Kristen Coury is the founder, CEO and producing artistic director of Gulfshore Playhouse, founded in 2004. Under her leadership, the playhouse has grown to a staff of 83 people with an annual budget of $14.5 million with no long-term debt. Coury led the charge to create the iconic $75 million state-of-the-art Baker Theatre and Education Center at the gateway to downtown Naples, which opened on November 1, 2024. As part of this project, Coury ignited one of the largest public/private partnerships in City of Naples history, initiating a land-swap with the Wynn family and, together, donating over an acre of land to the city upon which to build a public parking garage.
Coury has directed nearly 50 productions for the playhouse. Recently, she directed the inaugural show in the Baker Theatre and Education Center, Anything Goes, and is hard at work on Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Coury was named one of the Men and Women of the Year by Gulfshore Life in 2013 and again in 2024. She also received the Murray Hendel Award for Civic Achievement in 2023. She is currently a member of the board of the Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce. Coury is very honored to have been appointed to Florida Council for arts and culture by Senate President Kathleen Passidomo. She was named one of the one of the Top 100 Most Influential Business Leaders in Collier County for the last four years.
2640 Golden Gate Pkwy., Suite 211
Naples, FL 34105
239-261-7529
gulfshoreplayhouse.org
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