The Blog

At the risk of repeating myself (as I'm quoted in the Encore Michigan article), this is an incomprehensible and tragic decision by the BoarsHead board. Kristine Thatcher has been a godsend to that theatre: a tirelessly enthusiastic leader and phenomenal director, who has managed - over five years (until this difficult season) - to increase ticket sales, increase audience size by attracting talented theatre artists like herself to the city of Lansing, Michigan to do great work. Facing a financial downturn, this board chooses to "cut costs" by dismissing the one person who's given this 43-year old institution a purpose and a drive in its recent history. It doesn't take much to kill off a small, Equity theatre in a struggling city; this should do it. As for Kristine Thatcher, may she soon find herself where her incredible gifts and uplifting spirit are appreciated and rewarded.

I second Paul Slade Smith's last sentence. Bring Ms. Thatcher back to Chicago!

It is thinking like this which speaks volumes as to why Michigan is in the trouble it's in. They've cut their arts funding, so, of course, if you were thinking of finding a home for your business there, there are fewer reasons to attract talented workers to want to live there. Now, does someone have a job for Kristine in Chicago? She's first-rate at everything she does and she's wonderful company, too.

The detail that got me was that they'd chosen to keep the executive director and lose the artistic director--on the theory, I suppose, that you can always find product.

At the risk of repeating MYself (along with Paul, above): this is a tragedy for all concerned. Certainly for the brilliant and gifted Kristine Thatcher, one of the most amazing artists I've ever had the honor to work with; but while this will be devastating to her in the short run, I know, like Paul, that she will move on, and be treasured by a community that loves her work. No, it's mostly the wonderful, vibrant arts community in MI that loses out, due this heinous and short-sighted decision. And that breaks my heart. And if you believe that it's "just economics" driving it, and not the finally-fulfilled wishes of part of a board that has always had it in for it's artistic director, then I have some swampland in Galena to offer you.

While it's unfortunate that the Boarshead board had to choose between the artistic and executive director (regarding Tony Adler's comment), the fact of the matter is that you CAN always find product. What's hard to find, especially these days, is money, and the exec director's primary job is fund raising. No money, no theater, period.

Don't overlook the fact that it was the artistic director's choices of plays and directors, her drive and her standards of excellence, that shrunk the BoarsHead deficit from the time Kristine Thatcher assumed that position. This was not the achievement of board members who sought to reduce her power as soon as she won the job, nor that of their ally, an only recently installed managing director.

Exactly. The theatre's in financial trouble? Don't fire the guy (and the used car magnates on the board) who made the bad financial decisions, fire the artistic director who made the artistic decisions which gave the place credibility - thus, essentially, paid everybody's salary. Michigan, land of the Michigan Militia and the self-interested clowns who destroyed GM, Chrysler and the city of Detroit. Mr. Weiss, if Boarshead's still in business 2 years from now I'll buy you a Bell's ale.

Having been born and bred in Michigan, it breaks my heart every time I read a story like this - and that's becoming a daily occurrence. Industry in trouble? Fire the worker, but preserve the failed management and ideology that led to the predicament. And so it is with Ms. Thatcher's dismissal. Einstein said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. I hope the Boarshead Board of Directors have a good pharmaceutical plan.

Nobody around here paid any attention to Boarshead until Thatcher went to work there. Look for future attention in these parts to soon cease.

I, too, will summarize what I said in postings elsewhere. A more appropriate choice would have been to ask both the Business Manager and Artistic Director to take a cut in pay and then cut the budgets for the individual shows in the season. However, the Board feels that they are capable of making the artistic choices themselves. This is, indeed, typical Michigan thinking, the same thinking that made GM decide in the 80's that it was cheaper to build cars with defects than it was to build high quality cars. The result? Folks stopped buying their product. BoarsHead will soon be the GM of Michigan theaters. Bean counters don't know cars just because they drive one, and they don't know theater just because they sit in the audience.

Does David Rice's comment mean that the government will soon be taking over management of Boarshead?

Sorry Chicago! You can't have her back! We love Kristine here and want to keep her. The Board of Directors at the Boars Head Theatre have taken two gigantic steps backwards in the firing of Kristine Thatcher and the promotion of the "Managing Director." A person uncapable and unqualified for the position. While the stated decision to let her go was "financial," it is no secret that there were members of the Board who did not want her there in the first place, made life extremely difficult for her while there, and now have finally gotten there wish. Not meaning to be picky, it really has nothing to do with the Automobile Industry, the Michigan Militia (I'm almost certain there is an "Illinois Militia") or the City of Detroit. Simply put, just clueless people with an agenda.

Amen, Tobin! Let's not pick on Michigan, folks. It's a wonderful arts community. This is about a select few specific people, who have had it in for their artistic director practically from the day she arrived. Why? Because she's a strong, brilliant, creative, opinionated WOMAN. This is, very sadly, as old school as it gets.

I agree with Tobin Hissong's and Michael Joseph Mitchell's assessment of the BoarsHEad board and their nasty, unjust motives. It's not been much of a secret in the Lansing theater community that Kristine did not have the support of particularly the executive committee of the board. I served on the BoarsHead board for eight years and I am aware of the fiduciary responsibilities of a board to keep their organization alive. Where was this board in raising funds? Not out there front and center; that's for sure. My husband and I have decided not to renew our season ticket subscription and not to donate any more money to BoarsHead. At first I thought this would dishonor my friends, BoarsHad founders John Peakes and the late Richard Thomsen, but now I believe if we don't take this stand, that's the dishonor. I wish Kristine a new and glorious and FREER artistic career and am thrilled to hear that the other truly excellent professional theater in the Lansing area, the Williamston Theatre, has already hired her to direct a play this next season. Since I sometimes write about theatre, I need to say that I am speaking as an individual and not for City Pulse.

Kristie Thatcher is the soul of Boarshead! It's utter stupidity on the boards part. And they think that John Dale can do it--HAH! He's a musician.

Great quote from the Board Chair: ""I certainly understand the business side very well," said Meyer, while admitting, "I don't understand the theater part of it. I'm just an old hockey guy."" And there you have it. I never had the pleasure of working with Ms. Thatcher, but I still remember having an actor crush on her Annie in "The Real Thing" in the 80s, and I look forward to seeing more of her work in Chicago!

I worked with Kristine at Wisdom Bridge twenty years ago, and she was then, and still remains a dynamic theatrical triple threat: actor, playwright, and director. The work board members is extremely important and deserves our respect. But too often boards convince themselves that because what they do is so difficult (and it surely is), that of course they could also do what someone like Kristine can make look so easy (which it surely isn't) because she's so good at it. Learn from Victory Gardens, where their board nearly muntineered on Dennis n Marcie: the artistic staff prevailed, and that theatre is stronger and better funded than ever.

Being a former member of Second Company of BoarsHead(Intern). I know on many occasions that when money was discussed it was brought up that many of the Board Members were not fulfulling there Monetary obligations to the theatre as well as not paying for their season subscriptions both of which are obligations to be on the Board. They had no support and no clue what was going in the theatre. It is extremely frustrating as the year I worked there was the year of the severe money trouble and the only way anyone got through was Kristine's drive and conviction to our art and making us realize how important what we were doing is. It saddens me to think that the place that has given me such great memories will probablly be gone within two years. The Board now has the puppet they have wanted and needed to take over control of the theatre.

Having had a great experience at the BoarsHead with Kristine at the helm, I am sorry to see this happen. It seems to me from what I have read that the plays were well received, though not always well attended, but that the problem was in the raising of the money. Why then did they fire the person doing the art and keep the person doing the fundraising?

As a former president of the Boarshead board, Kristine's impending departure saddens me greatly. She's the soul of that theater. I will watch the Boarshead artistic choices with great interest in the coming months, but for now, my dollars will be spent at other fine theaters in Michigan.