Theatre Aquarius says artistic director's retirement is unrelated to recent criticism

The artistic director of Theatre Aquarius is retiring, and while he says it was his idea, some local playwrights wonder if criticism of the theatre's lack ofdiversity under his leadership played a role in the timing of his departure.

Ron Ulrich, who's been artistic director since 2008, said he alreadyplanned to retire this year, but COVID-19 changed his plans.

"I told the board a little over a year ago I wanted to wind it up," he said in a media release, which heralds his "long and distinguished career."

"I was persuaded to stay on until the end of the 20-21 season. We were going to announce it at the close of this past season, and I was going to hang on, put the next season in place, and then slide away into a delicious retirement. Then the world changed."

The notice comes just weeks after a group of Hamilton artists sent anincisive letter to the theatre's board.

Aaron Jan says he andothers in Hamilton's theatre scene presented 40 testimonials in late July. The letterincluded LGBTQ playwrights and people of colourdescribing negative experiences with the theatre. The board wrote back.

"The board expressed that they were shocked by these allegations and took them very seriously," Jansaid.

"This is action I've never seen from this company before, so I feel encouraged by it."

Radha Menon, founder of Red Betty Theatre and a recent Hamilton Arts Award winner, has been a vocal critic of Ulrich and the theatre. She's also involved in the Coalition Of Black And Racialized Artists (COBRA). She describes Theatre Aquarius as patriarchal, risk averse and mostly interested in appealing to wealthy white donors.

She says she tried for years to get Ulrich's attention, and had a positive meeting with him once, only for the door to slam shut again.

Of the next artistic director, "it would be great to have somebody who knows this community because there's such a talented pool in this city," she said. "Unfortunately under Ron's leadership, the door was closed."

Theatre Aquarius frequently stages big-name musical theatre productions, like Grease and Legally Blonde, that "gets flown in and put on their stage," Menon said. Shewants the theatre to broaden its scope, staging productions that "aren't all necessarily in a Eurocentric vein," she said. "Theatre is a world art."

Like other playwrights interviewed, Menon said she'd like to see the theatre include Hamiltonianson a more meaningful level.

Trevor Copp, artistic director of Tottering Biped Theatre, also submitted a testimonial. He put on two shows as part of the ta2 series, he said, and it actually cost him more than he was paid.

His shows received little to no marketing support, he said, andthe audience was filled with people he already knew. The productions happened next door to one of Theatre Aquarius's larger shows, he said, and no one told the audience that the smaller shows were happening.

"This is a place that should be championing local artists and local stories," he said.

The Theatre Aquarius media release, meanwhile, touts Ulrich's community outreach.He"expanded educational programming for youth," it said, and developednew outreach programs.

He also brought "financial stability" to the organization, it said, and helped maintain the landmark theatre on King William.

"UnderUlrich, the theatre has worked with partner organizations such as the Incite Foundation for the Arts and the Hamilton Community Foundation to offer no-cost admission for families and youth financially unable to attend, as well as opportunities for no-cost registration within the theatre school training programs for students from schools designated as 'high needs.'"

Ulrich has had a long theatrecareer, includingeight seasons as artistic director ofHalifax's Neptune Theatre. He has also worked at Mayfield Theatre in Edmonton, the Muskoka Festival, Stage West Canada and the Huron County Playhouse.

In Halifax, the media release said, "he reestablished the company as an integral part of the community, brought its subscription base and attendance to the highest levels in its history, and restored fiscal health by eliminating its operating deficit."

Theatre Aquarius often shows plays directed or written by Ulrich's partner, Marcia Kash, including Deadline in spring 2021. A list of her selected works at the Talent House agency lists 11 plays at Theatre Aquarius.

New hire by April

LornaZaremba, executive director, said the recent letter to the board and Ulrich's announcement are unrelated.

"The board has been talking to Ron for over a year about the timing for when he would retire, and this is when it's happening," she said.

"He's been thinking about it for some time."

Zaremba said the theatre is putting together a search committee, which will be officially struck at the annual general meeting on Sept. 28. The theatre will likely hire a new artistic director by April.

Zaremba said the next artistic director will ideally be someone who can address some of the concerns Jan and others have raised. It is also hiring an equity and diversity consultant to look at the organization.

Kit Mai is a local theatre artistwho produced and ranaprogram in partnership with Theatre Aquarius to engagequeer youth.

Deciding the future

"I would like to see a Black queer, trans, disabled artistic director," Mai said. "I would like to see Theatre Aquariusrestructure itself completely.

"In fact, I'd love it if there were multiple artistic directors, working collaboratively to represent this city, because that job shouldn't belong to just one person. The artistic direction is community led, the peoples in power are simply the ones accountable for making ithappen."

Copp said the regional theatre model in general should be overhauled. The need to raise money, he said, encourages productions that appeal to wealthy donors. Those productions are often brought in from other cities and look like productions in New York or London.

Whoever the next artistic director is, he said, he'd like to see someone "who's ready to completely pull that apart."

"I've got my spotlight shining on the board of directors," he said. "They're going to decide what the future looks like."