Rex is a DC based theatre artist and currently serves as the Artistic Director of Theatre at Solas Nua. Originally from Oklahoma City, both of his parents grew up on farms and taught him the value of hard work and good company. Rex has made the DC area his home since 2007.
During his tenure with Solas Nua, Rex has garnered international acclaim for his productions and earned multiple Helen Hayes Awards and nominations. The Washington Post said that Rex “is hope for Solas Nua to re-plant its imaginative flag forcefully on this city’s theatre map” and Charles Isherwood of The New York Times praised him as, “sheer energy...exciting performances...with Mr. Daugherty in particular finding all sorts of robust comedy.” His work has been featured in The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, on the cover of American Theatre Magazine, The Irish Times and aired on RTE - Ireland’s national broadcast. Recently, his one-man performance in The Smuggler was listed by The New York Times as one of the best theatre productions of 2019, nationwide.
Outside of Solas Nua he has worked at The Kennedy Center, The Shakespeare Theatre Company, The National Theatre, The Warner Theatre, Ford's Theatre, Signature Theatre, Round House Theatre, Folger Theatre, Theater J, Rep Stage, Imagination Stage, 1st Stage, Theater Alliance, Arts on the Horizon, and many more DC area companies.
As a writer and play-maker, his work has been produced regionally for over ten years. Most recently, his musical The Devil & June Gantry was a semi-finalist at The Eugene O’Neil Center’s American Music Theatre Festival. BEEP BEEP, written and directed by Rex, earned a Helen Hayes Award Nomination for Outstanding TYA Production.
Rex moonlights as a singer songwriter and has written several TYA musicals which have enjoyed regional theatre productions. You can download some music here!