Little Lake artistic director ousted
The artistic director of Little Lake Theatre has been fired a little less than a year after she was hired for the job.
Roxy MtJoy, a Greene County native, was informed last week she was being ousted from her post, and artistic decisions for the venerable McMurray community theater company would be made in the 2016 season by a three-member committee consisting of board members Richard Rauh, Art DeConciliis and former artistic director Sunny Disney Fitchett.
Fitchett was the longtime artistic director of Little Lake who stepped down in June in order to move to California with her husband, Rob Fitchett, who had also been Little Lake’s managing director. Fitchett’s father, Will Disney, founded Little Lake Theatre in 1949.
Kevin Gallagher, president of Little Lake’s board of directors, in a statement sent by email to the media Thursday, said the vote to terminate MtJoy was unanimous.
“We are confident in our decision and committed to honoring the artistic legacy of the theatre for its 68th season and beyond,” Gallagher said. Fitchett, Rauh and DeConciilis did not return phone calls seeking comment.
Gallagher declined to disclose the reason for MtJoy’s termination.
Gallagher said during the transition, the board is putting in place a “seasoned and respected artistic team,” headed by DeConciliis to deal with matters related to the upcoming season.
“The board would like to thank our dedicated volunteers, energetic apprentices, loyal patrons and committed staff,” Gallagher said. “We recognize the success of our community theater is deeply rooted in the generous contributions made by our stakeholders.”
MtJoy and Managing Director Bob Rak came to Little Lake with great fanfare last year, with MtJoy being the first person outside Disney’s family to steer the company artistically. MtJoy defended her brief tenure Thursday, saying that Little Lake’s productions were well-reviewed and well-attended, and that she had secured a $10,000 grant for youth programming. However, MtJoy believes she was fired because she rankled an old guard of Little Lake regulars that included board members and volunteers.
“I did so much good,” MtJoy said. “Was I perfect? Of course not. But I can’t think of anything that would be a major concern.”
She said Gallagher had offered praise for her work as recently as October. Then, in December, as the 2015 season was winding down and she was being reviewed by an evaluation committee, she was confronted with what she terms “vicious gossip and anonymous accusations.” The whole evaluation was not completed, MtJoy said, and DeConciliis fired her over the phone last Friday.
“It was a pretty cruel way to handle a cruel situation,” she said. “I treated everyone respectfully. I did my job.”
She also explained that, in her estimation, Little Lake was not being run efficiently and that “theater best practices” were not being observed.
MtJoy hails from the Waynesburg area and graduated from Jefferson-Morgan High School before getting degrees in theater at Randolph-Macon Woman’s College in Virginia and Sarah Lawrence College in New York. Before coming to Little Lake, she had directed productions in Los Angeles and New York City.
When she was first hired, MtJoy said that she first acqiuired a taste for theater when she attended a production of “A Christmas Carol” at Little Lake when she was 5 years old. Despite the nature of her exit, she said her affection for Little Lake Theatre remains unchanged.
“As of this moment, I adore Little Lake,” she said. “I feel like I’ve abandoned people, even though it was not my choice.”