Soho Rep has found its two directors to complete its leading trio. Eric Ting and Caleb Hammons will join Cynthia Flowers as directors of the Off-Broadway theatre in September.
The three-way Co-Directorship was first implemented in 2018 by Flowers with Sarah Benson and Meropi Peponides, who Ting and Hammons succeed. The structural change was made to facilitate the redistribution of power, improve equity, and support greater collaboration. The search committee was co-chaired by Victoria Meakin and Branden Jacobs-Jenkins with members including James Gleick and Carmelita Tropicana to find the two new directors.
Ting joins Soho Rep with 16 years experience in leadership positions in arts organizations, including seven years as artistic director of Cal Shakes. Ting has also won an Obie Award for his direction of Jackie Sibblies Drury's We Are Proud to Present... at Soho Rep.
In a statement he shared, “From the moment I witnessed Sarah Benson’s production of Blasted, I knew Soho Rep to be a forge for work of remarkable courage, driven by a spirit of innovation and collaborative discourse. It’s with that same spirit that Soho Rep has challenged our assumptions about how relationships with artists are sustained, and how arts organizations are held. I am humbled by the work of Sarah Benson and Meropi Peponides, which has so transformed our sense of what’s possible; and honored to be invited to join Caleb and Cynthia as co-leaders of this incredible artistic home. I can think of no better partners as we imagine new possibilities in this tumultuous moment. Soho Rep, not unlike the times we live in, dares us—artists and audiences alike—to leap into the discomforting spaces of the unknown, and towards revelation.”
Hammons also brings 16 years experience to the table with a focus on creative producing. They served as director of artistic planning and producing at the Fisher Center at Bard. Having previously been a producer at Soho Rep from 2011 to 2013, the appointment marks a homecoming for them as well as Ting.
Hammons said in their statement, “Soho Rep has always been a place that embraces the unknown: a beacon of adventurous work, adaptable approaches, and aspirational ambition. The landscape is challenging, but ripe with opportunities to imagine how this forward-thinking, exemplary theatre can continue to set the pace for a theatre ecosystem that is daring, inclusive, innovative, and sustainable. Cynthia, Sarah, and Meropi’s championing of artists as thought leaders and of the organization as one with core civic responsibility has laid the groundwork for the field, and I’m humbled by the opportunity to build on their achievements. I couldn’t ask for better partners on this journey than Cynthia and Eric. I’m confident that what we dream up together will be of service to all those past, present, and future who find their way home to Soho Rep.”
Soho Rep was founded in 1975 as a repertory company for new productions of predominantly classic plays. Since its beginning, the theatre has since turned towards new works.
