Berkeley Playhouse

Founder, Elizabeth McKoy

Berkeley Playhouse was founded in 2007 by Artistic Director, Elizabeth McKoy, a professional theater actor, director, and teacher for over 20 years. Elizabeth has directed many shows for the Berkeley Playhouse since founding the company in 2007, including for the Professional Season: Peter Pan, Cinderella, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, The Sound of Music, A Little Princess, Tarzan and James and the Giant Peach. She has also directed over 30 YouthStage shows including The Drowsy Chaperone, Hello, Dolly!, Pirates of Penzance, Zombie Prom, Narnia, Once on This Island, Into the Woods, 13, and many others.

Over the years, Elizabeth has developed the vision and programming for the Berkeley Playhouse and helped grow the organization from a small youth theater camp to a thriving musical theater company and youth education program serving thousands of students and over 30,000 patrons per year. In addition to directing for the Berkeley Playhouse, she is currently working to develop and sustain the Playhouse’s unique vision for new musical works for inter-generational audiences and grow and deepen our programs with schools and the community. She has commissioned 8 new musicals, including the acclaimed new musical Bridges which had its world premiere at the Playhouse in 2016 and was recently seen again in New York. The Riffs, her newest school partnership program for Middle Schoolers, began at Emerson Elementary in Oakland and now is at Willard Middle School. She is also a proud mama of five amazing children.