Crowded Fire shake-up

Hot on the heels of their latest show (Big Death & Little Death, see below), Crowded Fire Theater Company has announced the departure of founding artistic director Rebecca Novick.Erin Gilley's press release stated that Novick has has announced her resignation after "10 years at the helm of one of San Francisco’s most notable small theater companies."Apparently Crowded Fire’s board of directors is now in the final stages of a search for Novick’s successor and expects to announce their selection soon.Says Novick:

It’s been exactly 10 years since I stood in line at the Fringe Festival to sign up for what would turn out to be Crowded Fire’s first show. I’m enormously proud of what we’ve achieved in that time and thrilled that the company has grown into an institution that will continue without me.

In the 10 seasons under Novick’s leadership, Crowded Fire produced 23 shows including 10 world premieres, five of them Crowded Fire commissions.Novick is reportedly leaving Crowded Fire to pursue freelance directing opportunities, with the eventual goal of serving as the artistic director of a larger institution. Upcoming projects for her include A Blessing on the Moon, a dance/theater piece based on Joseph Skibell’s novel about Holocaust Poland which she will workshop at Theater Emory’s Brave New Works Festival in Atlanta and a return to Crowded Fire to direct Lisa D’Amour’s Anna Bella Eema in June.For more information about Crowded Fire, visit www.crowdedfire.org.