ART's Woodruff: Challenges remain

CAMBRIDGE -- He has regrets, said Robert Woodruff, the American Repertory Theatre's outgoing artistic director, in a speech he made to the ART community yesterday morning that left him and many of the approximately 200 people assembled in tears.

Woodruff called the meeting, which took place at the ART's Loeb Drama Center. The theater had announced on Dec. 28 that Woodruff would leave the ART at the end of this season, when his contract expires.

In his speech, Woodruff said he wished he had worked harder to attract more donors and increase ticket sales. (The gap between ART revenues and expenses has widened during his five years.) But with his voice rising, Woodruff said Harvard's leaders need to remain true to the ART's artistic mission of produc ing serious work.

"My departure does not solve the challenges this institution faces," he said, and cautioned that "If you take the power out of the hands of the artist, you fail."

Woodruff said he would send a letter to Harvard provost Steven E. Hyman urging him to include a group from the ART, including executive director Robert J. Orchard and associate artistic director Gideon Lester, in the search for his successor. Looking down during most of his speech, Woodruff raised his gaze only when mentioning that successor.

"Please help," Woodruff said. "Watch their backs. Protect them."

Sean Buffington, Harvard's associate provost for arts and culture, said by phone yesterday that the ART would be involved in the search. Hyman plans to convene a search committee this month, according to the ART.

"When we're hiring a major figure in an institution, it's crucial we have the input of the people inside the organization," Buffington said.

While Woodruff's tenure has been marked by artistic triumphs, including such plays he directed as "Highway Ulysses" and "Orpheus X," his ambitions may have strained the ART's budget. Figures released by the theater yesterday show that main-stage expenses rose from about $5.8 million in fiscal year 2003 to $6.2 million in fiscal year 2006, after averaging less than $5 million annually in the five years before his arrival. Meanwhile main-stage subscription series revenues remained largely flat under Woodruff, hovering between $1.75 million and $2 million. They were slightly higher in the previous five years . The ART also receives funding from Harvard, tuition for the ART's Institute for Advanced Theatre Training, touring, grants, and contributions from individuals and foundations.

Matthew Shakespeare, former ART development director, said by phone that the ART faces a challenge not felt by many other theaters.

"It's a really hard equation," he said. "The challenge between attracting audience, maintaining artistic integrity, and meeting a bottom line. It's not the North Shore Music Theatre. You can't just do ' The Music Man ' with Shirley Jones in the round. I think it's a very tough row to hoe."

Yesterday, Woodruff blended wry humor with an obvious passion for the theater. Rocking back and forth on his heels, he reeled off a list of memorable snapshots from ART productions. He grew most emotional when he talked of his work teaching students at the ART Institute and a directing course for Harvard undergraduates.

"I've learned a new intimacy in teaching," Woodruff said, pausing to collect himself. "I thank the students for their eyes and their hearts. The world we entered together is sacred."

Speaking to the Globe last week, Orchard said he expected Woodruff would eventually return to the ART as a guest director. Yesterday, Woodruff said he wasn't sure if he would be back after directing Racine's "Britannicus," which begins a run at the Loeb on Jan. 20.

"Your new leader will be your new lover," Woodruff said. "I will be angry, jealous, and sad. The tribe will close the circle, and I will be on the outside."

When he was finished, the audience broke into prolong ed applause as Woodruff made his way through the theater and out a side door. Afterward, some staffers and students huddled outside the Loeb, wiping away tears.

"As a student, it feels it's not the right time," said Aaron Ganz, who attends the ART Institute. "It feels like we're being cheated of somebody who is guiding us in a very specific way."

"He took hours and hours of his outside time to share with us," said Angela Nahigian another Institute student. "You really feel you're one of his children."

She said she would miss his guidance, sincerity, and daring.

"I'm afraid that his spirit will be so difficult to replace," Nahigian said. "I wonder what it is they're looking for."

Geoff Edgers can be reached at gedgers@globe.com. For more arts news, go to boston.com/ae/theater_arts/exhibitionist .