Milwaukee Chamber Theatre artistic director C. Michael Wright will step down at the end of the 2019-20 season, the company announced this week.
Wright joined MCT in 2005 as its second-ever artistic director. The MCT board has begun a regional search for a new artistic director.
“One of my highest priorities has been nurturing the next generation of theatre artists. And now here’s my big opportunity to truly pass on the baton,” Wright said. “It has been an incredible journey. When I step down from this position, I will have served for 15 long years, which feels like quite a substantial commitment.”
MCT said Wright has raised the organization’s artistic profile significantly during his tenure. He helped establish a program for new works, including the Montgomery Davis Play Development Series and Young Playwrights Festival residencies and showcase, a five-year Pulitzer Prize series that helped the company branch out into producing “contemporary classics,” and collaborations with local universities, MCT said.
“During Michael’s tenure, MCT has become known as a place where artists want to work because they are valued and respected,” said Kirsten Finn, MCT managing director. “Identifying a candidate with a similar passion for openness and inclusion is a priority for the MCT family.”
MCT will kick off its 2018-19 season with a production of Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Jersey Lily, beginning Aug. 10 in the Broadway Theatre Center’s Cabot Theatre.
