Tuesday, October 17, 2017
Pittsburgh theaters face a wave of change at the top
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: By late fall, for the first time in 18 seasons, there will be a new artistic director at Pittsburgh Public Theater. It may take another full season before City Theatre undergoes a similar seismic shift at the top, but change is on the way there, too.
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I had heard about Ted Pappas stepping down, but I did not know about Tracy Brigden. This is a really interesting situation and the article does a nice job exploring both of the theatre’s situations. The trend that I noticed that the article did not really talk and also noticed in the map of theatres across the countries looking for new artistic directors is that many of these directors are leaving after 15+ years at the company. These directors made their mark and they are ready to move on. I think this is good timing and may give a chance to put more people that have important stories to tell in charge of these wonderful theatres. It’s encouraging to hear that the Pittsburgh Public wanted more diverse candidates in their pool and took steps to achieve that. I hope that we see younger applicants land in some of these positions and bring a fresh face to American theatre.
The article and Ted Pappas both seem optimistic in finding a suitable replacement for Ted Pappas. This was an off-putting point because the article outlines how Pappas was both Artistic Director, directing three shows and choosing a season of shows, as well as Managing Director and being a major fundraiser. Ted Pappas clearly does a lot for The Public and I wonder what will change at The Public just because there is a loss of a such a great leader. Will the company lose funding? How many people will be hired to replace him? The article doesn’t seem to show a concern in regards to this question, which I think is an important point to look at when an artistic director is replaced. I’m glad to see that The Public was looking for a little more diversity in their choice of new artistic director. Though, with City’s more eclectic range of shows, I am surprised that it too isn’t looking for a more diverse artistic director or at least not publicising its decision to do so. Diversity is important to producing strong art and having that in an artistic director is important.
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