KANSAS CITY, MO.: Kansas City Repertory Theatre has announced that Eric Rosen, the company’s artistic director, will depart the organization on Aug. 31. Associate artistic director Jason Chanos will serve as the interim artistic director, and will work closely with executive director Angela Lee Gieras as a national search for a new artistic director is conducted.
“The board of directors at Kansas City Repertory Theatre is grateful for Eric’s many contributions during his 10 years of leadership,” said board vice chair Scott Hall in a statement. “His artistic mastery has been instrumental in moving KCRep into its preeminent position as a producer of innovative classic plays and musicals and developer of new plays. We have the great fortune of harnessing Jason Chanos’s tremendous leadership abilities and passion to guide our continued momentum.”
During Rosen’s decade at KCRep, the company has seen both artistic and financial growth. Two capital campaigns supported a transformation of the company’s Spencer Theater and an expansion of educational and new-works programming.
“Being at the helm of KCRep is among the greatest professional adventures of my life, and I am immensely proud of the work we have done together,” said Rosen in a statement. “We’ve grown the company’s national profile, expanded our impact in the region, created facilities that are able to support the next generation of theatre artists, and produced artistic work of the highest level of innovation and excellence. With the birth of our son, my husband and I decided to move closer to East Coast family and continue our careers there. I know KCRep is well positioned to continue its dynamic growth.”
Rosen, a member of Theatre Communications Group‘s board of directors, will return to KCRep to help with the company’s world premiere staging of Last Days of Summer (Sept. 7-30) and the production of his adaptation of A Christmas Carol (Nov. 16-Dec. 30). He’s also set to direct Indecent (Jan. 18-Feb. 10) at KCRep, which will be co-produced with Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore Center Stage.
