The Post sits down with Margaret Kennedy-Dygas, dean of the College of Fine Arts, to get updates on the project for a theater in Dublin, Ohio and the future of the Monomoy Theatre
When Ohio University ended its nearly 60-year affiliation with the Monomoy Theatre in Chatham, Massachusetts, the College of Fine Arts and Division of Theater had to accelerate its talks with the city of Dublin, Ohio, to create a professional theater company.
The plan is to have a professional company that can be its own entity but still has a close artistic relationship to OU, said Margaret Kennedy-Dygas, dean of CoFA. The long-term goal is to have a permanent arts space facility in downtown Dublin. This space would be a part of Dublin’s Bridge Street Project, a $300 million plan to renovate its downtown area. Kennedy-Dygas emphasized that there is no desire or ability for OU and CoFA to fund or run a facility in Dublin. She said their focus is to assemble a professional theater company.
The Post sat down with Kennedy-Dygas to get an update on the process, the possibility of delaying productions until the summer of 2016 and the continuation of the Monomoy Theatre.
The Post: What updates can you give about this process with establishing something in Dublin?
Kennedy-Dygas: Right now we’re trying to assess clearly what it would take to do summer productions this summer (in Dublin). This may not be the season we launch. We may wait a year depending on what some of the consultant’s findings come back as … (and) to take more time to get this well-founded … I know by January, we’ll have settled on what the next phase will be for summer 2015. … We should have an assessment from the theater faculty about whether or not it’s prudent to launch a season of some kind this summer. I think until we’re certain that we have the fiscal stability for it, we may want to wait.
The Post: Would a delay at all affect the reaccreditation of the theater program? Wasn’t a connection to internships and a professional company a critical component?
KD: Even though we imagine this to grow to be the primary affiliated experience for our students, our students already go to many other companies for many kinds of internships and experiences. … No, I don’t think it will threaten our accreditation.
The Post: How have students been included so far, even though it’s mostly still in a conceptual phase?
KD: I know there has been a lot of conversation among individual students with them saying ‘I want to be a part of it.’ And that has to happen within the theater division, but I think they’ve been very open about that conversation. No, (students interacting with the committees) is unlikely at this point — not that we don’t want any of that to happen. Of course not. It’s just the evolution of the process has not gotten to that point yet.
Kennedy-Dygas said she does not have any information in regard to whether the University of Hartford, which was supposed to take over as the primary leaseholder of Monomoy, has signed a contract. After Dec. 31 OU will no longer be the primary leaseholder. If there is a 2015 season at Monomoy, students can still apply as always, she said.
In a separate interview, Alan Rust, the artistic director at Monomoy for the past 36 years, said he is no longer employed “in any way by the Monomoy Theatre,” in an email. He said his position ended when OU ended its affiliation. He was not able to give information as to whether or not the University of Hartford signed a contract yet.
@buzzlightmeryl
mg986611@ohio.edu
