BOSTON: Front Porch Arts Collective (“The Porch”) has announced leadership transitions that mark a new chapter in the company’s history. Co-founder and current co-producing artistic director Maurice Emmanuel Parent will step into the role of producing artistic director on July 1, in a transition that coincides with the departure of Dawn M. Simmons, fellow co-founder, recently appointed artistic director at SpeakEasy Stage Company.
“It’s an incredible honor to carry the torch as the Porch enters this exciting next phase,” Parent said in a statement. “Dawn and I built this company from the ground up, and I’m immensely proud of what we’ve accomplished together. I’m thrilled to lead an extraordinary team—Pascale and the entire staff and board—as we deepen our commitment to telling powerful Black stories on Boston stages and beyond.”
In addition to Parent’s new role, the Porch’s current director of education, Pascale Florestal, will assume the expanded role of associate artistic director. In this role, she will continue her work within the company’s education programs, and take a larger role in new-play development and community engagement initiatives. Changes are effective July 1.
Parent will direct the company’s season opener, a production of of Katori Hall’s award-winning play The Mountaintop, a fictional and fantastical account of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s final night on earth. The season also includes the eighth installment of Boston’s Ufot Family Cycle with In Old Age.
Front Porch Arts Collective is Boston’s premiere Black theatre company, committed to advancing racial equity through theatre. As of 2023, its budget was $1.2 million.
