebones Studio in New York, and the Filmmakers’ Workshop, which provides early-career screen and television writers mentorship and creative development.

Beginning this spring, Burney will work alongside current Artistic Director Johanna Pfaelzer, who will program and oversee the 2019 Powerhouse Season prior to departing at the end of the summer to become artistic director of Berkeley Repertory Theatre.

At Second Stage, Burney shepherded over 100 productions to its three stages, including Dear Evan Hansen; Next to Normal; Metamorphoses; By The Way, Meet Vera Stark; Notes From The Field; and the new musical Superhero. He also was key in Second Stage’s move to the Hayes Theater, its new home on Broadway.

Barbara Manocherian, president of New York Stage and Film’s Board of Directors, said in a statement, “Chris’ experience developing the work of world-class artists, as well as his passion for discovering and nurturing diverse, powerful new voices, were an ideal match for New York Stage and Film. In a field of nearly 80 applicants from across the country and abroad, he stood out as the perfect person to lead the company into an exciting next chapter, and I’m delighted to welcome him on behalf of the entire Board.”

Burney added, “New York Stage and Film provides a unique home for emerging and established artists to create innovative, daring, and engaging stories for stage and screen. Through the Powerhouse Season, their commitment to film, and their other excellent work, they build vital communities for the creation of stories which impact the global arts community. I am thrilled to be joining this exceptional company and I look forward to supporting and expanding their legacy.”

“I am delighted to hand Chris the reins of this company that I love so much,” said Pfaelzer. “His taste is excellent, he is enormously respected by artists, and his appetite for supporting a diverse range of new work is vast. I look forward to this new era for New York Stage and Film.”