Attack Theatre taps former Kennedy Center administrator as new executive director
Sarah Kramer is the new executive director of Attack Theatre. -Yassine El Mansouri | Attack Theatre
Pittsburgh Business Times by Jake Dabkowski - Attack Theatre tapped a former high-level administrator for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to serve as its new executive director.
Sarah Kramer spent the past decade working at the Kennedy Center, most recently as the senior director of artistic operations, before being fired earlier this year amongst a broader shakeup of the organization by the administration of President Donald J. Trump. A trained dancer, Kramer replaces former executive director Andrés Franco, who departed earlier this year to become executive director of City of Asylum, a nonprofit organization focused on supporting writers in exile.
"The thing that attracted me, I will say, it's not the glamorous part of the job, it's not the performances," Kramer said. "It's actually the stability and the structure that Attack Theatre has created for the performers here in Pittsburgh. It's very unusual that a modern dance company offers a salary, health insurance, benefits, retirement plan, and our dancers actually get all of that. It frees them up to really focus on their craft, to focus on their teaching, to bring their best selves to their performances, and I think that is really special."
The Lawrenceville-based dance theater was founded in 1994 by Michele de la Reza and Peter Kope, two dancers who currently serve as co-artistic directors. Asked about lessons learned from the Kennedy Center that prepared her for this step, Kramer said the importance of teamwork.
"I always say that the work that happens behind the scenes is like a live performance," Kramer said. "You have to be ready for anything. You have to be ready to pivot and you have to do it with grace and pizzazz, just like a performance, and that is something that I've carried throughout my career."
Kramer's appointment is the latest change in leadership at a local theater. In September, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre's executive director, Nicholas Dragga, announced plans to depart the organization after three years, and The Quantum Theatre named a new artistic director, Katie Brook, replacing outgoing director and founder Karla Boos, who is preparing to retire. Kramer said she hopes to grow collaborations across the region, both with other theaters and businesses.
"Attack Theatre already has a really deep connection with different arts organizations around the city and I think we're willing and interested and hungry to expand to even non-arts organizations," Kramer said. "They have vibrant community partnerships with schools already, but even if there's a restaurant that's interested in partnering with us, I think we're really interested in seeing how dance can be a part of people's everyday lives, and sometimes that means stepping out of the traditional performance space. That's something that (de la Reza and Kope) have been just experts in already seeding those ideas and I just am here to help expand upon them."