Ms. Gregg had been receiving treatment for a heart ailment; the exact cause of death is unknown. When friends were unable to reach her, police were summoned to her home in St. Louis' Central West End where her body was discovered the morning of July 21.
Susan Gregg served as associate artistic director and dramaturg for The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis (known as The Rep) for more than 21 years. After directing two productions at The Rep as a freelance director, Ms. Gregg joined the theatre's artistic staff in February 1988 at the invitation of artistic director Steven Woolf.
"Susan excelled at working with playwrights to nurture new plays," says Woolf. "She thrived on the challenge of helping realize new work. I knew I wanted her here to help infuse the theatre’s repertory with new plays and new ideas, to speak to and to challenge the St. Louis community."
During her tenure at The Rep, Ms. Gregg directed more than 30 productions, included A Number, Yellowman, Ten Little Indians, The Drawer Boy, The Royal Family, Sideman, Wit, Three Tall Women, Off the Ice, Black Coffee, An Enemy of the People, Woman in Mind, The Swan, Show and Tell, The Matchmaker, The Woman in Black and The Clean House.
Ms. Gregg also directed two world premiere musicals at The Rep, Barbara Field and Hiram Titus' The Skinflint (from Moliere’s The Miser) and Young Rube, a whimsical musical biography of Rube Goldberg, adapted from a play by George W. George, by John Pielmeier with music and lyrics by Matthew Selman. Her final directing assignment for The Rep was the February 2009 production of William Gibson's The Miracle Worker.
Prior to joining The Rep, Ms. Gregg was director-in-residence and, later, director of script development and marketing for New Dramatists in New York City. She spent most of her career directing or dramaturging new plays throughout the United States, including stints at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC; at MidWest PlayLabs in Minneapolis, MN; at the Eugene O'Neill Playwrights Conference in Waterford, CT; and at the Humana Festival in Louisville, KY.
Ms. Gregg's Off- and Off-Off-Broadway directing credits include Courage by John Pielmeier, Hidden Parts by Lynne Alvarez, Florida Girls by Nancy Hasty, Indulgences in the Louisville and Harem by John Orlock.
Born and raised in Albuquerque, NM, Ms. Gregg received a BFA from the University of New Mexico and an MFA from Penn State University.
Susan Gregg is survived by a brother, Roger, of Westcliffe, CO, and a sister, Margie, of Albuquerque, NM. A private family funeral is planned. A public memorial service and celebration of Ms. Gregg's life will be announced.
