Shake-Up at Trinity Rep — Columbus Stepping Down

Shake-Up at Trinity Rep — Columbus Stepping Down

Trinity Rep announced on Wednesday that long-time Artist Director Curt Columbus is stepping down.

No exact date was given for his departure, but he writes in a letter that this coming season will be his last.

The theater has faced financial ups and downs during his tenure, but it has been stable in the last couple of years.  The annual budget is about $10 million.

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Columbus has been at the theater for about 20 years. He is paid about $220,000, according to the most recently available finances for the theater.

 

Columbus writes announcing his departure:

Dear Trinity Rep friends and family, 

I’m writing today to share my decision to step down as Trinity Rep’s sixth Artistic Director at the start of the 2026-27 Season. This is not a decision I take lightly, nor is it sudden. In 2015, I first put together a succession plan. I shared this plan with the senior leadership at the time, and later with my current executive partner, Katie Liberman, when she interviewed for her position. I firmly believe that every artistic endeavor needs renewal and revitalization. While I could stay at Trinity Rep forever, the health of the theater and its artistry depends upon this kind of change. 

Our theater is like no other in America. You can ask just about anyone in Rhode Island and our neighboring communities in Southern New England, and they will tell you that Trinity Rep is a jewel. I believe that with every fiber of my being. My first day as artistic director was January 1, 2006. In my first month, I held post-show discussions after every performance of our production of Hamlet, meeting each audience, getting to know each and every one of you. I found out very quickly that our patrons were very discerning, very thoughtful, and very opinionated. You are passionate theatergoers! 

I am so proud of what we have accomplished during my 20-year tenure. We survived two financial downturns and a global pandemic. We retired a lingering, accumulated debt with our Theater for Every Generation Campaign in 2016. We have innovated and expanded our education programs, deepened our work with community partners, and increased access to Trinity Rep’s resources for all of the theaters in Rhode Island, creating a theatrical boom that the Ocean State has never had before. 

Most of all, I’m proud of the work on our stages. With 20 years of programming, it is impossible to pick a favorite show, or even a top ten.  I was reminded recently, however, of the very first show I ever directed at Trinity Rep, a production of Chekhov’s Cherry Orchard.  I think of Eugene Lee’s brilliant scenic design, simple and evocative, of Joe Wilson Jr.’s celebration as his character bought the orchard, of Stephen Thorne’s passionate revolutionary and his cry for the future, of Phyllis Kay and Brian McEleney holding each other as they said goodbye to their childhood, of our beloved Barbara Meek left alone onstage, locked in the house at the end. That was a play of farewells but also new beginnings, brought to vivid life by our peerless, wonderful actors. 

It is not an easy decision to step aside, trust me. But it is time for new adventures, for me and for Trinity Repertory Company. Never fear, I am not leaving tomorrow, there will be plenty of time to be together in the year ahead. In the meantime, I hope you will celebrate with me, the work we’ve done together, and what the future holds. 

I will remain yours, ever,