Ralph Remington (born January 2, 1963) is an American former politician, artist, theater director and writer. He was appointed by Mayor

London Breed London Nicole Breed (born August 11, 1974) is an American politician who served as the 45th mayor of San Francisco from 2018 to 2025. She was supervisor for District 5 and was president of the Board of Supervisors from 2015 to 2018. Raised in t ...

as Director of Cultural Affairs for the

San Francisco Arts Commission The San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) is the City agency that champions the arts as essential to daily life by investing in a vibrant arts community, enlivening the urban environment and shaping innovative cultural policy in San Francisco, Cal ...

and the City and County of San Francisco in January 2021. Remington is the former Deputy Director for Arts and Culture for the City of Tempe, Arizona. He also had artistic responsibility for the

Tempe Center for the Arts Tempe Center for the Arts (TCA) is a publicly owned performing and visual arts center in Tempe, Arizona. It opened in September 2007 and houses a 600-seat proscenium theater, a 200-seat studio theater, and a 3,500-square-foot gallery. Its Lakeside ...

. Remington is the former Western Regional Director/Assistant Executive Director of

Actors' Equity Association The Actors' Equity Association (AEA), commonly called Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American trade union, labor union representing those who work in Theatre, live theatrical performance. Performers appearing in live stage productions w ...

. In 2010 he became the Director of Theater and Musical Theater for the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

. He currently resides in

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. Remington has written seven feature screenplays and two plays. He is founding producing

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogu ...

of Pillsbury House Theatre, in Minneapolis Minnesota where he was also an elected member of the

Minneapolis City Council The Minneapolis City Council is the Legislature, legislative branch of the city of Minneapolis in Minnesota, United States. Comprising 13 members, the council holds the authority to create and modify laws, policies, and ordinances that govern the ...

. He served one term from 2006 through 2010.

Early life

Ralph Remington grew up in

West Philadelphia West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of the city of Philadelphia. Although there are no officially defined boundaries, it is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River, to City Avenue to the n ...

. His parents are Ralph and Sadie Satterthwaite. He has two younger siblings. He attended Anderson Elementary School, Julia R. Masterman School and Turner Middle School. He was also a student at

Central High School (Philadelphia) Central High School is a public high school in the Logan, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Logan"." Philadelphia City Planning Commission. May 2002. 1 (document page 3). Retrieved on August 2, 2011. "The neighborhood is generally defined as including ...

before leaving in his second year for The

Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts The Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts, commonly known as CAPA, is a magnet school in South Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the edge of the Christian Street Historic District. It is a part of the School Distr ...

. Remington is a member of the first graduating class of The

, in 1980. While in high school, he was a TV moderator/host for the series ''Perspective Youth'' on the ABC-TV affiliate

WPVI-TV WPVI-TV (channel 6) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Owned and operated by the ABC television network through its ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station maintains studios on City Avenue in t ...

in Philadelphia. He changed his name professionally from Satterthwaite to Remington upon joining the acting unions in the 1980s. His first acting gig under an Equity contract was ''Soulful Scream of a Chosen Son'' at The Philadelphia Festival Theater for New Plays. While living in New York City, he was a member of the company ''Thunder in the Light''. After receiving his

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA). Background ...

degree from

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

, Remington enlisted in the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

. He completed Basic Training at Fort Jackson. He was then sent to Communications School at

Fort Gordon Fort Gordon, formerly known as Fort Eisenhower and Camp Gordon, is a United States Army installation established southwest of Augusta, Georgia in October 1941. It is the current home of the United States Army Signal Corps, United States Army Cy ...

, in

Augusta, Georgia Augusta is a city on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies directly across the Savannah River from North Augusta, South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Augusta, the third mos ...

. After graduation from Fort Gordon he received orders to report to McNair Kaserne 32nd Signal Battalion in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, Germany in 1985. He was stationed in V Corps under the command of General

Colin Powell Colin Luther Powell ( ; – ) was an Americans, American diplomat, and army officer who was the 65th United States secretary of state from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African-American to hold the office. He was the 15th National Security ...

. He lived in Frankfurt, Germany for two and a half years. He received an

Honorable Discharge A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve. Each country's military has different types of discharge. They are generally based on whether the persons completed their training and the ...

in 1988.

Career

Remington founded Pillsbury House Theatre out of the settlement house tradition of community collaboration. He served as Pillsbury's producing artistic director, managing a $500,000 budget. He also selected and oversaw a four-to-six play annual series; founded Breaking Ice, a touring multiracial, socio-political improv company for youth and adults; and created the Chicago Avenue Project where children write and perform original plays with professional actors. The program received a Coming Up Taller award in 2005. Presented by the First Lady

Laura Bush Laura Lane Welch Bush (née Welch; born November 4, 1946) is an American educator who was the first lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009 as the wife of George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the United States. Bush was previously the fir ...

on behalf of the

President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities The President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH) was an advisory committee to the President of the United States on cultural issues. It works directly with the White House and the three primary cultural agencies: the National End ...

, Coming Up Taller awards recognize outstanding community arts and humanities programs that celebrate the creativity of America's young people. In addition, Remington has directed at

Intermedia Arts Twin Cities hip hop, also referred to as Minneapolis hip hop, is sub-genre of rap music that originates from the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Minnesota. History Hip hop culture in the Twin Cities can be traced ...

Painted Bride Art Center The Painted Bride Art Center, sometimes referred to informally as The Bride, is a non-profit artist-centered performance space and gallery particularly oriented to presenting the work of local Philadelphia artists, which presents dance, jazz, wo ...

, The Southern Theater and

Walker Art Center The Walker Art Center is a multidisciplinary contemporary art center in the Lowry Hill, Minneapolis, Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is one of the most-visited modern and contemporary art museums in ...

. Remington is also a former member of the

Guthrie Theater The Guthrie Theater, founded in 1963, is a center for theater performance, production, education, and professional training in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The concept of the theater was born in 1959 in a series of discussions among Sir Tyrone Gut ...

acting company, in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, Minnesota with

Rainn Wilson Rainn Percival Dietrich Wilson (born January 20, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, podcaster, producer, writer, and director. He starred as Dwight Schrute on NBC's American adaptation of ''The Office'' from 2005 to 2013, and received t ...

in ''The Venetian Twins''. In the spring of 2002, Remington directed a production of

Amiri Baraka Amiri Baraka (born Everett Leroy Jones; October 7, 1934 – January 9, 2014), previously known as LeRoi Jones and Imamu Amear Baraka, was an American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays, and music criticism. He was the author of numerous b ...

's ''Dutchman'' at the Source Theater in Washington. He was the executive director of the Media Artists Resource Center in St. Paul where he was responsible for fundraising and strategic planning and engineered a successful merger with the Independent Filmmaker Project. Remington ran to represent Minneapolis's Ward 10 on the

, defeating Scott Persons 55%–45% in the

2005 election The following elections occurred in the year 2005. * 2005 United Nations Security Council election Africa * 2005 Burkinabé presidential election * 2005 Burundian Senate election * 2005 Burundian communal elections * 2005 Burundian constitutio ...

to replace retiring incumbent Dan Niziolek. Remington's term began January 2, 2006. He did not run for reelection in

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

and was succeeded by Meg Tuthill at the end of his term on January 4, 2010. Remington has directed, produced and acted in over 50 plays. He served as artistic associate and director of community engagement with Arena Stage, overseeing all of the company's outreach and education programs and a staff of 19, managing a $750,000 budget. While at Arena, he led the Living Stage Theater Company, created and toured a devised work piece called ''America: Work in Progress'', and directed Dael Orlandersmith's critically acclaimed ''The Gimmick'' and ''Talking With'' by

Jane Martin Jane Martin is the pen name of a playwright who has been active from 1981 to the present, whose real identity remains unknown. Martin's plays include ''Anton in Show Business'', ''Back Story'', ''Beauty'', ''Coup/Clucks'', '' Cementville'', ''Cri ...

. In January 2014, Remington become the western regional director for

, the union of professional actors. Remington served as the Director for Theater and Musical Theater at the

. He was responsible for the grantmaking processes for theater and musical theater, developing partnerships to advance the theater field as a whole, and leading large-scale theater projects such as the NEA's New Play Development Program. He was appointed by NEA chairman and Broadway theatre producer,

Rocco Landesman Rocco Landesman (born July 20, 1947) is a long-time Broadway theatre producer. He served as chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts from August 2009 to December 2012. He is a part owner of Jujamcyn Theaters. Early life Landesman was bor ...

. Remington is Director of Cultural Affairs for the San Francisco Arts Commission. He is the former Deputy Director of Arts and Culture for the City of Tempe, AZ. In that capacity he functioned as Artistic Director for the Tempe Center for the Arts. Remington served as the Western Regional Director/Assistant Executive Director of

(AEA).

Pillsbury House Theatre

* ''Yacub: Mad Scientist or Genius?'' by Homer Jackson director Ralph Remington (1992) * ''Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act'' by

Athol Fugard Harold Athol Lanigan Fugard (; 11 June 19328 March 2025) was a South African playwright, novelist, actor and director. Widely regarded as South Africa's greatest playwright and acclaimed as "the greatest active playwright in the English-speaki ...

director Ralph Remington (1992) * ''Gerry Girouard Dancers in The Shadows of the Diamond Realm'' (1992) * ''Danny and the Deep Blue Sea'' by

John Patrick Shanley John Patrick Shanley (born October 13, 1950) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and director. He won the 1988 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the film ''Moonstruck''. His play, '' Doubt: A Parable'', won the 2005 Pulitzer Pri ...

director Ralph Remington (1993) * ''Slow Dance on the Killing Ground'' by

William Hanley William Hanley (October 22, 1931 – May 25, 2012) was an American playwright, novelist, and scriptwriter, born in Lorain, Ohio. Hanley wrote plays for the theatre, radio and television and published three novels in the 1970s. He was related t ...

director Ralph Remington (1993) * ''Power Tools'' by Xavier Leonard director Ralph Remington (1993) * ''The Taking of Miss Janie'' by

Ed Bullins Edward Artie Bullins (July 2, 1935November 13, 2021), sometimes publishing as Kingsley B. Bass Jr, was an American playwright. He won awards including the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award and several Obie Awards. Bullins was associated wit ...

director Ralph Remington (1993) * ''Azande in Les Mannequins'' by Azande director Azande (1993) * ''The Colors of Desire'' by Alexs Pate and David Mura director Ralph Remington (1994) * ''Savage in Limbo'' by

director Ralph Remington (1994) * ''Thoughts from a Cultural Revolutionary'' by Ralph Remington director Ralph Remington (1994) * ''Combination Skin'' by

Lisa Jones Lisa Victoria Chapman Jones (born August 15, 1961)Ellis, Trey (1988). ''Platitudes & "The new black aesthetic"''. Northeastern University Press, Ann Arbor. is an American playwright, essayist, journalist, and memoirist. Personal life and educa ...

director Dawn Renee Jones (1994) * ''MultiCultiBoho Sideshow'' by Alexs Pate director Ralph Remington (1994) * ''This City of Dreams'' by Walter Allen Bennett, Jr. director Ralph Remington (1995) * ''The Hittite Empire in Undersiege Stories'' by the

Hittite Empire The Hittites () were an Anatolian peoples, Anatolian Proto-Indo-Europeans, Indo-European people who formed one of the first major civilizations of the Bronze Age in West Asia. Possibly originating from beyond the Black Sea, they settled in mo ...

(1995) * ''The Punic Wars'' by

Sirius B Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Greek word (Latin script: ), meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated Canis Majoris, Latinized to Alpha Canis Majoris, and abbre ...

(1995) * ''Extremities'' by

William Mastrosimone William Mastrosimone (born August 19, 1947) is an American playwright and screenwriter from Trenton, New Jersey. He attended high school at The Pennington School and received a graduate degree in playwriting from Mason Gross School of the Arts, ...

director Ralph Remington (1996) * ''Sexual Perversity in Chicago'' by

David Mamet David Alan Mamet (; born November 30, 1947) is an American playwright, author, and filmmaker. He won a Pulitzer Prize and received Tony Award, Tony nominations for his plays ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' (1984) and ''Speed-the-Plow'' (1988). He first ...

director Dwight Callaway (1996) * ''Bring the Children Home'' by Marci Rendon directors Noel Raymond & Heidi Hunter Batz (1996) * ''Streamers'' by

David Rabe David William Rabe (born March 10, 1940) is an American playwright and screenwriter. He won the Tony Award for Best Play in 1972 ('' Sticks and Bones'') and also received Tony Award nominations for Best Play in 1974 ('' In the Boom Boom Room''), ...

director Noel Raymond (1997) * ''Women of Manhattan'' by

director Ralph Remington (1997) * ''The Brunette Breck Girl'' by Heidi Arnesan director Heidi Arnesan (1997) * ''Burn This'' by

Lanford Wilson Lanford Wilson (April 13, 1937March 24, 2011) was an American playwright. His work, as described by ''The New York Times'', was "earthy, realist, greatly admired ndwidely performed". Fox, Margalit"Lanford Wilson, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Playwrigh ...

director Ralph Remington (1997) * ''The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window'' by

Lorraine Hansberry Lorraine Vivian Hansberry (May 19, 1930 – January 12, 1965) was an American playwright and writer. She was the first African-American female author to have a play performed on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Her best-known work, the play ''A Raisin ...

directors Dwight Callaway & Ralph Remington (1998) * ''Where I'm At'' conceived, developed and directed by Heidi Hunter Batz (1998) * ''Dutchman'' by LeRoi Jones director Brian Goranson (1998) * ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' by

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the three ...

director Leah C. Gardiner (1999) * ''Shelter'' (staged reading) by Dwight Hobbes director Ralph Remington (1999)

Personal life

Remington was married to German designer Andrea Moseler in 1988. They divorced in 1991. He has been with current spouse Mary Remington since 2000. He has two step-daughters. Remington has also lived in New York City,

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

, and

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights, Californi ...

, as an actor and screenwriter.

References

Speeches and Publications, Minneapolis City Council
(archived)

External links

*http://www.nea.gov/news/news10/Ralph-Remington-NEA-appointment.html/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Remington, Ralph 1963 births Living people Minneapolis City Council members Minnesota Democrats Businesspeople from Philadelphia Politicians from Philadelphia Military personnel from Philadelphia