Perseverance Theatre names new leader

Joshua Midgett will take the helm of the Douglas-based theater company as it celebrates its 40th season. (Photo courtesy of Perseverance Theatre)

Perseverance Theatre has hired a new executive director.

Joshua Midgett will join the Douglas-based regional theater company this fall.

He’ll work alongside longtime theater chief Art Rotch who will continue on as artistic director.

Midgett spent five of his childhood years in Alaska’s capital city where he attended elementary and middle school.

“And I am excited to go home,” Midgett said by phone Tuesday. “It’s a beautiful community and a theater that is expanding on its mission a little bit and has place at the center of its mission more than a lot of other regional theaters around the country. And so I am excited to be given the opportunity to be a part of it.”

Midgett comes by way of West Virginia where he’s managed the Contemporary American Theater Festival since 2015.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to be working at an organization that focuses on new plays, which is not a sexy thing to sell to audiences,” he said. “And yet, I was pretty successful in the last four years in selling that to our audiences.”

Perseverance Theatre recently ran into financial trouble. A number of staff were placed on unpaid leave this summer while it struggled to pay bills. Performances were canceled in both Juneau and Anchorage.

The theater company is about halfway toward a $100,000 community fundraising goal it seeks to reach by October. That’s in addition to a $650,000 recapitalization package received from a mix of individual donors and philanthropic organizations that’s put it back in the black on the eve of its 40th season.

Perseverance’s fall season kicks off in Douglas on Oct. 5 with a staging of “Our Town” by Thornton Wilder.

Jacob Resneck, CoastAlaska

Jacob Resneck is CoastAlaska's regional news director based in Juneau. CoastAlaska is our partner in Southeast Alaska. KTOO collaborates with partners across the state to cover important news and to share stories with our audiences.

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