Solas Nua – Illuminating Irish Arts in Washington, DC

Kate Meenan-Waugh, Co-Chair of Solas Nua is an educator who has worked in secondary schools for more than 30 years, most recently at the Washington International School. She has taught and developed global education and community service programs which have included extensive, purposeful travel for both students and teachers. She is also an interviewer, mentor and organizer for the ASSIST student exchange program, as well as a teacher of ESL to recent adult immigrants in the Washington DC area. Born in New York City, Kate is a first-generation Irish-American, with deep roots in Donegal, Tyrone and Belfast. She holds a BSFS from Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and has done extensive graduate work at New York University in international education and counseling.

Andrew Dolan is the Executive Director of Solas Nua and is an accomplished artist, producer, and leader with over fifteen years of experience in professional theatre across all aspects of the profession, including directing, design, fundraising, finance, and strategic planning. He recently served as a Co-Artistic Director of Red Eye Theater since 2019, where he co-curated the New Works 4 Weeks Festival—an annual four-week festival that commissions 11 artists each year to make new performance works—and co-led the capital campaign and development of a new 150-seat black box theater in Minneapolis. He also spent five years at The Cowles Center for Dance & the Performing Arts, working across marketing and development departments before becoming its Associate Director of Development.

Rex Daughtery has served as AD of Theater since 2015. During his tenure, he has garnered international acclaim for Solas Nua productions, earned multiple Helen Hayes Awards and nominations, and provided the company with steady artistic and financial growth. His work has been featured in The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, on the cover of American Theatre Magazine, The Irish Times and aired on RTE. His one-man performance of The Smuggler was listed by The New York Times as one of the best theatre productions of 2019, nationwide. Rex’s work has also been seen at The Kennedy Center, The Shakespeare Theatre Company, The National Theatre, The Warner Theatre, Ford's Theatre, Signature Theatre, Round House Theatre, Folger Theatre, Rep Stage, Imagination Stage, Arts on the Horizon, The OKC Civic Center, and Off Broadway at 59E59.