Tiffani Gavin Is New Executive Director at O'Neill Center

Tiffani Gavin has just been named the new executive director of the Eugene O’Neill theater Center in Waterford which runs professional development programs for puppetry, plays, musicals, and cabaret, as well as the flagship undergraduate program, the National Theater Institute. 

Prior to joining the O’Neill, Gavin held managerial and creative development roles in both nonprofit and commercial theater, including serving as managing director at the American Repertory Theater, Executive Producer at SFX/Clear Channel, and, most recently, as Manager of the Marquis Theatre on Broadway.  

Gavin is the fifth Executive Director in the O’Neill’s 55-year history, and the first Black woman to hold the position. Gavin succeeds Preston Whiteway, who led the organization for the past 16 years. 

The O’Neill will hold a series of virtual Town Hall events to welcome Tiffani Gavin. The first will be held September 22 at 6pm EST exclusively for O’Neill members. Additional sessions are open to the public September 23 at 3pm EST and September 24 at 6pm EST.  Please RSVP for these events here. Additionally, artists, alumni, and members wishing to welcome Tiffani Gavin or share their O’Neill story with her are encouraged to reach out using ED@theoneill.org. 

After beginning her career in general management at The Public Theater in NY and as a company manager at Blue Man Group, Gavin went on to hold leadership positions in both nonprofit and commercial theater organizations, including Clear Channel Entertainment and the American Repertory Theater. 

She's been the Manager of the Marquis Theatre on Broadway and has managed productions such as the National Tour of The Phantom of the Opera.  As an Executive Producer for Clear Channel Entertainment and later as the General Manager/VP of Production at Martian Entertainment she commissioned and developed new work by emerging artists across the U.S. and internationally. 

While producing at Clear Channel, her broad portfolio included Broadway and off-Broadway productions as well as national tours. Among them were Ragtime (National Tour), The Producers (Broadway, National Tour), Hairspray (Broadway, National Tour), Sweet Charity (2005 Broadway Revival), Gumboots (National Tour, European Tour), Squeezebox (Off-Broadway), and Contact (National Tour).

She was also the Senior. Director of Professional and International Licensing for Theatrical Rights Worldwide where she acquired and licensed secondary performing rights for musicals such as Monty Python’s Spamalot and The Color Purple. 

Gavini is a native of East Norriton, PA, and has a B.A. from Brown University in both sociology as well as in modern culture and media with a focus in Mass Media and Cultural Representation.