CHICAGO: Sideshow Theatre Company has named director, artist, and ensemble member Regina Victor the company’s new artistic director, succeeding Jonathan L. Green who will step down this fall after leading the organization for 13 years. Green will continue to work with the company as an artistic company member. Ensemble member Justin J. Sacramone will serve as the company’s associate artistic director. Both Victor and Sacramone were added to the company’s ensemble earlier this year.
“Leading a company in this time is a challenge I do not take lightly,” said Victor in a statement, “but I have been on this collaborative journey with Sideshow for some time now. It’s where I’ve made some of my most exciting and long-lasting artistic collaborations and friendships. As a Black trans leader and the first ensemble member of color in this company, I have been moved by the unquestioning faith and advocacy of the ensemble as they encouraged me to step into this position. I look forward to opening the doors of the artistic home Jonathan’s leadership has fostered for me even wider for other artists. I feel confident that with their support we will be well-positioned to prioritize the hard work of anti-racism and radical hospitality that is rightfully required of our industry.”
Victor, who also co-founded the artist-led cultural criticism and commentary website Rescripted, takes over a company that, under the leadership of Green, produced more than 30 shows, including 13 world premieres, and commissioned 15 new works over the last 13 seasons. During that time, the company was also awarded with Broadway In Chicago’s Emerging Theatre Award and received 23 Joseph Jefferson Award nominations.
“When I made the decision last fall to transition out of Sideshow’s artistic directorship, I couldn’t have had any idea of the international crisis in which we currently find ourselves,” said Green in a statement. “But at this moment which requires re-examination and transformation of all sectors in the performing arts, I am more certain than ever that Sideshow’s leadership transition is happening at the right time, and I am happy that our 10-month transition process was given the time and space needed to bear fruit. I am immensely grateful to the Sideshow artists, staff, board of directors, and audience, past and present, for the trust they have placed in me over the last 13 years, proud of all we have achieved together during that time, and thrilled with the Sideshow ensemble’s unanimous choice of Regina Victor as the company’s new artistic leader. Regina started their work with Sideshow in 2017, and over the past several years they have established themself as one of our most brilliant collaborators and insightful leaders. I can’t wait to be a part of Sideshow’s next chapter and to support Regina’s vision for the future of the company.”
Regina Victor (artistic director, they/them/theirs) is a Black artistic leader, director, multidisciplinary artist, and cultural critic. Their three years of collaborations at Sideshow Theatre include serving as director on Brynne Frauenhoffer’s Pro-Am, originally slated for March 2020 production and postponed. Through Sideshow’s Freshness Initiative, they have dramaturged HeLa and Calamity West’s Christmas at Home. An advocate for new plays, they have helped develop world premieres by Antoinette Nwandu, Sarah Ruhl, and is serving as the dramaturg for Jeannette The Musical, book by Lauren Gunderson, music by Ari Afsar. As a director, they are developing works by Terry Guest (Marie Antoinette and the Magical Negroes, the Story Theatre), and Calamity West (P A N G E A, Jackalope Theatre). They co-founded Rescripted, an arts journalism platform by and for artists, in 2017 and have written cultural criticism and reviews for other publications including American Theatre, Playbill, and the Chicago Reader. Other notable artistic collaborations include work with Steppenwolf Theatre, Jackalope Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, TimeLine Theatre and California Shakespeare Theater. Learn more at reginavictor.com.
Justin J. Sacramone (associate artistic director, he/him/his) is a Chicago-based director who focuses on new work. Most recently, he directed a workshop production of Thin Mints. Justin has directed for Raven Theatre, Red Theatre, Orlando International Fringe Festival and has assisted Robert Falls at Goodman Theatre, Lili-Anne Brown at 16th Street Theatre, Steve Scott at Eclipse Theatre and Derek Van Barham at Pride Films and Plays. He is currently developing new works with playwrights Ellen Steves and Preston Choi. He has also dramaturged the world premiere of HeLa and the U.S. premiere of X, both with Sideshow. Justin holds a BFA in theatre from Salem State University and has attended the Tennessee Williams Institute. He is a member of the 2020-21 Observership Class with Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation and a nominator for The Kilroys List. Learn more at justinjsacramone.com.
