By Joe Siegel

Providence – After serving for 20 years as Artistic Director for Trinity Repertory Company, Curt Columbus is looking back on how the experience shaped him.

“I’ve matured a lot by being here and I’ve learned a lot,” Columbus said. “It’s been a really great growth experience. I thought I’d be here 5 years, 8 years, maybe 10. About 10 years ago, I said that artistic directors shouldn’t stay past 20 years. This was all part of a long gestating plan.”

The reason for departing was personal for Columbus.

“I turned 61 (last) December and I wanted to have a third act. My first act was in Chicago, my second act was here in Providence, I’d like to have 61 to 81 be a productive full act.”

While at Trinity Rep., Columbus directed several highly acclaimed shows.

“One of my favorites was the first show I (directed) here which was “Cherry Orchard.” It was such a great introduction to the company. It was a great introduction to the community. I started really liking doing musicals. “Beowulf” was just so much fun. And I loved “Ragtime.” And I loved getting to do “Tiny Beautiful Things” right out of the pandemic.”

Columbus recalls how tough it was to shut down in 2020 because of the coronavirus.

“March 12, 2020. We were doing “A Tale of Two Cities” and we had a PD performance that day and I think only 20 kids showed up because the other schools had already shut down. We cancelled the evening performance and we kept thinking (the pandemic) will be (over in) a couple of weeks.”

In the meantime, Trinity had already started prepping for their next production, “Sweat.”

“The costumes were all in a rack onstage. I can vividly remembering coming in five months later when we were about to do our virtual “Christmas Carol,” everything was still there, like frozen in time.”

Trinity rebounded from the pandemic, although several staff members who had been laid off, did not return.

Columbus put it all in perspective: “We were a skeleton crew for almost a year. As bad as the pandemic was, we had the financial crash of 2008. That happened on my watch. And the housing crash in 2012. That happened on my watch. We’ve had economic downturns caused by inept political leadership. Part of any institutional leadership is dealing with the hardship of the world and adapting to the next phase.”

Columbus said the subscription model, which has sustained the theater for so long, is becoming obsolete.

“Theater subscription is something that will be a thing of the past in about 10 years. That’s an old model that will eventually go away. Young people are replacing this notion of subscription with a notion of identity. They pick things they want to do based on how they want to be seen by other people. The (theaters) with that sense of identity are the ones that will succeed in the future.”

Columbus still has a deep appreciation for Trinity’s patrons.

“I love our subscribers, I love seeing the same people over and over again and talking with them and developing a relationship with them,” Columbus said. “Younger people develop their relationships with social media, which is something I don’t have. It’s about time for me to leave because I have no understanding of the way they connect.”

Columbus acknowledged having some artistic differences with actors and others in his productions.

“I’ve been very fortunate with my collaborators. I’m a pretty easy person to work with. If someone’s a pain, then I’m less likely to work with them repeatedly. I was watching (rehearsals for) “Primary Trust” the other night and I’m so proud of Taavon Gamble and the work that he’s doing in that show.”

Columbus also praised longtime company member Rachael Warren: “We’ve done so many shows together. She’s such a genius. I got to work with Stephen Thorne. I got to work with Joe Wilson, Jr. I can go down the list of brilliant humans I got to work with.”

Columbus has a lot of faith in his successor, Meredith McDonough, who will begin her tenure in July.

“She’s phenomenal. People need to know she’s a nationally recognized figure in the American theater and the fact she wants to come here and do this job is a gift.”

Columbus said the only advice he would give McDonough is to get to know the people of Rhode Island.

“Southern New England is a very unique place. I don ‘t think I was a carpetbagger when I first came in but there were a lot of things I didn’t know about Rhode Island and the traditions.”

One of those traditions was the production of a perennial holiday favorite.

“I directed “A Christmas Carol” in my first season and I had to go back to it 10 years later because I was like ‘I didn’t understand what that story meant.’ I was making “A Christmas Carol” for any theater in America and that’s not Trinity Rep.’s “A Christmas Carol” at all.”

For now, Columbus plans to take a break from theater and simply enjoy life.

“My husband’s in the travel industry and we’re planning to a lot of travelling together and do some cultural tours for people,” he added. “I’m going to be doing some freelance directing. I’m looking forward to not being in institutional leadership for a little awhile and maybe not for the next twenty years because running an organization is hard. I’m excited to just be running my life.”