Elizabeth McKoy seated in the historic Julia Morgan Theater with a notebook in hand.

Director · Producer · Teacher

Elizabeth McKoy

Artistic statement

Ambitious, accessible theatre that brings generations into the same room.

Elizabeth uses music, movement, visual storytelling, and ensemble collaboration to explore how people find their voices within families, communities, and systems of power.

Whether reimagining a classic, developing a new musical, or building an arts organization, she approaches theatre as an act of connection—rigorous in craft, expansive in possibility, and rooted in the belief that audiences can leave seeing one another differently.

Current / Upcoming

The work happening now.

Official Edinburgh Fringe poster for Antigone 1989: A Town Hall Musical.

Current · Edinburgh Fringe 2026

Antigone 1989: A Town Hall Musical

Concept · Director · Producer
5–29 August 2026 · Gilded Balloon Patter House

Elizabeth directs and produces this new one-act musical, developed from her concept, which relocates Sophocles’ tragedy to Thebes, California in 1989 and brings audiences into a town hall within a Theban temple, exploring grief, LGBTQ+ activism, civic ritual, and the cost of silence.

Official Berkeley Playhouse artwork for Shrek the Musical.

Upcoming · Berkeley Playhouse 2027

Shrek the Musical

Director
21 May–20 June 2027 · Berkeley Playhouse

Elizabeth returns to Berkeley Playhouse to direct the MainStage production of David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanine Tesori’s big-hearted musical adaptation.

Elizabeth McKoy directing performers during a rehearsal.
In rehearsal · Photography by Thomas Campitelli

Arts leadership

Building the conditions for artists and audiences to thrive.

2007

Founded Berkeley Playhouse

8

New works commissioned

2,000+

Children served annually by the 10th season

35,000+

Annual audience by the 10th season

Direction gallery

Selected productions.

A growing gallery of productions Elizabeth has directed, including work at Berkeley Playhouse.

Elizabeth McKoy opening the red doors of Berkeley Playhouse.

A life in the room

“Bringing music and theatre to life.”

Elizabeth’s work connects artists, audiences, students, and communities—whether she is shaping a new musical, directing a mainstage production, or teaching the next generation of theatre makers.

Contact

Let’s make something alive.

Elizabeth welcomes inquiries about professional directing, new-musical development, producing and creative consultation, educational residencies, workshops, speaking, and arts-leadership projects.

Based in the San Francisco Bay Area · Available for projects and collaborations

© 2026 Elizabeth McKoy