In August 2003, I moved into the dorms of Point Park University. I was about to start my training to become a professional stage manager. I decided to go to Point Park because everyone seemed like a family — from the faculty down to the students.
Last month I was horrified when a friend sent me the article “3 positions eliminated from Pittsburgh Playhouse as part of ‘operational restructuring’” (May 21, TribLive). One of the positions eliminated was the general manager/producer, which sounds like a corporate overlord but in reality was my mentor, Kim Martin.
Martin graduated from Point Park in the 1980s and quickly ended up back at the school teaching where she built a world renowned stage management program. You will find her former students on Broadway, national tours and cruise ships, at regional theaters and theme parks, and teaching in universities around the country.
Martin was way more than the general manager/producer of a theater. She was the heart of the Pittsburgh Playhouse. I can’t imagine what it must have felt like to be walked out of the school that Friday morning without so much as a Giant Eagle cake.
”Operational restructuring.”
Point Park University and the Pittsburgh Playhouse have lost their very heart. There is no art. There is no taking risks. There is just the pursuit of profit.
Good luck, students. You’ll need it.
Adam Meys
Clermont, Fla.