Wikipedia:Rick Hammerly

Rick Hammerly is an American theatre director, actor, producer, filmmaker, and a three-time Helen Hayes Award-winner. He is a Founding Producing Artistic Director at Factory 449 in Washington DC and the executive director of the Washington Area Performing Arts Video Archive. He is currently artistic director of Programming at Virginia Repertory Theatre. He is a member of both the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC) and Actors' Equity Association (AEA).

Early life
Hammerly was born in Winchester, VA. He holds an MA in Film & Video Production and an MA in Arts Management (course work) from American University. He received a BA in Theatre from the University of Virginia.

Career
In 2003 Hammerly received the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Resident Musical for his portrayal of Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch at Signature Theatre. He also received Outstanding Lead Actor Helen Hayes Award nominations for his work in Angels in America, Me and Jezebel and Oliver! Additional acting credits include productions for The Shakespeare Theatre, Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre, John F. Kennedy Center, Folger Shakespeare Theatre, Rep Stage, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, The Unicorn Theatre, TheatreVirginia, Virginia Stage Company, ten years as Mr. Fezziwig in Ford's Theatre's A Christmas Carol, and most recently, as Miss Tracy Mills in Round House Theatre's The Legend of Georgia McBride.

His 2007 debut film, signage, has screened in more than 60 film festivals around the world and is the recipient of 6 awards, including Best LGBT Short Film at the Cleveland International Film Festival. He was director, actor, screenwriter, and co-producer on the project.

In 2009, he co-founded Factory 499, which produces contemporary theatre in Washington, DC with a focus on collaboration, innovation, and diversity. During his twelve-year tenure, he has directed critically acclaimed productions of Agnes of God, Lela & Co. [8], and Closet Land. He received the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Direction of a Play for Lela & Co., a Helen Hayes Award nomination for Outstanding Direction of a Play for Agnes of God, and accepted the Hayes Award for Outstanding Emerging Theatre Company for Factory 499.

Freelance directing credits include Reykjavik at Rorschach Theatre, Emilie: La Marquise Du Châtelet Defends her Life Tonight at WSC Avant Bard, Dizzy Miss Lizzie’s Roadside Revue’s The Brontës at the New York Musical Theatre Festival, and Junie B. Jones is Not a Crook at Adventure Theatre MTC, among others. He directed several world premieres including Lake Untersee and After the Garden. In 2015, he was selected to participate in the Shakespeare Theatre Company's inaugural Director's Studio program.

In 2020, Hammerly became the executive director of the Washington Area Performing Arts Video Archive (WAPAVA)., and during the pandemic, worked to diversify the Archive and lead projects to collect online productions, readings, interviews, and roundtables that document the forms of theatre still available when arts organizations were unable to offer in-person performances.

He became artistic director of Programming at Virginia Repertory Theatre in 2022. He provides leadership of the theatres programming with adult audiences (the Signature Season, Hanover Season and Cadence Theatre Season) including their strategic planning processes. He is also their key liaison with the national theatre industry.

Personal life
Hammerly has been married to his partner, Bombay-born Daryus Cyrus Gazder, since January 1, 2019.