New Leader for Hedgerow
Marcie Bramucci will be the new executive director of Hedgerow Theatre Company. Photo: Audrey Molineux
Marcie Bramucci will be the Hedgerow Theatre’s new executive artistic director beginning July 1. The Delaware County native says she seeks to further anchor Hedgerow as an artistic home for invention and possibility, foster strong regional partnerships, introduce inclusive practices to welcome viewers from a variety of backgrounds, and continue the theatre’s tradition of excellence.
“Marcie is a visionary, a creator, a collaborator – the ideal person to lead Hedgerow into its centennial anniversary,” says Ann Byun, president of the theater’s board of directors.
Hedgerow director emerita Penelope Reed agrees, saying, “The entire board, the company, and former long-term leaders believe Marcie is the natural bridge to Hedgerow’s hundredth year.”
Bramucci expresses excitement about Hedgerow’s history as the first resident repertory theatre in America. She notes that Hedgerow helped introduce the work of European playwrights, including George Bernard Shaw, Bertolt Brecht, and Henrik Ibsen, to the local audiences.
Bramucci has worked as a creative producer and as a community connector, most recently at People’s Light in Malvern. (People’s Light was founded by former Hedgerow artists in the 1970s.) Before that, she served as managing director of Maine’s Penobscot Theatre Company. In partnership with the Institute on Disabilities at Temple University, Bramucci was responsible for the U.S. debut of “smart caption glasses,” which provide captioning to viewers with hearing loss. She leads a loose consortium of regional theaters that collaborate to make the arts more accessible, specifically by offering so-called “relaxed” performances tailored to the needs and wishes of people with autism and sensory sensitivities.
Bramucci is an adjunct instructor in theater administration at Villanova University, where she earned a master’s degree in theater arts. She holds a second master’s in arts administration from Columbia University. Growing up in Morton, Delaware County, she attended and participated in local theater, including Upper Darby Summer Stage.
Bramucci’s first experience with Hedgerow was as an audience member when her high school French club attended a production of Tartuffe, by Molière. In 2019, she performed on the Hedgerow stage in Sarah Ruhl’s translation of Three Sisters, by Anton Chekhov.
“Given my previous connection here, local roots, and deep involvement with People’s Light,” she says, “returning to Hedgerow is a homecoming.”
