Diane Tasca Steps Down as Pear Theatre Board President

Diane Tasca, founder and former Artistic Director of Pear Theatre, will be stepping down as President of the Board of Directors and moving with her husband to Westchester County, New York in December. The Board of Directors is in the process of selecting a new Board President; Board member Darryl Compton will step into the role of Board Treasurer, and Monica Cappuccini and Carolyn Compton will be dual Board Secretaries. Tasca will continue to serve as a member of the Board remotely.

"When I and my group of theater friends founded this little theatre-that-could in 2002, I don't think any of us imagined we would be where we are today - in a brand-new, custom-built space, winning multiple awards, and bringing new voices to the stage," said Tasca. "I'm so proud of what we started, proud that so many of our original group are still involved; and impressed with the next generation of theatre-makers that are already stepping up to continue on and expand this crucial work at a most challenging time."

Originating in a 40-seat, converted warehouse space in Mountain View, the company was originally named Pear Avenue Theatre after the small dead-end street it was located on. Tales of the first few years are full of triumphs, such as the two-level set built on the tiny stage for one production; the staging of two separate but related plays simultaneously, with one in the Pear space and another a few doors down, with one cast of actors hurrying back and forth between the two; the staging of various new works including Diane's own adaptation of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey.

The original space had unexpected challenges as well - including having to stop a performance at intermission and send audiences home one night, because a surprise inspection by a Fire Marshall had determined they were accidentally exceeding their maximum capacity. Actors laughingly recount the way performers needed to avoid the 'unintentional spotlight' during blackouts on Sunday matinees (an air vent in the roof would place a circle of light in the middle of the stage in the daytime); the "five-minute post-intermission hold" - one of the few opportunities in a 3-hour evening that a play's cast could actually use the single available indoor bathroom; and the night a patron, using the newly installed portable toilet in the parking lot, accidentally got locked in and missed most of the second act. Through it all, the company built a strong following with its mix of classic and contemporary works, and its embrace and support of local playwrights through its annual Pear Slices production, its Pear Playwrights Guild, and regular staging of new works by Guild members.

Now a few blocks away in a new, state-of-the-art space specifically designed for them, with flexible seating arrangements and rehearsal and set construction space, the renamed Pear Theatre attracts theatre artists and audience from all over the Bay Area for its award-winning and high-quality productions; and its ongoing commitment to excellence was recognized by the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle with the Paine Knickerbocker Award, an annual special award for a Bay Area company contributing to the high quality of theatre in the region. After two years of growth under Artistic Director Betsy Kruse Craig, Pear Theatre is newly under the leadership of its third Artistic Director, Sinjin Jones, who in his short tenure has navigated the disastrous fallout of California's Assembly Bill 5 as well as the Covid-related closure of almost every performing space.

"We wish we could throw a big, in-person shindig for Diane to bid her and her husband a fond farewell, but that just isn't safe or responsible right now," said Jones. "And, of course, she isn't leaving us completely. We'll be doing what we can in a safe and distanced format, like everything else. Obviously, this is not the preferred way to celebrate such a titan of Bay area theatre, and someone who has been lovingly cultivating the theatre we all call home, but we hope it's somewhat equal to the task of communicating the high place Diane holds in our hearts."

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