The theater scene in Rhode Island got some big news this month: The Trinity Repertory Company in Providence will be looking for a new artistic director.
Curt Columbus will step down next fall. At that point, he’ll have been artistic director of the Trinity Rep for two decades.
Morning Host Luis Hernandez sat down with Columbus to talk about his legacy.
Interview highlights
On why 2026 is the right time to step away
Curt Columbus: For about a decade I’ve been telling people that 20 years is as long as any artistic director should stay in the position.
I feel like any artistic project needs renewal. And while I could stay at Trinity Rep forever — I mean, I love the community; I love the theater; I love the community of artists, and the staff, and the board — it wouldn’t be good for the organization. And you know, a big hallmark of my tenure has been doing things that are good for the organization, good for the institution, and for its continuance.
On why as Trinity Rep’s artistic director he encouraged connections with local artists
Columbus: I think the responsibility of being the artistic director of Trinity Rep often comes down to being a community leader, being connected to those local artists and growing the theater scene in Rhode Island, which has just blossomed over the last decade.
On plans for Trinity Rep’s ongoing renovations of its buildings
Columbus: The renovation — and we’ll talk more about this in the coming months — is going to be specifically to try to create a new way for audiences to enter the theater, and a new experience once they get there. Our plan is for it to come online in the spring of ‘27.
On why ‘Little Rhode Island’s’ theater scene is so strong
Columbus: “Little Rhode Island” has always been a place that attracted weirdos, and weirdos always are attracted to the theater.
There was a group of community leaders who started Trinity Rep in 1963. They wanted Providence to not just be another train stop on the way to Boston. Providence has always been Boston’s back alley — you came to Providence for entertainment. I mean, most people don’t know this, but in the early part of the 20th Century, there were 18 Vaudeville theaters in downtown Providence. You always came to Providence to watch some sort of live performance. So that impulse is really in the Rhode Island groundwater.
I do think the thing that we changed when I arrived, we really wanted to share resources with other theaters in Rhode Island. I remember being asked at my interview, “What are you going to do about the competition from the Gamm Theater?”
And I said, “I’m going to encourage it.”
A rising tide raises all boats and a theater needs a theater-going audience. So yeah, it’s great to have other theaters because then there are people who are like, “Once a week I go to a show.” All of that is significant. And you’re right, it punches above its weight, but Providence does that in so many cultural ways.
