A Personal Welcome from Founding Executive Director Wes Martin
Wes Martin
Founding Executive Director
Wes Martin is the founding Executive Director of Sonoran Repertory Theatre. He brings more than 35 years of experience as an actor, director, producer, and arts leader in the Phoenix theatre community.
Wes co-founded The Shakespeare Theatre, where he served as Executive Producer and helped build one of the downtown Phoenix's only classical theatre companies. During his time there, he produced and directed numerous productions from the classical canon, including Richard III, Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Henry V, and Titus Andronicus.
He also co-founded Off-Center Productions, continuing his focus on text-driven, ensemble-based work. Earlier in his career, Wes was a founding charter member of the Arizona Shakespeare Company (which eventually became what is now Southwest Shakespeare Company) and served in multiple leadership roles at TheaterWorks, including Associate Artistic Director and Vice President of the Board of Directors.
As an artist, Wes has worked on stages across the Valley, including Arizona Theatre Company, Phoenix Theatre, and Arizona Broadway Theatre, with credits spanning classical, contemporary, and musical theatre.
He is probably best know to valley audiences for originating the role of Bill Thompson/Wallace in Ben Tyler's stage play The Wallace and Ladmo Show.
Most of all...Wes has been proud to call Arizona his home for more than 50 years.
Through Sonoran Repertory Theatre, Wes is working to build a sustainable home for reimagined classical theatre in downtown Phoenix, focused on strong storytelling, practical production, and making great theatre accessible to the community.
Why We Built Sonoran Rep
If you're reading this, welcome.
My name is Wes Martin, and after nearly forty years working in Arizona theatre, I have the privilege of serving as the Founding Executive Director of Sonoran Repertory Theatre.
People often ask why I decided to start another theatre company at this stage of my career. The answer is simple.
Legacy.
Over the years, the founding members and I have been fortunate to work with some remarkable artists. Actors, directors, designers, playwrights, and technicians who dedicated themselves to creating great theatre here in Arizona, as well as a vibrant theatrical community that has enriched countless lives.
But theatre is a fragile art form. Productions close, companies come and go. Funding comes and goes. Before we're know it, the work and the people who created it fade from memory.
At some point, we found ourselves asking, "what kind of theatrical legacy we are leaving behind for the next generation?".
Sonoran Repertory Theatre is our attempt to answer that question.
Our mission is rooted in the belief that great stories endure because they continue to speak to us. That is why our focus is on classical works, reimagined classics, and new plays that draw from the same traditions, themes, and sense of scale that have inspired audiences for centuries.
Our slogan, Classics... Reimagined for Today, reflects that belief.
Sometimes that means reimagining Shakespeare or Moliere; it can mean re-examining an ancient story through a modern lens. It can even mean helping bring a brand-new work into the world. What matters is not when the story was written, but whether it has something meaningful to say to audiences today.
Just as important as the work itself is our commitment to Arizona.
Sonoran Rep is built by Arizonans and for Arizonans. Our board members, advisors, artists, playwrights, and supporters include many of the people who have helped shape this state's cultural landscape for decades. We are proud of those roots, and we are equally committed to creating opportunities for the artists who will shape Arizona's future.
We are also committed to making theatre accessible. Through Pay-What-You-Wish performances, ASL interpreted performances, educational initiatives, and community partnerships, we want our work to be available to the broadest possible audience.
Most of all, we want to create a home for stories that matter.
As a proud theatre company-in-residence at Phoenix Center for the Arts and Third Street Theatre in Downtown Phoenix, we are not simply producing a season of plays. We are laying the foundation for something we hope will serve this community for many years to come.
Whether you are joining us as an audience member, artist, donor, volunteer, or supporter, thank you for being here at the beginning.
We are honored to have you with us as we build the next chapter of Arizona theatre together.
Onward,
Wes Martin
Founding Executive Director
Sonoran Repertory Theatre