Robyn Rikoon To Step Down as Artistic Director of Santa Fe Playhouse

Santa Fe Playhouse (SFP) has announced that Robyn Rikoon is stepping down as its Artistic Director after a three-and-a-half-year tenure leading the regional theatre and advancing its legacy of artistic excellence. Rikoon will leave her role at SFP at the end of this month to pursue her career as an independent theatre and filmmaker.

Colin Hovde, Executive Director, who has worked closely with Rikoon since being appointed to his position two years ago, will work in partnership with SFP's Board of Trustees, Associate Artistic Director Antonio Miniño, General Manager David Stallings and Production Manager Emily Rankin to oversee the continued success of the current season.

“Under Robyn's leadership, SFP has taken significant steps in our journey to become a professional theater with national acclaim,” said Colin Hovde, Executive Director. “We thank Robyn for moving SFP forward with her vision and energy. We are excited for the rest of the 2023 season curated during Robyn's leadership, which will continue to offer Santa Fe audiences opportunities to connect, engage, and be thoroughly entertained at the Playhouse.”

SFP's 2023 season, led by titles including David Stallings' The Baby Monitor, Lynne Nottage's Sweat, the currently running production of Robert L. Freedman and Steven Lutvak's A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, and the upcoming all-Indigenous musical Bear Grease, includes a mix of world-class self-produced productions alongside co-produced and presented theater works, reimagining the theatre's programming to create a sustainable model on which to build towards the future. 

“Over the past three and a half years, Robyn has done so much to help SFP flourish, beginning with her work to navigate the theatre through the challenges of the pandemic,” said Erin Bunkley, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Santa Fe Playhouse. “We are deeply grateful to Robyn for her hard work, dedication, and artistic talent. We wish Robyn continued success in her future endeavors as an actor and director.”

As Artistic Director of SFP, Rikoon has shepherded the organization through a significant transformation. She piloted a range of new programming during the COVID-19 pandemic, including a virtual theatrical series for the 2020 Fiesta Melodrama. Her work onstage as an actor in productions such as #UndertheInfluence and as a director on shows like Sweat and The Effect were highlights of the last few years. And her drive to create a new education program led to the Playhouse Studio and Summer Youth Intensive, two programs that serve Santa Feans of all ages with continuing education and entry into building a career in the theater.

“I've enjoyed my time at the Playhouse and am very proud of the work I have done for the theater community here in Santa Fe as well as the team and legacy I leave behind. I deeply appreciate all the valuable experiences I have gained and the opportunity the Playhouse gave me to learn about producing theater and leadership. I'm excited to take these skills with me as I pursue the next steps of my personal career,” says Rikoon.

Santa Fe Playhouse Board of Trustees will begin searching for a new artistic director in the coming weeks and announce additional details when the search commences.

 

ABOUT SANTA FE PLAYHOUSE

Santa Fe Playhouse (SFP) is a community-based professional theater in historic downtown Santa Fe, New Mexico, supported by an experienced staff and overseen by a local Board of Trustees. Producing out of a 99-seat historic adobe theater, SFP presents multiple mainstage productions every year, the annual Fiesta Melodrama, new work development, and Playhouse Studio, an educational program. SFP welcomes over 8,000 patrons into the theater from northern New Mexico, the greater US, and worldwide with a mission of connecting artists and audiences to engage in dialogue to examine, uplift, challenge, and heal.

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