Announcement From
Artistic Director Robert Walsh
Artistic Director Robert Walsh has announced he will be stepping down at the end of 2021. The Gloucester Stage Board of Directors has appointed Award-winning Actress and Director and veteran of Gloucester Stage Paula Plum as the Interim Artistic Director as they begin a transparent, and equitable search process for the next artistic leader of the Company.
Robert Walsh has served as Artistic Director of Gloucester Stage since 2015 and has a long history of performing on the Cape Ann stage spanning three decades, back to Two for the Seesaw in 1990. During his tenure, Walsh has presented 43 productions, of which eight he has performed in or directed, and received over 30 IRNE and Elliot Norton nominations and awards.
“Over the last four years, I’ve had the honor and privilege to work alongside Robert Walsh. The professionalism and artistic competency that he has brought to Gloucester Stage are immeasurable. Robert is one of the most highly regarded professionals in the business due to his vast experience but also the supportive and safe working environment he creates for every production team. Gloucester Stage has achieved significant growth with a great indebtedness to Robert Walsh’s fortitude and strategic vision. I look forward to continuing our forward trajectory with the exquisite Paula Plum as my producing partner,” said Managing Director Christopher Griffith.
Meet Paula Plum Interim Artistic Director
I am honored to succeed my esteemed colleague Bob Walsh as Interim Artistic Director and to continue the theatre’s commitment to anti-racism work in season planning and hiring. Bob and I are curating a selection of plays for GSC 2022 written by an exciting group of playwrights whose stories are personally thrilling, culturally relevant and boldly represent the work of historically underrepresented individuals. As a 30 year veteran of Gloucester Stage, I am so happy to shepherd the theatre on to its next exciting chapter and to work this coming year with old and new friends. – Paula Plum, Interim Artistic Director
Paula Plum is a 30-year veteran of Gloucester Stage Company, first appearing in 1990 as Winnie in Happy Days and most recently in Barefoot in the Park. GSC Directing credits include I’m Not Rappaport, Out of Sterno, and The Last Schwartz. Paula is the recipient of seven IRNE awards, 2007, 2017 & 2020 Eliot Norton Award for Outstanding Actress, the 2004 Eliot Norton Award for Sustained Excellence, and the 2003 Distinguished Alumni Award from Boston University. In 2009 she was one of five actors nationwide to receive the Fox Actor Fellowship in association with SpeakEasy Stage. As a founding member of the Actors’ Shakespeare Project, Plum has played Cleopatra, Beatrice, Lady Macbeth, and Phèdre and served as their Interim Artistic Director in 2018. She has appeared regionally at the Lyric Stage, the American Repertory Theatre, the New Repertory Theatre, Merrimack Repertory, the Huntington Theatre, Gloucester Stage Company, and Elm Shakespeare. Film credits include: Mermaids, Malice, Next Stop Wonderland, and Irrational Man directed by Woody Allen. Upcoming films include: About Fate with Emma Roberts and Fourth of July alongside Robert Walsh. Television: Science Court (three seasons ABC) and co-creator and star of The Dick & Paula Celebrity Special for FX. From 2003 through 2019, Paula served as Artistic Director of WGBH’s A Christmas Celtic Sojourn featuring Brian O’Donovan. Ms. Plum is a cum laude graduate of Boston University and has studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, the Dell’Arte Institute, and École Phillipe Gaulier, Paris. She has been published in American Theatre magazine and is married to actor Richard Snee. Paula is a professional acting coach and last year was appointed the 2020/2021 Monan Professor of Theater Arts at Boston College.