Recipient of a 2024 Doris Duke Artist Award, Nataki Garrett is the President and CEO of Ladder Leadership Inc., as well as the Co-Artistic Director of One Nation/One Project. Nataki recently served as the Executive Artistic Director and Artistic Director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) and the Acting Artistic Director of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. In 2020, she co-founded Professional Non-Profit Theater Coalition (PNTC)—a national advocacy coalition that organized non-profit theaters’ efforts to advocate for access to the $15-billion Shuttered Venue Operators Grant of historically unprecedented funding from the federal government. Nataki serves as the Chair of the Boards of Directors for Theatre Communications Group and Another Round Another Rally.

Nataki has received numerous awards and recognition for her artistry and leadership throughout her career including a 2022 United States Artists Fellowship. Her vision is to empower artists as leaders and change-makers who transform culture. Opera credits include The Central Park Five (Portland Opera), Sucktion (REDCAT), and Wet (REDCAT). Recent theater credits include Romeo and Juliet (OSF), Confederates (OSF), How to Catch Creation (OSF, Baltimore Center Stage), The Carolyn Bryant Project (CalArts Center for New Performance), and BLKS (Steppenwolf, Woolly Mammoth).

Nataki is very excited and proud to remount this very timely and important project at Detroit Opera.