Warner Crocker is in his ninth season as Artistic Director for Wayside Theatre in Middletown, VA, where he has directed many of the theatres productions including Hank Williams: Lost Highway, A Closer Walk With Patsy Cline, Blithe Spirit, The Christmas Schooner, Ten Little Indians, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, Miracle on 34th Street, The Human Comedy, The Importance of Being Earnest, Laughter on the 23rd Floor, Kiss Me Kate, Barefoot in the Park, On Golden Pond, Foxfire, Art, Dracula, The Matchmaker, Steel Magnolias, Talley's Folly, The Woman in Black, Measure for Measure, The Last Night of Ballyhoo, Tintypes, Stonewall Jackson's House, Yes, Virginia There Is A Santa Claus and La Bête among others. Last season he authored the original play Robert E. Lee and John Brown: Lighting the Fuse and directed the world premiere production at Wayside Theatre. He as also authored Wayside Theatre’s adaptations of Dracula and with Steve Przybylski the musicals A Miracle on 34th Street and A Christmas Carol. During his first six seasons he has succeeded in expanding Wayside Theatre’s season so that now the theatre offers professional quality entertainment year round and he has overseen the growth of an Education program that now serves over 12,000 children regionally with tours, acting classes and other programs.

Prior to joining Wayside he served as Artistic Director of Chicago's New Tuners Theatre and Facility Manager for the Theatre Building where he directed numerous readings and workshop productions of new musicals in development. He has directed over 100 productions including among others the award winning Chicago premiere of The Kentucky Cycle, Passion, La Bête, Pentecost, Noises Off, Edward II, Ironhand, Good, Ballad of the Sad Café (Joseph Jefferson Citation for Best Production), Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Romeo and Juliet and an original two part adaptation of The Three Musketeers. He has directed for the Musical Theatres of Omsk and Yekaterinburg in Russia, Absolute Theatre Company, Zebra Crossing Theatre, Chicago Dramatists, Prologue Theatre, New Tuners Theatre, Buffalo Theatre Ensemble, Pegasus Players and the Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival. In 1981 he founded the Absolute Theatre Company in Chicago and served as its Artistic Director for 8 years.

For New Tuners he directed the world premieres of Trask and Fenn, Hans Brinker, Fat Tuesday and numerous staged readings. He first worked for New Tuners in 1990 when he directed a Russian production of New Tuners' world premiere musical, Charlie's Oasis Museum & Bar for the Musical Theatre of Omsk. Following that successful international collaboration he was commissioned by the Musical Theatre of Omsk to adapt, write and direct a new musical adaptation of The Three Musketeers which had its world premiere on Christmas Day, 1992. He returned to Russia the following year to again direct The Three Musketeers, this time for the Musical Theatre of Yekaterinburg as the opening entry in the 1993 Pan-Russian Musical Theatre Festival, the first American authored and directed piece to ever have that honor. The Three Musketeers is still currently featured in the repertories of both the Musical Theatres of Omsk and Yekaterinburg. In 1998 he again adapted The Three Musketeers, this time for the Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival where this new version had its world premiere in June of 1998.

He was the founder of Plan B Productions which produced the award winning Midwest premiere of David Edgar's Pentecost at the Theatre Building under his direction. He currently sits on the Advisory Board for the Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival and the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts. He has been a past Board member for Virginians for the Arts and the League of Chicago Theatres. In addition to his professional duties, Mr. Crocker has served as a guest professor and director for Columbia College, James Madison University and the University of Illinois-Chicago and Roosevelt University. He is the recipient of five Joseph Jefferson Citations, one each for lighting and set design and three for directing. He has also received an After Dark award for his direction of The Kentucky Cycle, which also received the same award for Best Production, along with his production of Pentecost.