Theater Shocker

WaterTower Theatre's artistic director unexpectedly resigns after 2 years

After only two seasons, Joanie Schultz has resigned as artistic director of WaterTower Theatre. The Addison theater company announced on November 5 that she tendered her resignation to the board of directors on October 23, and will remain in her position through December 31, 2018.

Former longtime WaterTower Theatre artistic director Terry Martin, who resigned in 2016 to head up the fine arts department at Greenhill School, will help with the transition.

"In my two years as artistic director, we have developed award-winning world premieres, produced regional premieres, and presented work that highlights voices of women, people of color, and Texas natives," says Schultz in the release. "WaterTower is a theater with robust community support and is full of promise, and I have decided at this time it is best that I step aside so that the board can reorganize in a way that is best for WTT's future. I am incredibly proud of my leadership, which resulted in the support of diverse artists creating innovative work that speaks to our community. I am thankful for the time I've had here in Addison and I'm grateful to theater practitioners of DFW, as I have cherished my collaboration with the inspiring artists and theaters here in this community."

Schultz's departure is not without controversy. Some supporters found the two seasons that she planned for WaterTower to be too different from the theater's traditional programming.

She began by replacing Stephen Sondheim's Sunday in the Park with George with Ike Holter's Hit the Wall, about the 1969 Stonewall Riots, at the end of the 2016-17 season. Her 2017-18 season included Robert Askins' Hand to God, which according to TheaterJones was the last straw for the Canterbury family, who were the named presenting sponsors of the main stage prior to Schultz's appointment. The theater was renamed the Terry Martin Main Stage at the beginning of October.

At the end of August, managing director Nicholas Even also resigned; he had begun his position shortly after Schultz took up hers. This followed the departure of longtime WaterTower employee Gregory Patterson, who had been the first to fill the newly created MD position after serving as director of development and marketing.

"We as a board have made a commitment to continue building on and protecting the theater's legacy, established in part by former producing artistic director Terry Martin," says board president Grace Daniels in the release. "Martin has graciously extended his willingness to offer guidance during the transition and to help us honor relationships with our long-standing supporters all while continuing to introduce the theater to new audience members. I would also like to thank the leadership of the town of Addison who continue to provide invaluable support and words of advice as we work through this time of transition."

Schultz's own adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House, the first production of her 2018-19 season, closed on November 4.

On her Facebook wall, Schultz wrote, "Nothing is permanent, everything changes, that is the only constant. Every relationship has a lifespan. It turned out that the amount of time I was meant to be Artistic Director of WaterTower Theatre was two years. That doesn’t mean it was a failure, my friends. NOT AT ALL. I’m quite proud of the successes of my time at WTT. Not only did we develop world premieres, new works, regional premieres, we highlighted the work of women and people of color on the WaterTower stage. We developed a community engagement program and a new work festival.

"We created a supportive environment for theatre artists, and the work on our stage reflected that creative energy. And most importantly, I was introduced to the DFW Theatre Community, a well-kept secret of incredibly inspiring artists who are brave, dedicated, and people that I’m proud to call my collaborators and friends. Thank you to my old friends, my new friends, and everyone who have supported me through this journey from beginning to end. I’m grateful to be a theatre artist in this crazy world, to expand my theatre family, and for the adventures I am sure to encounter next!"

Up next at WaterTower Theatre is the return of The Great Distance Home, a movement-based, ensemble-devised work that premiered during the 2017 holiday season.

Joanie Schultz will leave WaterTower Theatre at the end of 2018.

WaterTower Theatre artistic director Joanie Schultz

Photo by Joe Mazza

Joanie Schultz will leave WaterTower Theatre at the end of 2018.

theater

arts news

Dallas' Crow Museum of Asian Art names new curator ahead of second outpost opening

Crow Museum curator Natalia Di Pietrantonio

Photo by Natali Wiseman

Newly announced curator Natalia Di Pietrantonio.

The Crow Museum of Asian Art of The University of Texas at Dallas has found its new curator. Natalia Di Pietrantonio, Ph.D., hails from the Seattle Art Museum and was selected after a nationwide search.

There, she served as inaugural curator of South Asian art, caring for the museum's South Asian, Southeast Asian, and Islamic art collections while also serving as an affiliate art history faculty member at the University of Washington.

Di Pietrantonio arrives just as the Crow Museum is preparing to debut a second museum next fall.

Designed by global architecture firm Morphosis, the Edith and Peter O’Donnell Athenaeum is being constructed as part of a 12-acre cultural district on the UT Dallas campus.

Over the next year, the 38-year-old curator will work closely with architects, interior designers, academic faculty, and museum staff to select the artworks that will be on view when the new museum opens its doors. She will also guide the 10,000 square feet of gallery space at the original Crow Museum, which was founded in 1998 and is in the downtown Dallas Arts District.

In addition, Di Pietrantonio will serve as a faculty member in the arts department at UT Dallas.

“Natalia brings a wonderful vision, a fresh and energetic perspective, and a proven track record in elevating Asian American art and culture in compelling ways,” says Amy Lewis Hofland, senior director of the Crow Museum of Asian Art of The University of Texas at Dallas. “With her background in South Asian and Islamic art, she also will help build the Crow Museum of Asian Art collection, strengthening it to better reflect the growing diversity of our region.”

A first-generation Mexican American whose first language was Spanish, a release says that "Di Pietrantonio brings over 10 years of professional and academic experience, ranging from highly lauded museum exhibitions and university cultural events to innovative collaborations and unique community outreach experiences."

From 2014-15, she served as a Jane and Morgan Whitney Fellow for the Islamic department at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. She is multilingual and speaks Spanish, Persian, Urdu and English.

At the Seattle Art Museum, she harnessed her expertise of modern and contemporary art to curate two diverse exhibitions: "Embodied Change: South Asian Art Across Time" (January 2022), which focused on the body and female representations in South Asia; and "Our Blue Planet: Global Visions of Water" (March 2022), which addressed climate change and water access.

During her tenure at the Seattle Art Museum, she grew their South Asian collection by 25 percent. She also was the lead curator on the mid-career retrospective of the performance artist Anida Y. Ali that debuts in January 2024.

Recognizing that North Texas has one of the fastest-growing Asian American populations in Texas, Di Pietrantonio is excited to pursue exhibitions and programs that are topical both locally and globally to audiences of all ages and backgrounds. She also intends to bring performance art into the cultural mix at the Crow Museum.

"As the Crow Museum embarks on a new era with a second museum on the horizon, I am honored to be part of its storied history known for dynamic and innovative exhibitions and programs,” says Di Pietrantonio. “My first major goal is to learn more about the North Texas region — from UT Dallas students and museum supporters to neighborhood organizations and our increasingly diverse populations — so I can help align and tailor the museum programs for its communities.”

In 2018, Di Pietrantonio completed her Ph.D. in the history of art at Cornell University, studying under the contemporary artist Iftikhar Dadi with a focus on calligraphy and book arts. Prior to that time, she received a master’s degree in South Asian studies from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree in art history from the University of California, Davis. It was during her years at UC Davis that a dynamic professor introduced her to Islamic art and ignited her interest.

museums