The Foundry Theatre (2017)

After 23 years at the helm, Founder and Artistic Producer Melanie Joseph was thinking about her life beyond The Foundry Theatre and what that might mean for the future of the organization. She was not interested in continuing as the sole Artistic Producer indefinitely. The Foundry Theatre was renowned for its revolutionary and experimental works performed in venues throughout New York City and its community-based programs and dialogues with social justice organizers. After returning from a six-month sabbatical in 2015-16, followed shortly by several staff departures, Joseph was again taking on the lion’s share of responsibility. She valued the shared, horizontal leadership structure she had implemented twice during The Foundry’s history despite the mixed success of each iteration. She attempted in 2016 to find a cohort of artists she could guide through a several-year process of taking over as co-leaders but had been unable to find the right people.  After many long, circular discussio