After transforming Florida Studio Theatre from a traveling acting troupe that brought shows to prisons, migrant workers and other under((served communities into a multi-million dollar company with five theater venues and apartment buildings – and more of both on the way – Producing Artistic Director Richard Hopkins is preparing to step aside and welcome new leadership over the next couple of years.
In a long-planned transition, Hopkins will become Executive Producer while his wife, Managing Director Rebecca Hopkins, will become Executive Director as the theater begins a national search for new artistic and managing directors to succeed them. At that point, Richard Hopkins will have led the theater for nearly 50 years.
It could be considered something of a seismic shift in the local arts scene because Richard Hopkins is the longest-serving arts leader in the area, with one of the longest track records in the country. Richard and Rebecca Hopkins prefer to think of it as a continued evolution of the theater.
“That’s what we’re hoping for. Nobody is going to do what Richard has done,” Rebecca Hopkins said. “They’re going to do what they do. That’s what we want. We want an evolution. Often people come in with a direction for a theater, but we’ve built 52 years of trust with this audience and want to maintain that. It will evolve and they will have a massive impact on this theater.”…