For other recent articles about South Coast Repertory and their history, try:
Don Shirley – South Coast Rep’s Story – A Role Model?
Paul Hodgins – SCR Founders Benson, Emmes announce they’ll step down
Mike Boehm – South Coast Repertory leaders Martin Benson and David Emmes will step down after 46 years
COSTA MESA, Calif. (Feb. 4, 2010) – Forty-six years after founding South Coast Repertory, David Emmes and Martin Benson have decided it is time to begin the search for their successor. They have greenlighted a detailed leadership transition plan that is set to culminate later in the year with the naming of a new Artistic Director to join the leadership team.
This does not mean Emmes, the Producing Artistic Director, and Benson, the Artistic Director, are retiring. They will continue to serve in their current capacities until a new Artistic Director is in place, at which point they will assume the titles of
Founding Directors. In their new roles they will serve as counselors and advisers to their successor. They will continue to play an active role in assisting the new Artistic Director in the finding and development of plays, and they will continue to direct productions.
“We’re stepping back but not away,” said Emmes. “We think it’s incredibly important that SCR not lose artistic momentum. We believe we can help the next leader through the transition period as he or she becomes familiar with the particular needs of such a large and complex organization.”
Though Benson and Emmes will be involved in the hiring process, SCR’s Board of Trustees will choose the new leader: “We know in order to keep growing, the theatre needs new ideas, new blood, new chemistry,” Benson said. “SCR will need someone who is responsive to changing times and circumstances.”
SCR has always taken a deliberate, evolutionary approach to change, and the succession plan is no exception. It began to take shape at a board retreat in March of 2008 and has been continuously refined until the founders felt that it – and they – were ready to move forward.
David Emmes and Martin Benson with a model of SCR's theater, which opened in 1978
“David and Martin are visionaries,” said Wylie Aitken, president of SCR’s Board of Trustees. “They transformed SCR from a company with $17 and a station wagon into a three-theatre complex with a $9 million annual budget and numerous awards, including a Tony. Together with the Orange County community, they’ve created one of the most successful and stable arts institutions in the country. We consider ourselves incredibly fortunate they have led a process to ensure the continuity of SCR’s future artistic leadership. We are also grateful they are willing to stay on to share their wisdom and insight as we identify a strong artistic leader to partner with our Managing Director Paula Tomei to carry on SCR’s long history of service to Orange County and the national theatre community.”
Q&A with David Emmes and Martin Benson
Why now? Is something wrong?
Nothing’s wrong. We’re both healthy and the theatre is doing well artistically and financially. But we’re both in our 70s now and we know inevitably there comes a time for change. We wanted to begin this process before anything went wrong so that we can help to ensure the smoothest possible leadership transition to support SCR’s continued success well into the future. Our succession plan is built to suit SCR’s unique needs but it was inspired in part by the example of other artistic directors who remained at their theatres for a period of time to facilitate an effective transition with minimal disruption.
Why are you both stepping down at the same time?
We started the theatre together and we think it only makes sense for us to go out together.
Will you choose your replacement?
The board will choose our successor but we will be very involved in the process. Though we won’t be official members of the search committee, we will help screen and interview candidates and give our recommendations to the committee.
What kind of person are you looking for?
We’ve had numerous conversations with the board about this and we all agree the new artistic director must be someone whose values are consistent with SCR’s – someone who places a high importance on literature, stewardship, community and collaboration. The new leader must be someone who has shown his or her commitment to a collaborative
artistic process – that is something SCR has always prized. Of course, they also must have a history of artistic achievement. And they will need to be someone who can partner well with Managing Director Paula Tomei.
Is Paula’s role changing?
Yes. Once the new Artistic Director starts, Paula will rise to the level of Co-CEO, reporting directly to the board. Working in conjunction with the Artistic Director, she will continue to set programmatic assumptions to ensure that artistic and other programming is aligned with the mission and operating goals and meets board-approved budgetary guidelines. She will also continue to have primary responsibility for the Production, Marketing, Development and Business departments and will work with the board on major campaign fundraising, planning and recruitment of future leadership.
Once the new artistic director is in place, what will your roles be?
We will assume the titles of Founding Directors and we will serve as counselors and advisers to the new artistic director. We will continue to serve as board trustees. We’ll still be reading play submissions and attending rehearsals and readings and offering input to the new artistic director.
Will you still be in the office every day?
Not every day but often. We’ll share an office and be in and out, working there and from home, and sometimes, at the behest of the new Artistic Director, traveling to other theatres to scout productions that might be good fits for SCR.
Will you still direct plays at SCR?
Yes. We plan to each direct at least one show a year and we’ll work with the new artistic director to determine which shows those will be.
How long will you serve as Founding Directors?
As many as five years. Either of us can choose to retire sooner if we wish.
Will this change affect South Coast Repertory’s commitment to new work?
Absolutely not. Our mission and programs will remain intact. Our new leader will be someone who shares our values and believes in the importance of literature and the development of new plays.
What’s the timetable for all this?
The search committee will come together in April. After that, we expect the process to take about four to six months, with the new artistic director in place – we hope – by the start of the 2010-2011 season in September.
In the meantime, who is planning and producing the 2010-2011 season?
We are. We’ve already identified several projects we’re excited about, and we’ll be announcing preliminary titles for the new season in March.
