Dec. 11, 2007
Peter DuBois To Be Next Artistic Director
Tenure begins July 2008; Will program 2008-2009 Season
(BOSTON) – Peter DuBois—the award-winning resident director and former associate producer at New York's
acclaimed Public Theater, and former artistic director of Alaska's innovative
Perseverance Theatre Company—will become the Huntington Theatre Company's
Norma Jean Calderwood Artistic Director on July 1, 2008.
Huntington Board of Trustees Chairman J. David Wimberly made the announcement today after the Board ratified
the results of an 11-month national search. DuBois succeeds Nicholas Martin,
who has been artistic director since 2000 and announced last year he would
leave the company in June 2008.
"Peter's distinctive strength is his ability to understand and cultivate both sides of an artistic
organization," Wimberly says. "He is a first-rate director, a gifted nurturer
of talent, and a true institutional leader."
"I'm thrilled to inherit one of this country's most artistically vital and important theatre companies," DuBois
says. "Michael (Maso, the Huntington's long-term managing director) and
Nicholas have done a marvelous job building the institution to its next level.
The fantastic theatre spaces, a strong partnership with Boston University, and
the incredible staff and board form a remarkable foundation to build a future
upon. I look forward to unifying all elements of the Huntington into a vision
that embraces the best of the American theatre, for the benefit of the artists
who work here, our subscribers, and the Boston audiences.
"I'm particularly excited to meet the people of this city, welcome them into the Huntington, and let them know
this is their theater. They deserve a
sense of ownership here and I want to find ways to invite them into the
process, to generate excitement for the work on stage. As I have
done—and seen done—in other places, I think we can remove the
distance between artists and audiences, and allow our patrons to embrace
theatre as an everyday event in their lives.
"Making the Huntington part of the next chapter in my life as a director is truly thrilling. I grew up in New
England, and Boston feels like home to me; I can't wait to be there," DuBois says.
"I am delighted to welcome Peter DuBois to the Huntington," said Managing Director Michael Maso, "and
congratulate the search committee on an inspired choice. Peter has the energy,
artistry, and experience to be one of the country's finest institutional
theatre leaders. With great enthusiasm I look forward to the excitement he
will bring to our partnership and to the theatre community in Boston."
DuBois' Public Theater production of Shakespeare's Richard III starred
Peter Dinklage (The Station Agent) and Mercedes Herrero. Photo: Michal Daniel
In more than four years at the
Public, which is considered among America's top theatres, DuBois directed a
number of major productions, including the 2006 OBIE Award-winning production
of David Grimm's "Measure for Pleasure" (for which he also won the prestigious
Joe A. Callaway Award for excellence in directing from the Society of Stage
Directors and Choreographers), the acclaimed 2004 staging of "Richard III" with
Peter Dinklage for the New York Shakespeare Festival, and 2007's "Jack Goes
Boating," in collaboration with the LAByrinth Theatre Company and starring
Philip Seymour Hoffman, John Ortiz, and Daphne Rubin-Vega.
DuBois' wide-ranging
responsibilities at the Public also have included work on the theatre company's
Broadway transfers and co-productions with high-profile New York companies such as LAByrinth, The Wooster Group, and
The Civilians, as well as oversight of international artistic
collaborations, most notably with Dublin's Abbey Theatre and The Royal Court
Theatre in London.
A champion of young talent, DuBois
developed and managed programs to support rising stage directors at the Public,
and served as the company's artistic liaison to its patrons, corporate funders,
and individual supporters.
Philip Seymour Hoffman (2nd from l.) starred with (l.-r.) Beth Cole, John Ortiz and Daphne Rubin-Vega (Lucy) in DuBois' staging of the Public Theater/LAByrinth Theatre Company production of Jack Goes Boating. Photo: Monique Carboni
Before being recruited to the
Public, DuBois was artistic director of Perseverance Theatre in Juneau, Alaska.
A mid-sized regional company, Perseverance is hailed for distinctive artistic
boldness, innovation, and a dedication to its community and its audience.
There, DuBois directed revivals of Beckett, Shakespeare, and Chekhov, and
introduced modern-day works by Paula Vogel, Suzan-Lori Parks, and others.
He also helped steady the company's financial status by cutting debt, and raising more than $2.5 million in capital
and endowment campaigns for artistic commissions and facility upgrades. During his
tenure at Perseverance, the company grew to be Alaska's largest producing arts
organization, and the highest-rated by the state's arts council. Committed
to theatre education and training, he also created a professional training
program with the University of Alaska.
DuBois' years at the Public saw him
producing, directing and/or shepherding productions comprising hundreds of
top-notch actors—including well-known stars Meryl Streep, Michael
Cerveris, and Rosie Perez, among others—and many of the country's top
playwrights such as Tony Kushner, Christopher Durang, Neil LaBute, Caryl
Churchill, Jose Rivera, and Craig Lucas. Productions he directed have been nominated for several Drama
League Awards, and in 1999 he was named by American Theatre Magazine as one of
the 15 artists who would "transform America's stages for decades to come."
Liza Colon-Zayas, Andre Royo, and Elizabeth Rodriguez in DuBois' production of the new play A View From 151st Street by Bob Glaudini. Presented by LAByrinth Theater Company. Photo credit: Monique Carboni.
DuBois is a well-respected stage
director with a robust career in New York, across the United States and around
the world. Two theatre projects that DuBois developed—a musical called
"The Long Season" by Chay Yew and Fabian Obispo, and "The Doll Plays" by Alva
Rogers—received Rockefeller Multi-Arts Production (MAP) Fellowships that support
innovative new works in the live performing arts. "The Long Season" premiered
at Perseverance in 2005 and had a well-received workshop production earlier
this year at New Jersey's George Street Playhouse. DuBois also is working with
playwright/actor Sam Shepard on a new version of Shepard's "The Curse of the
Starving Class," which he will direct at San Francisco's American Conservatory
Theatre in the spring of 2008.
Other projects DuBois has under
development include a musical by writer Rachel Sheinken ("25th
Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee"), Tony Award-nominated composer Michael John
LaChiusa, and singer/actress Lea Delaria; a new interpretation of Clare Booth
Luce's "The Women" with Perez; a contemporary update of "The Mikado"; and a
revival of Moliere's "Tartuffe" with Dinklage.
A recognized and sought-after
leader in the American theatre community, DuBois served for six years as a
board member and executive committee member of Theatre Communications Group,
the influential national trade organization.
DuBois received a bachelor's degree
from Villanova University, holds a master's degree in theatre from Brown
University, and has studied at St. Catherine's College (Oxford University), and at University
College in Galway, which is affiliated with Ireland's Druid Lane Theatre
Company.
The artistic director position at
the Huntington was endowed in 2002 by the late Stanford Calderwood in honor of
his wife, Huntington trustee Norma Jean Calderwood.
Theatre Artists and Colleagues on Peter DuBois
Michael Cerveris
Tony Award-winning actor and colleague
"I know Peter through his work at the Public Theatre, which is how we became friends. But it is his wonderful directing—most recently with Jack Goes Boating—that spurred my desire to work with him. Peter took a naturalistic play and found ways to add elements of visual poetry and surrealism that felt interesting and true without being self-consciously clever. It opened up the play in an imaginative way. That's a tricky combination not many people can pull off. I'm impressed by Peter's specificity, his down-to-earth manner, and the fact that he cares genuinely and deeply about actors and creating an adventurous and supportive environment to work in. It is a rare and valuable thing."
Oskar Eustis
Public Theater Artistic Director,
Former artistic director for Trinity Repertory Company in Providence, RI
"Peter DuBois is a brilliant director, a charismatic
leader, and an artist whose optimism and generosity have made him beloved
wherever he has worked. I have known Peter since his student days at Brown,
and I have watched his career with joy and amazement ever since. From
Czechoslovakia to Alaska to New York, Peter has succeeded everywhere he has
worked. Boston is lucky to have him. We will miss him at the Public, but I
console myself with knowing that we have a new sister theatre in the
Huntington."
John Guare
Tony and Drama Desk Award-winning playwright
"Peter DuBois makes audiences sit up and look and listen and enjoy in a way that makes them grateful they are in a theater. He's done it in Alaska. He's done it in New York. Hold on to your hats, Boston! here comes DuBois!"
Phillip Seymour Hoffman
Academy Award winner and Tony Award nominee
Worked with DuBois, who directed him in 2007's play Jack Goes Boating.
"I've worked with Peter as an actor, director, and
producer, and on all fronts I've found him to be open, imaginative, and
tenacious. Most importantly, I call him a friend."
Click Below To Read More About DuBois' Appointment
