Lee Mikeska Gardner

Lee Mikeska Gardner enters her 9th season as the Artistic Director for The Nora at Central Square Theater. Lee began her career as an actor and director working on plays in development, participating in over 40 world premiere plays and musicals. She has visited the world of Poe before, when she helmed the world premiere of Peter Coy’s musical Poe and All That Jazz for Charter Theater in Washington D.C. Her most recent work, directing the world premiere of Alexandra Petri’s Inherit the Windbag at Mosaic Theater in Washington, D.C., pivoted from the stage to the Zoom platform with the Covid shutdown. Also in the virtual world, she directed Amy Merrill’s new play Shoe Leather Epidemiology for CST’s Women & Science Theater Festival. Her last live production was the Elliot Norton Award–winning Cloud 9 (outstanding Direction and Production) at The Nora, where she also directed the world premieres of The Midvale High School Fiftieth Reunion (with Gordon Clapp) and Saving Kitty (with Jennifer Coolidge.) Lee was an Artistic Associate for ten years at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, and spent amazing time with Charter Theater, The Keegan Theater, Washington Shakespeare Company, Consenting Adults Theater Company and the Shenandoah Playwrights’ Retreat.

Lee is an award-winning actor in two cities with an Elliot Norton and Helen Hayes nod and has developed roles in 11 plays and countless readings.

As an educator, Lee has taught or served as a Guest Artist at colleges and universities across the nation including Emerson, University of Nevada-Las Vegas, UVA-Charlottesville, University of Maryland-College Park, and Middlebury College.