March 14, 2019 | Theatre, Notes From Leadership,

What’s In a Season by Artistic Director David Dower

As the curtain rises on An Inspector Calls, a centerpiece of our ninth season, we are busily putting the finishing touches on our next: the 10th!

It’s hard to imagine that the time has flown so quickly. If you are new to the ArtsEmerson community, it may seem we’ve always been here. But we were launched by Emerson College to coincide with the opening of the Paramount Center, quickly establishing ourselves as a home for adventurous audiences seeking access to great theatre from around the world without leaving the city.

What distinguishes a production, this one for instance, as an ArtsEmerson production? What are we looking for when we are putting a season together for you, year after year?

We ask ourselves two questions at the outset: “Is it to be done?” and “Is it ours to do?”

The answer to the first is found in the work itself. Does it captivate? Is there a bold vision? A distinctive voice? Is there excellence in the execution? Does it resonate with our lives? Does it contribute something to Boston’s overall theatre landscape that would otherwise be missing here? This revival of one of the most lauded productions in the history of British and American theatre scores a bullseye on the question of “Is it to be done?”

The “ours to do” element is where the rubber hits the road. ArtsEmerson is committed to fostering connection through our programming, creating a space in all our lives to come into community with people from all different backgrounds and neighborhoods to explore the world together. An ArtsEmerson show helps us feel our connection to our world and to each other. J. B. Priestley held the same desire as he sat down to write Inspector in the aftermath of World War II.

Our 10th season will be unveiled at a big, free party on May 20th and we’d love to see you there. It will be a chance to meet our staff, the artists and others in the ArtsEmerson audience who share your sense of adventure. It may even spark a desire to explore new worlds in these glorious theatres as a season ticket holder. Mark your calendar. Put it in your phone. And come be part of the next 10 years of The World On Stage right here in the heart of Boston.

We are about to drop you in 1912 England. The moment right before the start of World War I, written in1945, the moment right after World War II. Is the past prologue? Is it even the past?

• David Dower, Artistic Director

Don’t miss An Inspector Calls MAR 14-24 at the Cutler Majestic Theatre!