L-R: Kathryn Grody in The Unexpected 3rd, photo by Mark Garvin; Gideon Grody-Patinkin, Levi Gray, Carol Flannery, Elizabeth Hawks and Zak Berkman, with Shonali Burke in the foreground, photo by Shonali Burke

A personal note from Managing Director Shonali Burke

When I joined People’s Light, I couldn’t have predicted that my time here would be bookended by two pieces with titles as resonant as The Unexpected 3rd and The Woman Question. In very different ways, both plays ask us to sit with uncertainty, to examine the stories we tell about whose lives matter, and to imagine futures that don’t yet exist.

What I’m about to share with you illustrates my point perfectly. After much thought, I’ve made the difficult, personal decision to step down as Managing Director of People’s Light. As I prepare to say goodbye to staff, colleagues, patrons, and a community I’ve grown extremely fond of this past year and change, my confidence in the company and its mission has never been stronger.

In a relatively short time, we have navigated significant change, launched new work, welcomed new collaborators, and invited audiences into conversations that feel more urgent than ever. From the radical candor and humor of The Unexpected 3rd to the historically grounded, eerily contemporary questions of The Woman Question, this company has continued to do what it does best: hold up a mirror to the world with courage, complexity, and heart.

Theatre at People’s Light has always been about more than what happens onstage. It is about gathering, listening, arguing, laughing, and imagining a more just and generous future together. That work is bigger than any one person, and I am excited to cheer it on — this time from the audience.

Thank you for the trust you’ve placed in me, for your partnership, and for your belief in the power of this theatre. I will carry People’s Light, and this remarkable community, with me wherever I go.