Kansas Repertory Theatre has appointed Peter Zazzali, an assistant professor of theater at the University of Kansas, as its first artistic director, KU announced last week.

Zazzali, who directed William Shakespeare’s “The Comedy of Errors” in the theater company’s inaugural season in 2014, “will provide additional creative vision” for Kansas Repertory Theatre, which serves as the “professional repertory arm” of KU’s University Theatre, according to a university-issued news release.

The company was originally “Peter’s brain child,” Nicole Hodges Persley, an associate professor of theater at KU, said in the news release. Since Kansas Repertory Theatre’s debut three seasons ago, Zazzali “has worked diligently” to build his “seed of an idea into a thriving company,” Hodges Persley said.

Peter Zazzali, an assistant professor of theatre at the University of Kansas, has been appointed the first artistic director of KU's Kansas Repertory Theatre.

“As a director with diverse experiences at the university, national and international level, he is especially equipped to guide our emerging actors to push the boundaries of their abilities to reach new heights as they prepare for careers as professionals in the entertainment industry,” said Hodges Persley, who also serves as the acting chair of theater at KU.

Zazzali is a longtime theater director, actor and scholar whose work has appeared in such publications as Theatre Journal, PAJ: A Journal of Performance and Art, Voice and Speech Review, and American Theatre, among others. His most recent book, “Acting in the Academy: The History of Professional Actor Training in U.S. Higher Education,” was released last year, according to the news release.

He has directed and acted in more than 150 productions with such institutions as The Acting Company, The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, New Jersey’s George Street Playhouse and the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, as well as Shakespeare festivals in New Jersey, Texas and Utah, the news release said. Zazzali is also a member of the Actors’ Equity Association, the Screen Actors Guild and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.

“My vision for (Kansas Repertory Theatre) is to build on its sterling regional reputation, for our professional reputation to eventually grow to the national level,” Zazzali said in the news release. “In doing so, we enrich the education of our students, provide developmental opportunities for faculty and raise our theatre department’s standing nationwide.”

Kansas Repertory Theatre is a production of KU’s University Theatre, which is partially funded by KU’s Student Senate activity fee. Its mission is to deliver professional repertory theater to the Lawrence community each summer, bringing together casts of professional actors, undergraduate- and graduate-level actors from nationally recognized training programs, and select groups of KU students.

Kansas Repertory Theatre is sponsored by Truity Credit Union. The company’s upcoming summer season will feature productions of “The Book Club Play” by Karen Zacarias, and “Next to Normal,” with book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey and music by Tom Kitt. Dates have not been announced yet, but the season is slated for July.