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Was the firing of Delaware Theatre Company’s artistic director motivated by a controversial play, or was it something else?
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n May 27 Anne Marie Cammarato ran into David Ledford, executive editor of The News Journal, at Harry’s Seafood Grill in Wilmington. Ledford was a fan of Cammarato’s original play “10 Months: The Wilmington Voices Project,” and was considering publishing a follow-up story. Ledford’s story never happened—the day after that meeting, Cammarato was fired.
“It was so ironic,” says Cammarato, who served for six seasons as DTC’s artistic director. “Here was this critically acclaimed show, and David was talking about how the paper might continue the dialogue it started. Then it was over.”
Michael Marquardt, chair of the DTC board, acknowledges that Cammarato was given no warning prior to her termination. Her final performance review in December, in fact, was stellar.
The board points to declining ticket sales as a reason for Cammarato’s dismissal—though roller coaster sales are part of the business. Many of her shows sold poorly, as have those chosen by previous artistic directors. Yet the board supported Cammarato throughout her tenure and encouraged her to produce controversial work.
“One of the things I always gave Anne Marie credit for was that she came in with her vision and she stuck by it,” says Marquardt. “And we stuck by her.”
Such support is the reason Cammarato remains nonplussed. But there’s more to the story than meets the eye. As “10 Months” challenged its audience, the story of her firing is challenging its players to confront the truth.
Numbers don’t lie. Cammarato’s stats at DTC weren’t so hot. From 2004, when she joined DTC, through her final season, earned revenue dropped 27 percent. Over the past five years, the theater sold an average of 1,676 tickets per show. “Ten Months” sold 437.
Subscribers are the lifeblood of a theater, the patrons who stand by it in recession and in wealth. During Cammarato’s tenure, subscription tickets sold went from 18,417 in 2004 to 8,373 in 2010, a drop of 54 percent.
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Reader Comments:
oops, this article is so off base it's funny.
oops is right!! Mayby this story should have "steeped" a little bit longer. A quote from Mr. Skidmore??? Really?
It seems to me DTC was always letting their staff go without warning. Consider this a taste of her own medicine. Provocative stories and icket sales are the name of the theatrical game folks. It's a collaborative organization, theatre, everyone should be concerned about whether the patrons are interested and entertained. "Not my job" is the oldest, most trite complaint heard backstage. Cammarato had a go at it and wasn't playing the game. Need we remind readers a Board of Directors is the authority in non-profits administration? The Board gets to decide to path of the institution, if they felt DTC needed a new artistic director, that was their call, and their reasons seem supported by statistical fact. This cry to the press is childish. What does Cammarato expect to get from poorly written articles that paint her in such a sulky role? Look around, millions of people have lost their jobs as the economy crashed. It's not so surprising, not so unusual, especially in the non-profit arts sector. Move on!
Thought the story was very fair and balanced. Some problems -- blame/ -- on both sides of this equation .
Thought the story was very fair and balanced. Some problems -- blame/ -- on both sides of this equation .
This is a balanced story that leaves the conclusion up to the reader. Well done, Delaware Today! This story clearly illustrates both sides and is very well written.
I'm glad Delaware Today is finally doing excellent articles like this. Well done!!!!
This is not the kind of story Delaware Today usually does, but I'm so glad it was written. It's hard to talk about racism, but kudos for bravely bringing up the topic. To me, the article illustrates two things: that both sides were to blame, and that both sides got their say. No matter what your opinion is, I'm so glad we have the Delaware Theatre Company.
So....One year later. Let's see, yup it all worked out for the best. Looks like the board of directors come out of this looking much better Ms.Cammarato. Sour Grapes make for bad,bad wine.