Directors Sarah Benson and Meropi Peponides will step down from Soho Rep after a combined 23 years at the theatre at the end of the 2022-23 season.
In 2018, Benson, Peponides, and Cynthia Flowers formed a three-way Co-Directorship as part of a new structure of shared leadership to facilitate the redistribution of power, improve equity, and support greater collaboration. Peponides and Benson have worked together closely to curate and bring new works to the theatre that reflects its values. Artists whose works have been staged at Soho Rep under their tenure include César Alvarez, Jackie Sibblies Drury, Aleshea Harris, Lucas Hnath, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Hansol Jung, Kate Tarker, Anne Washburn, and more, along with and directors such as Saheem Ali, Lileana Blain-Cruz, Will Davis, Leah C. Gardiner, Taibi Magar, David Mendizábal, Dustin Wills, and Whitney White.
“Being a part of Soho Rep has shaped the artist and leader I am today," said Peponides in a statement. "It is impossible to overstate how transformative my time with the organization has been, and I have immense pride in the body of work we have collectively realized during my time here. It has been a joy and an honor to serve this incredible community of artists, and I have now reached a point where I’m eager to devote more of myself to growing Radical Evolution, and to focusing on my own artistic practice. I’m also excited for this moment of change for Soho Rep, and to see what future leadership will bring to the organization as it continues to thrive.” Following her departure, Peponides will dedicate more time and energy to the multiethnic producing collective Radical Evolution which she co-founded in 2011.
Benson said in a statement, “Soho Rep has changed who I am as a person and artist. It has been an immense gift to have been surrounded for 15 years by brilliant artists who have relentlessly challenged and expanded my artistic and personal assumptions. Soho Rep has been the place where I have found lifelong collaborators and been able to make weird, ambitious work with tremendous artistic freedom. I am ready for more space and time for my own creative work, and I look forward to seeing the imaginative power that I know future artistic leaders will bring to Soho Rep.” Benson will turn her focus to her directing and creative pursuits following the end of her tenure at Soho Rep.
A search committee co-chaired by Victoria Meakin and Branden Jacobs-Jenkins has been formed with members including James Gleick and Claudia Rankine to find two new directors. Arts Consulting Group leads the effort to new partners for Flowers, who continues in her role as Director of Soho Rep. Detailed job descriptions and application instructions will be released later this month.
Soho Rep was founded in 1975 as a repertory company for new productions of predominantly classic plays. Since its beginning, the theatre has since turned towards new works.
For notifications about the application process, interested applicants may sign up at ArtsConsulting.com.
