Furthering the Signature's commitment to new work, Calarco will lead in the development of new musicals and plays and seek the work of original and diverse voices. He will also direct one or two shows per season and will continue his work with the educational program Signature in The Schools.

Calarco has directed 14 productions at Signature Theatre, including the world premiere of Njinsky's Last Dance and Stephen Sondheim's Assassins. He is the writer of In the Absence of Spring, Walter Cronkite is Dead and Shakespeare's R & J.

"I'm thrilled to welcome Joe to the Signature Theatre family full-time," artistic director Eric Schaeffer said in a statement. "He's contributed so much to this organization both on-stage and off with his directing and working with students in our education program. It's wonderful to have Joe's talents added to the Signature team."

Managing director Maggie Boland added, "All of us at Signature are so looking forward to working with Joe in this new role. Bringing him on board full-time, year-round, is an important investment in Signature's commitment to developing and producing new plays and musicals. Joe will play an integral role in helping us discover and nurture new playwrights and composers, and we can't think of a better way to build on and celebrate our history during this 25th anniversary season than by increasing our artistic capacity with this new position."

"For 15 years Signature Theater has given me the opportunity to do some of the most fulfilling work of my career, so I couldn't be more excited to be able to now really call it home," Calarco said. "Signature is one of America's most important incubators of new work, and with this new position I'm thrilled to be able to continue and expand on that amazing mission." Visit signature-theatre.org for more information.