Gamm Reveals Changes to Education Department Leadership

David M. Wax, managing director for The Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre (The Gamm), announces the resignation of Education Director Steve Kidd, effective August 25. Kidd, who is also a Gamm resident actor, will be joining the faculty at Moses Brown School in the fall, where he will teach performance studies and direct the upper-school theater productions. Education and Outreach Coordinator Susie Schutt will be promoted to Education Director upon Kidd's departure, ensuring a smooth transition and continued growth of the theater's robust education programming.

"Without Steve we wouldn't have an education department and The Gamm and our local school system would be all the poorer for it," Gamm Artistic Director Tony Estrella said. "In 8 years he has created, sustained and grown a program that expands The Gamm's reach beyond our stage into the community, advancing our mission to help create and foster a more literate, engaged and intelligent community through theater. Best of luck to Steve at Moses Brown. They could not have chosen a better educator or a more committed artist. Luckily, we get to keep him on our stage if not out in the classroom for seasons to come."

Kidd, who has a master's degree in theater from Brown University, has led The Gamm's education department since its inception in 2006. Under his leadership, The Gamm launched Pawtucket Literary and Arts for Youth (PLAY). The theater's signature supplementary arts and literacy education program serves its home city's elementary, middle and high schools free of charge with the support of federal and local government agencies, foundations and businesses. During Kidd's tenure, educational programming has grown to include collaborations with non-profit organizations reaching under-served communities, such as the Autism Project of RI. Other highly successful programs include The Gamm Studio, offering adult acting, directing and playwriting classes, and Gamm Summer Intensive (GSI), an acting camp for the region's teenagers. In addition to his work off-stage, Kidd has appeared in more than 25 Gamm productions since 2003.

Education and Outreach Coordinator Susie Schutt has collaborated with Kidd in all areas of programming since 2011. Most recently, she spearheaded the "Macbeth Project,"which augmented standard curriculum with dynamic teaching tools at 12 area middle and high schools. The program, built around The Gamm's recent Macbeth production, served more than 500 students and was supported by a prestigious Shakespeare in American Communities grant in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. Schutt directed As You Like It for Gamm Summer Intensive and has assistant directed numerous Gamm season productions. Additionally, she is director of the Wilbury Theatre Group's New Works Development Program. Schutt holds a B.A. in sociology and social inequality from the University of Michigan.

Wax said he's confident that Schutt is the right person to lead the department into the future.

"Susie has been intimately involved in the whole range of Gamm education activities and has demonstrated her ability as both a teacher and program administrator. The Gamm and the community are indeed fortunate that we are able to maintain continuity in the program and to explore additional ways to tie together the educational program with the productions on our stage," Wax said.