The Arkansas Repertory Theatre in Little Rock announced on Wednesday various staffing changes and a cut to its yearly show schedule, which will begin with the 2024 season. With the shift, a number of existing staff will be laid off in favor of seasonal and part-time jobs.
Will Trice, who was hired in 2019 and has served as The Rep’s executive artistic director since, will shift into an executive director role. Little Rock native Ken-Matt Martin will join the team as the new interim artistic director.
“A formal search for a permanent Artistic Director will commence soon,” a Wednesday release from The Rep said. “In addition, The Rep will add a third senior leader — a Community Programming Director — who will oversee the theater’s expanded education and civic engagement efforts.”
The 2022-2023 season at The Rep started in mid-September and will go through June 25. Once complete, the season will have featured five distinct shows during that time. The new model will cut the season to May through August and down to three or four productions.
Martin said that the transition is a long time coming. Since 2018, he’s been in a consulting position with The Rep contributing to the discussion of how to keep theater active, he said. Both Trice and Martin said that theaters across the country are having similar discussions of how to attract young people and keep the performing arts alive.
Going forward, The Rep plans to make the space for poets, visual artists and others to showcase their talents. “Education, resource sharing, local artist development and community events” are also listed as part of the new plan that will happen during September through April each year.
With the shift, a number of the existing full-time staff will be let go. Trice wouldn’t say how many will be leaving come July 1, but he said that production roles will hopefully become a competitive, cool opportunity for people in the summer. Some full-time roles will also become part-time roles in the shift. Trice said that some staff members were informed last week that they would be laid off following the close of the 2022-2023 season.
***
A Parkview alum who interned at The Rep as a high school student, Martin has worked in the theater industry for around 20 years and his experience includes director and producer roles at various theaters in major cities across the country. His most recent endeavor is a temporary position as the interim artistic director at the Baltimore Center Stage in Maryland. Until August, he will work the dual interim positions and travel to fulfill his roles.
In his Little Rock role, he hopes to bring productions that are more relatable to Arkansans, while also mixing in the well-known shows.
“Often within the American theater as a whole, there’s a tendency to try to do the things that just feel exciting and popular because they’re in New York or on Broadway,” Martin said. “I’m more interested in actually telling stories that resonate with Arkansans, and are written by folks who are from the South, who really understands the issues that we face as citizens in Little Rock.”
Previously, Martin worked as the artistic director at the Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago for a little more than a year before he was fired. A Chicago Tribune article discusses Martin’s exit, and it addresses allegations that Martin had not created show budgets or secured any theatrical agreements for an upcoming season. Upon Martin’s dismissal, a number of staff were also dismissed because the theater allegedly had no plans to produce shows. Martin denied the allegations and said that the theater was ready for a season announcement.
An article from the Chicago Reader notes a history of conflict at the Victory Gardens Theater. The story further addresses the claims that a season was not planned. Sources confirmed to The Reader that a season was indeed being planned and was going to be announced. It’s an extensive piece that gets into the nitty gritty of the drama, if you’re interested.
Martin said Wednesday that he has no shame around his time at the Chicago theater. He said that he’s been offered, and has turned down, multiple job opportunities across the country to work in Little Rock. He said that his decades of experience in the industry speaks for itself.
“My initial response to the question was, ‘Wait. We’re stealing him away from a much larger organization,’” Trice said.
As executive director, Trice will focus on administration, finance and marketing for the theater, according to a release from The Rep. He said that he gravitates more to the management side of things, but the lines are blurry on an administrative team like The Rep’s. Stuff gets done through complete cooperation, and Trice said he will likely still be fulfilled creatively.