Pesha Rudnick is the founding artistic director of Local Theater Company where she pursues the company’s mission to discover and develop new American plays. For Local Theater Company, Pesha has directed fifteen world premiere productions. In 2022, Pesha announced a new shared artistic leadership model for Local Theater Company. She now co-curates Local’s season and Local Lab with co-artistic directors Nick Chase and Betty Hart. In 2019, Local Theater Company was named “Best Theater in Denver” by the editors of 5280 Magazine.
Pesha is featured in Westward Magazine’s
Nationally, Pesha has directed over 60 new works including the world premiere of O.P.C. by Eve Ensler at the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University. She previously collaborated with Ms. Ensler as associate director of the world premiere of EMOTIONAL CREATURE at Berkeley Repertory Theatre and Signature Theatre Center. She has also worked at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Creede Repertory Theatre, Curious Theatre Company, Florida Stage and The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Pesha is the former associate artistic director of Theater Master's National MFA Playwright's Festival (59E59, Atlantic Stage 2, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Wild Project, Theatre Row, and the Aspen Institute). For six years, she served as the associate director of education at Cornerstone Theater Company in Los Angeles.
Pesha holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s degree from New York University. In 2008, Pesha was invited to present her thesis, “Using Theater in the Classroom to Promote Literacy” at the IDEAS Conference in Hong Kong. She is currently a Lecturer at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Pesha is Drama League Directing Fellow and a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC).