MCT announces search for new Artistic Director
Wednesday, July 25, 2018
Milwaukee Chamber Theatre's producing artistic director C.
Michael Wright has announced that he will step down following the
2019-2020 season, after serving as MCT's second-ever artistic
director for 15 years. The MCT board of directors is now beginning
a regional search for his successor.
Wright, who
succeeded founder Montgomery Davis in 2005, has raised MCT's
artistic profile significantly in the last 15 years. His
achievements include establishing a multifaceted program for new
works, including our Montgomery Davis Play Development Series and
our Young Playwrights Festival Residencies and Showcase; a
five-year Pulitzer Prize series that helped the company branch out
into producing "contemporary classics"; and connecting with the
next generation of theatre artists through a series of local
university collaborations.
"One of my highest priorities has been nurturing the next
generation of theatre artists. And now here's my big opportunity to
truly pass on the baton!" Wright says. "It has been an incredible
journey. When I step down from this position, I will have served
for fifteen long years, which feels like quite a substantial
commitment."
By announcing his departure more than a season in advance,
Wright hopes to give the board the opportunity to select his
successor during the current season, so they can prepare for the
new role during the 2019-20 season (also MCT's 45th
anniversary). The new artistic director will take on the position
full-time beginning with the 2020-21 season.
"I love the fact that I get to celebrate MCT's 45th Anniversary
Season before I depart," Wright says. "I'm planning to make
2019-2020 especially memorable. I hope it will be like a year-long
party!"
MCT managing director Kirsten Finn, who has worked with Wright
for the past decade, says, "Michael is truly a renaissance man -
not only a gifted director and actor, but also blessed with strong
fiscal acumen and the uncanny ability to put the right people in
the room together on any project. During Michael's tenure, MCT has
become known as a place where artists want to work because they are
valued and respected. Identifying a candidate with a similar
passion for openness and inclusion is a priority for the MCT
family."
"Artistic excellence is something that we have not only come to
expect from MCT under Michael's leadership, it is something we have
taken for granted," says MCT board president Patrick Fennelly. "His
legacy with the company is undeniable, and over the next two
seasons I know we will look forward to celebrating everything that
he has accomplished. In our 40+ year history, we have been
fortunate to only have two Artistic Directors, so his retirement
presents us with a unique opportunity to reflect on what MCT means
to the artistic community in Milwaukee and position the company to
continue to thrive in the future under new artistic
leadership."
Additional details about the national search and Wright's final
season with MCT will be released later in the current season. For
now, Wright and Milwaukee Chamber Theatre's focus is on the
beginning of the 2018-19 season, which begins with SHERLOCK HOLMES
AND THE CASE OF THE JERSEY LILY, running August 10-26 in the
Broadway Theatre Center's Cabot Theatre.
< Back To News & Media