Sher, who announced he will depart his position as Intiman artistic director following the completion of the 2010 season, will be joined by Whoriskey later this month as co-artistic director for the next year of programming at the acclaimed theatre company.
"Kate is one of the most audacious artists I know," Sher said in a statement. "She believes in being brave, in taking chances and in creating work that exists in relationship to the larger world. As the Board, Brian [Colburn] and I worked together on creating this transition process, it was very important to me to be responsible to Intiman's audiences and supporters. I feel very fortunate to be able to work with Kate and to support her intelligence and imagination as she assumes leadership of the company."
Known for her direction of Lynn Nottage's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Ruined Off-Broadway and at the Goodman Theatre, Whoriskey previously staged The Chairs, The Lady from the Sea and Blue/Orange at the Intiman, where she served as an associate artist from 2002-2003.
"Intiman is a unique place," said Whoriskey in a statement. "It has a large, loyal and intellectually curious audience, and works with a tremendous pool of talented theatre artists. There is also an overall environment of innovation in many fields in Seattle, which I think is part of what makes it one of the most exciting cities in America to make theatre.
"I admire the work that Bart has done at Intiman very much, particularly the American Cycle programming," she continued. "I'm excited to think about how we can complement this with a new International Cycle, and I look forward to building relationships with different voices to promote diversity and interdisciplinary work here." As previously reported, Sher was appointed resident director of Lincoln Center Theater in fall 2008. He earned Tony nominations for each of his Lincoln Center projects and received the 2008 Tony Award for his direction of South Pacific. Sher has also staged LCT productions of The Light in the Piazza, Awake and Sing! and Joe Turner's Come and Gone.
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