Friday, November 23, 2007

Money Woes Convince Ambush to Step Down from ACTC Appointment

Posted by Phil Whiteway

We were sorry to learn this week from the Washington Post that Benny Sato Ambush, former artistic director of TheatreVirginia, has resigned his new position as artistic director of the African Continuum Theatre Company in Washington, D. C.

In Where Are They Now – Benny Sato Ambush (Sunday, Nov 4 2007), I wrote in this blog about Benny’s excitement for his new appointment, and about our excitement to welcome him back to the region. On Nov 14, Jane Horwitz reported in the Post that Benny now has decided to step down as acting artistic director and will not be accepting the fulltime position.

“The theater had announced a season it couldn’t afford to launch,” Benny is quoted as saying. “It was a cash flow crisis, you bet.” Stating that his relationship with the African Continuum was always amicable, Benny commended the ACTC Board for “some really good and hard work” in determining the extent of their financial challenges. He acknowledged that if he had known earlier about the theatre’s cash troubles, “I would have stayed clear of the job.”
In earlier articles in the national press, Benny has lamented that he had not been adequately informed about TheatreVirginia’s money woes until after arriving in Richmond.
As always, we wish Benny the best, and remain confident that his freelance career will continue to flourish, as it has since he left Virginia in 2002.
--Phil Whiteway

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