Culture in brief: Montclair’s Ari Laura Kreith to head Luna Stage

Luna Stage’s Board of Directors has hired Ari Laura Kreith of Montclair as the new artistic director, following the departure of Cheryl Katz, who has decided to step down at the end of the current season.

Kreith comes to Luna Stage in West Orange, 555 Valley Road, from Theater 167 in New York,where she conceived and directed The Jackson Heights Trilogy, “167 Tongues; You Are Now the Owner of This Suitcase; and “Jackson Heights 3 a.m,” three full-length plays collaboratively written by 18 playwrights featuring 37 actors in 93 roles in 14 languages.

Kreith has crafted immersive, site-specific projects for the Queens Museum and the New York Transit Museum, and developed a site-specific version of Marina Budhos’ novel “Watched” (a version of which was seen in Montclair last spring).

Kreith recently presented J.Stephen Brantley’s “Pirira” at the Montclair Arts Festival. In a release, Luna said that Kreith’s experience “will add new dimensions to Luna’s work as one of the anchors in the Valley Arts District.”

For more information about Luna Stage, visit Lunastage.org.