Hello there! It’s me, the new Artistic Director of your Shakespearean company.

Welcome to this new blog space! This is where I will – somewhat regularly – spill my thoughts and feelings; and let you in on what’s happening behind the scenes at Shakespeare in the Ruins.

It is still somewhat surreal to be writing to you from this vantage point…

Even though I was offered the job of leading SIR in January, it all still feels way too fresh, and I’m still playing catch up every second of the game.

There is always something to tackle *right away*; there is always a deadline that’s *right now*; there’s always an email that should have been answered *OMG this should have been answered last week*…and there’s always a show going into pre-production whose team must be assembled. Don’t get me wrong, it is thrilling and exciting; but this first year – and especially now, as I’m solo on the job and the overlap with my predecessor is done – is all about playing catch up and becoming familiar with the artistic and financial cycles of the company.

It will take me a while to feel somewhat comfortable; to feel like I am, in fact, a proper bona-fide Artistic Director.

And that’s ok. Humility is important. Especially in this job, whose main function is, indeed, searching for money, and for new ways to grow the company’s revenue and capacity to offer more to our audiences.

This may sound nuts, or somewhat grand, but I have been flirting with the idea of becoming an AD of a theatre company for a long, long time, and I truly think it is something I was…ok, here it goes: born to do. The idea has always turned me on: the vast possibilities of the job, of developing a project you truly believe in, and of organizing a community – it’s all intensely romantic and beautifully challenging. And I feel incredibly grateful that SIR and the Board have invested their trust in me as their new leader.

So here’s to living the dream! YOU have made it possible. This company is here for you!

Yours,
Rodrigo Beilfuss