🔒Stotts reflects on tenure leading Hartford Stage

Michael Stotts first got hooked on theatre in high school.

“Plays and musicals tell the stories of our humanity,” said Stotts, who has led Hartford Stage as its managing director for more than a dozen years.

Stotts will leave his post in January for a managing director position at Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, N.J.

While leading Hartford Stage, Stotts engaged the business community through corporate sponsor events, in addition to promoting Hartford Stage as an economic driver for the city. He oversaw a multimillion-dollar renovation of the Church Street theater and implemented new programs aimed at wooing Millennials.

And, of course, in 2014, Hartford Stage won the Tony Award for Best Musical for “A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder.”

What have been your greatest accomplishments at Hartford Stage?

I have been at Hartford Stage for over 12 years, working in collaboration with artistic directors Darko Tresnjak, and Michael Wilson before him. During this time we have produced numerous plays and musicals that have delighted (or challenged) our Greater Hartford audiences. Working on this body of work has been a highlight of my career.

As for a greatest accomplishment, I would have to say that has been overseeing the expansion and renovations of our Church Street theatre. Both artists and audiences have raved about the flexibility, intimacy and comfort of our spaces.

I am also proud of Hartford Stage's extensive education programs that have quadrupled in size (and impact) during my tenure.

Financially, how is the theatre scene in Greater Hartford right now?

While we have grown our subscriber base over the past seven years, tickets sales ebb and flow with the economic environment (a continuing challenge in Connecticut); politics (increasingly polarizing our audiences); and competition from other media.

Overall, I have to say that Greater Hartford has a vibrant arts and culture scene, and theatre is a particular genre that does well here. We have smart, inquisitive audiences that not only want to be entertained, but also want to be challenged by the work. Hartford Stage's audience sizes go up and down, with big musicals and productions of Shakespeare doing extremely well at the box office.

People today have an unprecedented amount of entertainment options. How have you tried to counteract competition?

There is no question that over Hartford Stage's 55-year history, a lot has changed in our world and local community that has affected ticket sales. Whether it is increased entertainment options, or lifestyle changes, we have had to adapt to new forms of competition.

We have changed pricing and packaging strategies, added pre- and post-show events to help enhance the theatre-going experience, and have had to look at programming choices to ensure that some of the more thought-provoking works are counterbalanced with what might be characterized as more popular works.