If you had told Claudia Campos on her first day as a summer intern at Miami New Drama that she would return to lead the organization as its Managing Director, she might not have believed you.
But looking back, the path feels inevitable.
Today, Claudia steps into her role at a pivotal moment: our 10th Anniversary Season.
Watch the video:
It Started With a Facebook Message
Claudia first came to Miami New Drama as an intern while studying at Florida State University. She was home for the summer and kept hearing about this new theatre company.
“I was so desperate to be a part of it,” she says, “I actually decided to send the organization a Facebook message introducing myself and inquiring about their summer internship programs.”
That Facebook message became an email, then a phone call with Artistic Director Michel Hausmann.
On her first day, Michel handed her Duncan Macmillan’s Every Brilliant Thing, which Miami New Drama was producing in Spanish that summer, and asked for her thoughts.
The next day, she was writing the press release.
It was an early glimpse of what Miami New Drama would become for Claudia: a place where young theatre-makers weren’t simply given a seat at the table—they were trusted with real work.
A Vision Bigger Than Miami
Even in those early days, Claudia saw Michel’s ambition firsthand.
“Miami’s stories, our communities’ stories, were meant for the national stage,” she says.
That idea is central to Miami New Drama’s identity: we’re in the “exporting business,” commissioning and developing plays in Miami that live far beyond our city.
Coming Home With Something to Give
Claudia went on to train at the Yale School of Drama alongside some of the nation’s leading theatre practitioners.
But Miami remained part of the plan.
“I always knew this is where I’d return to,” she says. “But I wanted to come back with expertise that would enrich Miami New Drama and this artistic community.”
Now, she has.
For Claudia, returning to Miami New Drama isn’t simply coming home. It’s bringing everything she learned back to the city that raised her and to an organization that believed in her early in her career.
“I think I owed it to Miami New Drama,” she says.
What Does a Managing Director Actually Do?
For Claudia, the job comes down to one thing: creating the conditions for great art to thrive.
That means stewarding financial resources, leading the team, partnering with Michel, and serving as a resource for the community—not just in Miami Beach, but across Greater Miami.
Five Years From Now
“In five years, I hope we’ll be in our new home at Collins Park, producing in both the Colony Theatre and brand new black box,” she says, then adds with a laugh, “And who knows, maybe a Tony by then.”
It’s ambitious. But ambition is in Miami New Drama’s DNA.
“Miami Does Cultura”
Another essential ingredient in Claudia’s vision: Miami audiences.
“They’re so alive,” she says. “There’s so much vitality. It’s unlike anywhere else in the country.”
Other cities do culture.
“But Miami does cultura.”
A Message to Her Younger Self
If Claudia could go back to that first day as an intern, what would she tell herself?
“You’re unstoppable. You’re exactly where you need to be. And your work will always speak for itself.”
A decade later, those words are a fitting description of the journey that followed. From a Facebook message to the Managing Director’s office. From Miami, out into the world and back home again.
The Next Ten Years
“With this 10th anniversary season, Miami New Drama is marking the beginning of a new chapter for the organization,” she says. “We’re about to enter what I believe will be a renaissance period.”
This season brings together so much of what defines Miami New Drama: beloved playwrights, the return of The Golem of Havana, bold new work, and an immersive production imagining the future of our city.
It honors where we’ve been, who we are, and where we’re going next.
“Thank you for making the past ten years possible, and I hope you’ll join us for what’s ahead.”
We hope you’ll join us, too.
