New FSC Executive Director Summer Lukasiewicz!

We are pleased to announce that Summer Lukasiewicz is the Flatwater Shakespeare Company's new Executive Director.

Ms. Lukasiewicz is an accomplished producer, director, playwright, actor, and educator. She has worked extensively with young people, directing shows at the Lincoln Community Playhouse and Blue Hill Community Schools. Her most notable productions for Blue Hill include Macbeth in 2014 and The Laramie Project in 2016. Past projects also include writing, directing, and producing original works, such as 872 Days and Voices from Chernobyl, and contributing to the curriculum for Flatwater Shakespeare's sonnet-based educational outreach program, Little But Fierce. Last year, she was recognized with the Dale E. Black Outstanding Young Teacher of Speech and Theatre Award.

Summer is a long-time artistic associate with Flatwater Shakespeare, having appeared as Olivia in Twelfth Night for the company's second Free Shakespeare tour, as Harper in Tony Kushner's Angels in America, Parts One and Two, and most recently as Valerie in Conor McPherson's The Weir. For Shakespeare on the Square in Aurora, Nebraska, she has played Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing and Prospera in The Tempest. For Polarity Ensemble Theatre in Chicago, she was Horatio in Hamlet.

“I joined the Flatwater family in 2006 in the cast of Macbeth,” says Lukasiewicz, “and have had the joy of playing a number of roles over the decade-plus since. I'm very excited to take on the role of Executive Director and help grow our impact as we work to make sure Shakespeare is for Everyone.”

Larry Weixelman, Board Chair, shares the FSC Board of Directors' confidence in “Summer’s talent, energy, and passion for theater and education.” Weixelman adds that “Her remarkable blend of skills and organizational expertise will assure an exceptional future for the company through continued artistic achievement and meaningful community outreach.” The Board will work with Ms. Lukasiewicz in finalizing plans for the company's 2018-19 season, which will include another Flatwater Free Shakespeare tour and performances at the Swan Theatre.

Flatwater Shakespeare's mission is to entertain and educate audiences in Lincoln and surrounding communities through Shakespeare and other high quality theater productions. The company is especially committed to connecting youth, non-traditional audiences, and under-represented groups with the dramatic arts. Accessible and exciting productions of Shakespeare's plays and other classic or language-driven works can broaden the base for all theater audiences, enhance appreciation for the arts more widely, and facilitate meaningful dialogue across many social divides.

Photo Credit: Dani Schwinn