Artistic Leadership Transitions Announced at Artists Rep

Dámaso Rodríguez steps down as Executive Artistic Director at the end of the calendar year to make way for new artistic leadership at Artists Rep. Rodríguez will remain in Portland, where he will join Arts Consulting Group (ACG) as Vice President. Artists Rep's Board of Directors, along with Executive Director J.S. May and Managing Director Kisha Jarrett, have begun succession planning and are collaborating to ensure a smooth artistic leadership transition. In the midst of the transition, the non-profit organization launches its return to in-person production with its 39th season of intimate, provocative theatre. The Board will announce succession plans in October. It is anticipated that Rodríguez will continue collaborating with Artists Rep as a guest artist beyond his tenure as artistic director.

"By stepping down, I believe Artists Rep will have valuable flexibility as it charts the course for the future. I am not leaving Portland, nor do I wish to leave the Artists Rep community of artists. I hope I can continue to maintain a relationship with the theatre as an independent artist and champion for the organization," said Artistic Director, Dámaso Rodríguez.

"Periodic, intentional leadership change is best for a regional theatre-and at this point in life change is good for me and my family." said Rodríguez. "I am inspired to use this moment of field-wide transition to make room for other artist-administrator(s) to guide Artists Rep into its next decade. New leadership is granted a mandate and space to try new things, or to radically change course. My departure will empower them to move forward boldly in the crucial, upcoming years. I'm excited for the next team to lead this vital theatre. Let them build the new, post-pandemic ART (physically and programmatically) in collaboration with the impassioned new generation of staff and artists who are joining the organization."

Rodríguez has spent nine seasons as Artistic Director of Artists Rep and guided the theatre through many periods of transition. During his tenure, Artists Rep joined the League of Resident Theatres (LORT) and produced more than 60 productions, including eight world premieres. Artistic programming highlights include: the establishment of the new works development program, Table/Room/Stage; the organizational residency program, ArtsHub; the expansion of the Resident Artists program to include nearly 40 artists across theatrical disciplines; the pandemic pivot to digital mediums and investment in new creative development processes known as the Mercury Company; and the establishment of the DNA: Oxygen program, which works to transform the company into a theatre rooted in anti-racist, anti-bias practices. Plays developed during his tenure as Artistic Director have been produced in New York, Chicago, London, and throughout the U.S. Directing credits for Artists Rep include the world premiere of the five-hour epic Magellanica (audio drama and stage play) by E.M. Lewis, The Berlin Diaries (Audio Drama) by Andrea Stolowitz, The Vertical City (Audio Drama) by Diana Burbano, Today is My Birthday (Audio Drama) by Susan Soon He Stanton; local premieres of An Octoroon and Everybody by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, The Humans by Stephen Karam, 1984 by George Orwell adapted by Duncan MacMillan & Robert Icke, The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart by David Greig, Feathers and Teeth by Charise Castro Smith, La Ruta by Isaac Gómez, The Skin of Our Teeth by Thornton Wilder (featuring over 150 community guest stars), the U.S. premiere of Dawn King's Foxfinder, the National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere of Wolf Play by Hansol Jung, and the box office record-breaking world premiere musical Cuba Libre by Carlos Lacámara and featuring music by three-time Grammy-nominated Cuban timba band Tiempo Libre.

In addition to helming over 20 Artists Rep productions, Rodríguez's credits include work at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Pasadena Playhouse, Intiman Theatre, South Coast Repertory, Actors Theatre of Louisville, American Conservatory Theater, Seattle Rep, A Noise Within, The Playwrights' Center, the Theatre@Boston Court, and Furious Theatre, among others. Prior to joining Artists Rep, he served as Associate Artistic Director of The Pasadena Playhouse and Co-Artistic Director of L.A.'s Furious Theatre Company. Rodríguez is a recipient of the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award, the BackStage Garland Award, the NAACP Theatre Award, and the Pasadena Arts Council's Gold Crown Award. His productions have been nominated for and won dozens of awards, including the LA Stage Alliance Ovation Award, LA Stage Scene Award, and the LA Weekly Theatre Award. He was honored as a Finalist for the Zelda Fichandler Award by the Stage Directors & Choreographers Foundation and was named a Knowledge Universe Rising Star by Portland Monthly. He is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society and has been honored to serve as a panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts, as a Theatre Communications Group Delegate to the Havana International Theatre Festival, and as a guest of Spain's Ministry of Culture for the Ibero-American Theatre Forum.

"We will miss him and his artistic vision," said Board Chair Pancho Savery, " but we can be nothing but thankful for the years he artistically drove this organization. Because of his leadership, Artists Rep was able to create and commission more new work, hire a slew of new artists, and envisioned new ways of creating during the pandemic. We look forward to the challenge of finding the next leader to continue that pathway into the future."

Regarding RISE - the Campaign for Artists Repertory Theatre to revitalize its facilities at 1515 Morrison, J.S. May will continue to steer the fundraising campaign and ongoing construction project, "I always envisioned my time at ART as a four-five year project to help fund and build a new home for ART and the ArtsHub," said Executive Director, J.S. May. " My time working with and alongside Dámaso has been extraordinary and I look forward to collaborating with new artistic leadership."

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