Page 37 - The Hunt - Fall 2024

I like to think of us as a civic center with
a theater as our core. —Erin Sheffield, People’s Light
By contrast, People’s Light presents nine or 10 plays on a year-round basis with lots of allied education and experimental activities, as befits its budget of around $5 million and full-time staff of 50. “I like to think of us
as a civic center with a theater at our core,” says general manager Erin Sheffield, who combines a background in acting and theater
management with a stint in New York finance. Perhaps your idea of a theater company is more like a traveling troupe of veteran actors
who’ve worked together for years, whether in the bawdy theaters of Shakespeare’s day or with a modern Broadway national tour. You get that vibe with UD’s REP company, just without the travel. “We have seven actors in
our company, all officially university employees and all of us teachers as well as actors,” says Sandy Ernst.
In addition to the staff performers, who each have a leading or supporting role in every production, the REP hires additional professional union actors and directors to fill out the casts. As with the other theaters, the
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