Arkansas Repertory Theatre Announces Shift In Programming Calendar And Expansion In Leadership

Beginning in 2024, The Rep's season of mainstage productions will take place each May through August. While specific titles for Summer '24 will be announced at a later date, 3-4 productions are expected each year, including both plays and musicals.

During the months of September through April each year, The Rep will broaden its programming in community and civic engagement, including efforts in education, resource sharing, local artist development, and community events. The Rep's annual gala, "Ovation!", is expected to take place in April, 2024, kicking off the summer mainstage season.

"Along with many theaters all over the country, we are fully embracing all the ways that theater and the arts can impact our lives," said The Rep's Executive Artistic Director, Will Trice. "Putting on quality, entertaining shows is definitely one of those ways, and we will continue to do just that each summer. This scheduling shift will also give us the capacity to broaden our programming in ways we've dreamed of for a long time - inside and outside our walls, deepening existing partnerships and forming new ones with the many amazing local organizations doing work in these areas." Rep Board Chairman, Tim Gauger, said, "We're making a bold move to increase the added- value we can bring to our community, as well as a move to increase our financial stability. Progressive theaters across the country are doing the same."

To help drive this new direction, The Rep is also expanding its leadership model. Trice will take on the new title of Executive Director, and focus on administration, finance, and marketing for the theater. Ken-Matt Martin will join The Rep as Interim Artistic Director, with a focus on The Rep's producing activities, including its summer mainstage season. Martin is a Little Rock native who began his theater experience as an intern with The Rep while he was a student at Parkview High School. He was awarded a Masters in Fine Arts in Directing from Brown University and a Bachelor of Arts in Musical Theatre and Public Relations from Drake University. He has extensive experience in leadership positions at nonprofit theaters across the country, including Baltimore Center Stage, The Goodman Theatre, and the Williamstown Theatre Festival. A formal search for a permanent Artistic Director will commence soon. In addition, The Rep will add a third senior leader - a Community Programming Director - who will oversee the theater's expanded education and civic engagement efforts.

"Joining Will Trice and this incredible board during this pivotal time of growth for The Rep is one of the greatest honors of my life," said Martin. "My journey as a theatre professional began on a field trip to The Rep as a seventh grader at Horace Mann Middle School, 20+ years ago. This is a full circle moment, and I'm excited to get to know all of The Rep's supporters and to welcome new audience members to this theatre that means so much to me." Long-time Rep board member and current advisor, Ruth Shepherd, noted "We were so fortunate to bring Will Trice onboard 4 years ago, and with his leadership we have identified a path to better serve our entire community. Now, I can't wait to get Ken-Matt Martin here as part of the team and to also identify our Community Engagement Director as well. Like the theme of our recent Ovation event, 'The best is yet to come!'"

Ken-Matt Martin is a producer and director that has worked at many theaters across the country. Martin is a co founder of Pyramid Theatre Company in Des Moines, IA where he served as Executive Director until 2018. Pyramid is the first and only theater in the state of Iowa to produce plays by August Wilson including Martin's productions of Fences and The Piano Lesson. Martin's producing and directing credits in Des Moines have received numerous Cloris Leachman Excellence in Theatre Award nominations, including two awards for Best Play and a Special Honor for Martin in 2016. As a director he has developed new plays at Vineyard Theatre, The Playwrights Center, Primary Stages and Space at Ryder Farms. Next season he will direct world premiere plays and musicals at Flint Rep, Mosaic Theatre, and Olney Theatre Center. Martin has also served as Producing Director at Williamstown Theatre Festival where his tenure included the Broadway transfers of The Sound Inside and Grand Horizons. Additionally, he has served as Associate Producer at The Goodman Theatre where he co- created the Future Labs program. He was recently appointed Interim Artistic Director of Baltimore Center Stage. He received two degrees from Drake University and his MFA in Directing from Brown University.

A fundamental anchor for the quality of life in Central Arkansas since 1976, The Rep creates vibrant and engaging theatrical experiences that are accessible for everyone in our community. With our work, The Rep seeks to make lives more full, more interesting, and more joyful.

Our core programming includes a summer season of freshly created productions, performed at our downtown Little Rock facilities - including a 340-seat auditorium and 100-seat black box space - or around our broader community. We tell stories that provide entertainment and escape, that help us process the world around us, and that foster a sense of mutual understanding. Unlike most of the ever-present electronic media, the live experiences of The Rep are distinctly theatrical - immersive and shared by the community in a public space outside of individual homes.

The Rep aspires to capture the collective imagination and build community by embracing the art of theatre in all its forms. We look to collaborate with, and make our resources accessible to, like-minded community organizations. We seek to develop and celebrate the community of artists with roots in Central Arkansas. Through joy-filled theatrical activities, we hope to engage our community in conversations that ultimately unite us. And we strive to engage our young community members in the appreciation and creation of theatre, often providing them with their first exposure to the artform.