In this new monthly format for our Entrances and Exits section, we share the latest leadership updates at theatres around the country.
NEW YORK CITY: Keen Company has announced Kelly Kerwin as artistic director and Annie Middleton as producing director. In a new dual leadership model, the pair will share responsibilities as co-leaders, beginning in July. They take up the baton passed on from previous artistic director Jonathan Silverstein, who stepped down on June 30 after a 13-year tenure. Kerwin was previously the artistic director of Oklahoma City Repertory Theater, where she restored the company into the region’s top contemporary theatre, led The Public Theater’s Devised Theater Working Group, and produced work-in-progress showings as part of the Under the Radar Festival. Middleton recently served as a general manager consultant at the Perelman Performing Arts Center and a development consultant with A.D. Hamingson & Associates, working with organizations including New York Stage and Film and the Bushwick Starr.
SEATTLE: Seattle Children’s Theatre (SCT) has announced Johamy Morales as its next artistic director. Morales, an award-winning director, educator, and arts leader, becomes the sixth artistic director in the organization’s 50-year history—and the first woman of color to hold the position. With the 2025-26 season already under her artistic direction, Morales begins her official tenure this month, bringing both a long-term vision and deep institutional knowledge to the role. Her journey with SCT began in 2008, when she joined as an education intern. As artistic director, Morales will shape the theatre’s artistic programming in partnership with managing director, Kevin Malgesini and the board. She will oversee the development of new productions, strengthen relationships with artists and the community, and further SCT’s commitment to education, access, and equity.
PHILADELPHIA: Theatre Philadelphia has announced that executive director Sabriaya Shipley is transitioning away from their role, with a last day of July 18. In a letter to the community, the board noted that they have been a “strong voice…through tumultuous times,” coming into their leadership with the mission “to create archives honoring a thorough and inclusive history of theatre in Philadelphia, rooms for radical collaborative action and fostering the next generation of theatre makers.” During their tenure, they led community gatherings and conversations and programming, such as the Living Legends Series, The Act Two Next Generation Youth Cohort, and the Ubuntu Young Artist Fellowship. Over the summer, the board will find a new leader for Theatre Philadelphia to help guide the organization into the future.
RHINEBECK, N.Y.: The Rhinebeck Writers Retreat has announced that Erica Rotstein will succeed founding executive director Kathy Evans as executive director. Founder Kathy Evans will continue to head the organization through the end of the 2025 summer residencies to ensure a smooth transition, as Rhinebeck is preparing to kick off its 15th summer hosting weeklong residencies in the Hudson Valley, supporting 24 writers developing nine new musicals. Rotstein will officially assume the role of executive director on Sept. 1. Rotstein brings nearly two decades of experience nurturing writers and new work, defined by a deep commitment to artist care. She is a Tony-winning producer, talent manager, and educator focused on nurturing generative artists and new musicals.
BANGOR, MAINE: Penobscot Theatre Company (PTC) has announced Jen Shepard as its new artistic director. Shepard succeeds Jonathan Berry, who served in the role since 2021. A familiar figure in Maine’s arts community, Shepard has been an integral force at PTC for more than a decade. She joined the staff full-time in 2020 during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and became executive director in early 2021. She revitalized corporate partnerships, launched innovative community initiatives, secured critical infrastructure funding for the historic Bangor Opera House, and helped shape the company’s long-term strategic vision. Shepard was the co-founder of ImprovAcadia, a seasonal Bar Harbor-based comedy venue that operated in 2004-2019. Her improv work has informed PTC productions she created and directed, including Ready, Set, Go! and Kick in Your Dickens.
ALBANY, N.Y.: Capital Repertory Theatre’s production of Once (July 11-Aug. 10) will be the final show directed by producing artistic director Maggie Mancinelli-Cahill, concluding a legacy leading the theatre. Mancinelli-Cahill announced her plans to step down earlier this year after 30 years helming the theatre. She joined Capital Repertory Theatre as its producing artistic director in 1995 and guided the organization through changes in leadership and the development of a new venue during a global pandemic, launched many careers in the arts, and introduced thousands of Capital Region residents to new productions. She has directed more than 125 productions, workshops, and readings, directed at least two plays or musicals each season, and created plays for the On the Go touring program for 14 counties of upstate New York, reaching more than 15,000 students annually.
SARATOGA, CALIF.: South Bay Musical Theatre (SBMT) has announced that Michael Paul Hirsch will be its new executive director, effective July 1. Hirsch brings a unique blend of artistic passion and professional expertise, having served the company for years as a performer, volunteer, and, most recently, as board chair since 2020 and de facto executive director. A familiar face on the SBMT stage, Hirsch has been instrumental in shaping the organization’s direction through the challenges and transitions of recent years. The decision follows a recent strategic planning retreat by SBMT’s board. Hiring a full-time executive director marks a significant step in SBMT’s evolution, providing consistent, focused leadership to guide the company’s future growth.
TWIN CITIES, MINN.: New works company Trademark Theater has announced that Merritt Rodriguez will be the company’s new managing director in advance of its ninth season. She will begin the position on August 4. The staffing expansion to include a managing director is a first for Trademark, evolving from a dual artistic leadership model that the company was founded on. Rodriguez studied theatre production at Florida State University and moved to the Twin Cities in 2012. After a freelance career, she became the production manager for Penumbra Theatre Company in 2016 and transitioned to become the Guthrie Theater’s development and events production manager in 2019. During the pandemic, she stepped away from theatre to support Minnesota’s state initiatives providing testing and vaccination to the community at large. The community can meet Rodriguez at the company’s season launch event on July 14.
