Triad Stage is poised to return to Greensboro following a roughly two-and-a-half-year COVID break. The regional theater — now in its 20th season — is planning three-plays, two concerts, and a renewed focus on contemporary works. 

Leading the transition will be retired Community Theatre of Greensboro Executive Director Mitchel Sommers. He spoke with WFDD's David Ford to talk about his new role, and plotting a path forward following the sudden departure of former artistic director Preston Lane who resigned amid sexual abuse allegations.

Interview Highlights

On Preston Lane:

I'm sure there are many other organizations in the arts world — like in the rest of the world — that have had these horrible and unfortunate experiences. I guess what we do need to remember is this is one person, and we're not going to judge an arts organization — or a theatre — based on one person. We're going to see what the organization did when all that alleged stuff happened, and one of the first things they handed me when I was hired was a manual. And there was a large section of that manual devoted to harrassment, proper behavior, how to handle that if it should happen, to know that it would be brought immediately to attention. So all of that is all we can ask: to be more sensitive, and more clear that we won't tolerate that kind of behavior.

On Triad Stage's renewed mission:

I recently went up to New York, with my kids. And so first I saw A Strange Loop. So this show, I mean, I've never seen anything like it on Broadway, you know, mostly filled with New York theater people who tended to be more white older people. But still I love the juxtaposition of this older white audience who normally goes to see the revival of Oklahoma. They're sitting there watching this very bold musical about this gay guy who talks about, you know, his religious life, his sexual life living as a gay man, living as a gay Black man. So to get to Triad Stage, yes, this is what's going on right now. Theater is really digging deeper to see who's not being represented on the stage as their stories are being told, as the cast is being assembled. And so picking out plays that deal with women, that deal with people of color, that deal with people of the LGBTQ family. This is very contemporary, this is what's happening. And these are the stories that are being told alongside Oklahoma, and all of that genre.

On the opening production of Rebellious:

Well, it's fun. I've read the script, and I really liked it. Mike Wiley, you know, again, that's one of the things great about Triad Stage: they continue to do it, highlighting North Carolina artists, North Carolina playwrights ... It's about four belles at Bennett — Bennett Belles, four young ladies, very, very different young ladies, different personalities. And I thought he did a great job with the way he wrote these characters out. They one by one agreed they want to be part of the sit-in movement at Woolworths. They want to be part of the change that needs to happen that's about to happen as far as civil rights go. And so it tells their story. It's very well done. It's a local story, which is really cool. And yeah, I think it'll be awesome.

*Editor's Note: This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

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