From daily office operations to performances, Shakespeare Dallas relies on a small but dynamic staff to keep things rolling. Get to know the staff members who are working hard behind the scenes to deliver an exciting new season of Shakespeare on stage.
Interim Artistic Director
Biography coming soon.
Shakespeare Dallas’ board of directors recently announced the appointment of Karen Raehpour as the company’s new executive director effective November 2022. The appointment was made after a national search was conducted under the guidance of professional search firm Martin Bragg & Associates.
Karen has an extensive business and theater background. With 25 years of business management experience, she has led the sales and marketing arms of several multi-million-dollar manufacturing companies, traveled the globe mounting trade shows and corporate trainings, and owned and operated a successful event planning business. Most recently, she served as the managing partner of RK Meetings and Events, where she produced the 2015-2017 Dallas editions of Diner en Blanc, world-renowned as the largest dinner party in the world. For DEB, Karen managed corporate sponsorships with Southwest Airlines, Merrill Lynch, Mercedes-Benz, Moet & Chandon, Evian, Celebrity Cruises, The Omni & The Hilton.
Raehpour has a theater degree from Northwestern University, has worked as a professional equity actor in Chicago and Los Angeles, and has participated in over 100 productions. Most recently, you may have seen Karen as King Claudius in our Fall 2022 production of Hamlet, directed by Christie Vela, and as Ross in our 2019 production of Macbeth. She has performed Shakespeare at several important regional theaters including The Goodman (Chicago), Chicago Shakespeare Repertory, and the Illinois Shakespeare Festival.