Chichester Festival Theatre Chichester Festival Theatre Chichester Festival Theatre, located in Chichester, Sussex, England, is a theatre designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, and opened by its founder Leslie Evershed-Martin in 1962. The smaller and more intimate Minerva Theatre was built nearby in 1989. The inaugural Artistic Director was Sir Laurence Olivier, and it was at Chichester that the first National Theatre company was formed. Chichester's productions would transfer to the NT's base at the Old Vic in London. The opening productions in 1962 were: "The Chances" by John Fletcher (first production 1638) which opened on 3 July; "The Broken Heart" (1633),
John Rea (artistic director) taught music and drama in the Philadelphia School District and the Delaware County School District. John Rea (artistic director) John Rea (born 1967) is an American playwright/lyricist/composer and Artistic Director of MacGuffin Theatre & Film Company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA since 1998. Rea earned a BA in music from Temple University and a MA in theater from Villanova University. He was the director of Discovery Division for youth at the Walnut Street Theatre from 1995-99. He was the Literary Manager/Dramaturg for Philadelphia Theatre Company from 1997-99. He has directed or produced all MacGuffin productions and teaches a variety of classes