Adam J. Natale (Director, SVA Theatre) joined the School of Visual Arts in October 2012 to lead its iconic theatre in Manhattan.  Since then, he has worked with a variety of film and media organizations, including PBS, BET, Tribeca Film Festival, The Weinstein Company, and IFC Films.  Prior to SVA, Adam oversaw partnerships, membership, programming, and business development for the nonprofit arts service organization Fractured Atlas for close to seven years, and saw the organization grow from 2,000 to close to 25,000 members during his tenure.  With Fractured Atlas, Adam led an innovative audience development program with Theatre Development Fund, launched an online learning system and arts insurance program, formed collaborative partnerships with over 125 arts organizations across the U.S., and worked on the development of Artful.ly, a suite of software for arts organizations.  He has served as a panelist and/or conducted presentations at several arts conferences, including:  Theatre Communications Group, NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, South By Southwest, National Performing Arts Convention, Dance/USA, Sundance Film Festival, and the Nevada Arts Council, among others. 

Prior to Fractured Atlas, Adam served the Theater & Musical Theater disciplines at the National Endowment for the Arts, where he worked on such programs as Shakespeare in American Communities and the National Heritage Fellowships.  He is a former member and chair of Americans for the Arts’ Emerging Leader Council and was awarded the prestigious American Express Emerging Leader Award in 2012.  Adam has served as a grants panelist for the NEA and Alternate ROOTS, as an Associate Producer with the New York Musical Theatre Festival, and as a freelance theater/musical theater director.  He is an Associate Member of the Stage Directors & Choreographers Society (SDC) and serves on the Board of Directors of off-Broadway's Red Bull Theater and the Association of Teaching Artists.  He is a graduate of American University with a degree in Directing for Theatre and Film and is originally from Philadelphia.

Adam J. Natale is our 2012 American Express Emerging Leader Awardee.