EXECUTIVE PRODUCING
GENERAL MANaGEMENT
and business managemenT
FOR
ABOUT
NVK is a NYC-based boutique executive producing and management firm with two key practice areas: performing executive-level creative supervision and general management for theatrical productions and providing COO/CFO business management advisory services to entertainment businesses within the theatrical sector.
The company’s dual focus on supporting both productions (generally joint ventures with multiple partners specific to the project at-hand) and businesses (on an ongoing, evergreen basis) is distinctive from most firms and has led NVK to approach all of its collaborations with equal attention to achieving short-term, immediate success and long-term, strategic growth.
In addition, NVK engages with ventures and businesses across the entire spectrum of the theatrical landscape, including large-scale immersive/site-specific works, nonprofits, experiential marketing projects, Broadway, and film and TV exploitation, affording the company a uniquely 360° awareness of each sector of the industry, and with it, the ability to cross-pollinate a diverse array of organizational approaches, financial models, and technological innovation.
Current productions include ILLINOISE with music and lyrics by Sufjan Stevens (based on his album “Illinois”), story by Justin Peck and Jackie Sibblies Drury and direction and choreography by Justin Peck (St. James Theater, Broadway) and projects in development with Christine Jones, Steven Hoggett, Pasek & Paul, and Michael Mitnick.
Current business management and consultation clients include Seaview, KORINS Studio, David Byrne’s Arbutus Foundation, Marathon Digital, The Season, Relay Influence, Plate Spinner Productions, P3 Productions, and Fiona Rudin Productions.
Founder + CEO
NATE KOCH
Photo by Joan Marcus.
is a Tony Award-nominated and Lortel & Drama Desk winning producer and entertainment executive. Over the past 17 years he has developed a rare skill set that combines executive producing, rigorous financial management and analysis, and strategy development, for productions and related businesses on Broadway, Off-Broadway, non-traditional/immersive space, and branded content.
Select current and past projects include Illinoise (St. James Theater on Broadway, 2024, Tony Nomination), David Byrne’s Theater of the Mind (Denver Center for the Performing Arts, 2022-2023); Love Around the Block , an immersive musical featuring 75 performers for Hermès (2022); Madison Wells Media + Hebru Brantley’s immersive art installation Nevermore Park (Chicago, 2019-2020); the immersive Tooting Arts Club production of Sweeney Todd (Barrow Street Theatre, 2017-2018, Lortel Award Winner); Queen of the Night (New York City’s Paramount Hotel/Diamond Horseshoe, 2013-2015, Drama Desk Award Winner); Google’s 2016 I/O Conference (Mountain View C.A., 2016); multiple music festival activation projects with Superfly (2014-2015); multiple projects as general manager of Ars Nova including Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812; the Boston to NYC development period of SLEEP NO MORE (2010); and several projects in the US and internationally as Producing Director of the TEAM, Artistic Director Rachel Chavkin (2009-2012).
In addition to leading NVK, Nate is the Chief Operating Officer for Seaview, a Tony and Olivier-award winning theater and film company currently represented on Broadway with Stereophonic, Once Upon a Mattress, and Romeo + Juliet.
Nate earned a B.F.A. in Drama from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. He lives with his wife, two young sons, and rescue pups in Port Washington on Long Island, NY.
TEAM
JENNA READY, General Manager
Jenna Ready is an avid theater enthusiast and General Manager based in New York City who feels passionate about using her skills to foster a connection between a community and its artists to enrich the lives of both. Since making the move to New York in 2012, she has had the pleasure of working at multiple cultural institutions, including New York Theatre Workshop and Atlantic Theatre Company. Prior to joining NVK, Jenna worked as the Associate General Manager at Playwrights Horizons for six years and helped produce and manage over 35 original productions, including A Strange Loop, Dance Nation, I Was Most Alive With You, and Heroes of the Fourth Turning, as well as the original podcast series Soundstage. Jenna is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, where she received two Bachelor of Arts Degrees with honors, one in Theater Studies and the other in English Literature. She currently resides in Brooklyn with her life partner and dog, Doc.
STEVEN GILLENWATER, DIRECTOR OF CLIENT SERVICES
Prior to his work with NVK, Steven was Controller for Facilities USA / Guard Services USA, a management firm located in Manhattan. Before that Steven worked with the Young Lives Research Study at the University of Oxford as the Project Administrator, where his responsibilities included office management, research coordination and event coordination. He also previously worked administratively in the Finance and Tax Department with BNP Paribas and with Macy’s Corporate Artistically, he spent seven years working with The Subjective Theatre Company as a director and producer while freelancing as an actor on several regional productions and national tours. He holds a B.A. in Theatre and a Graduate Certificate in Theatre from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a M.S. in Education, Educational Theatre from City College of New York. Steven lives in Westchester with his husband Kevin, and Stella, a wonderfully strange dog.
JOANNA PISANO, ASSOCIATE Producer & manager
Joanna Pisano is a New York-based creative producer and general manager originally from Southern California. She is most passionate about emphasizing the role of a producer as a caretaker for artists and audiences alike, championing innovative work by and centering women, and embracing technology and social media as an audience engagement tool during the creative development process. In addition to her work with NVK and independent producing work, she has worked with companies including Playwrights Horizons, TT Partners (formerly Thompson Turner Productions), Atlantic Theater Company, and La Jolla Playhouse. Select independent producing credits include projects with Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Clubbed Thumb, Hudson River Park Trust, and The Tank NYC. Joanna received her MFA in Theatre Management & Producing from Columbia University School of the Arts in May 2023 and holds a BFA in Drama and minor in Producing from NYU Tisch.
TONY HARKIN, BUSINESS MANAGER
Tony Harkin is a financial professional and creative based in New York City, passionate about using the arts as a tool for exploration of the human experience. After graduating from Western Connecticut State University with degrees in Musical Theater and Theatre Management, Tony dove into a career in artistic financial management. Prior associations include work with The Public Theater and The Upright Citizens Brigade. Tony is currently continuing their studies as a candidate in the Accounting Masters program with The University of Illinois. Most evenings, they can be found doing improv in a basement.
