Nicholas Rudall is resigning as executive director of the University of Chicago’s Court Theatre, which he founded 23 years ago. Beginning this June, Charles Newell, the aggressive young director who was brought in as an associate, will take over as Court’s new artistic director. The move, while a major transition in Chicago’s off-Loop theater scene, is not a total surprise. “Charlie was brought here last year with this transition in mind,” the 54-year-old Rudall admits. “It has been a long and extremely rewarding period of my life. But it’s time for me to step away from day-to-day administration and to have the luxury of focusing only on artistic development. I haven’t had time off in 24 years.” The Welsh-born Rudall will take a sabbatical this fall and then return as founding director, continuing to both direct and act at Court, as well as adapt a cycle of tragedies by Euripides. Newell, who won the 1992 Alan Schneider Director Award, is expected to continue Court’s move toward repertory and more innovative programming.
