Art Rotch | Designer | Director

I have an MFA in design (NYU), Bachelors in History (Harvard), and am a member of USA829 (SD, LD) and SDC.  I have designed for over thirty years in New York and regionally, and spent many years in Alaska at Perseverance Theatre, in two separate periods as an Alaska resident. Altogether, I spent  22 at Perseverance: First, starting in 1988, as a staff member, in production, management, and as resident designer. My second time living in Alaska, I was the Artistic and Executive Director at Perseverance Theatre from 2008-2019.

I come from a creative family. We had books everywhere growing up and watched Star Trek faithfully. Unlike my artist-sister and writer-brother, I planned for a ‘real’ job. My family highly values education, so after moving to small-town Maine near where my mom grew up for my High School years (Maine still feels like home), I returned to Boston to attend Harvard with the idea that I would go into Law or Government. Harvard’s theatre scene was interesting in the 80s, and I participated actively while also being interested in my academic work in History. 

I first went to Alaska intending to spend a year there before Law School. 11 years went by, working in theatre. Harvard’s loose approach to theatre education meant we figured things out for ourselves. This was good preparation for a small, remote theatre outpost with high standards but flexibility of roles and process. Alaska has a way of claiming you, and it was a great place for me then. My work led easily to design. Regular guest artists, especially scenographer Pavel Dobrusky, writer John Murrell, and Lighting Designer Allen Lee Hughs were inspiring, and design for theatre became my vocation. 

In 2002, I came back east to formally study Design at NYU, and afterwards, remained in New York City and worked as a primarily as a set designer, and regularly as a lighting designer,  in theatre and opera.  During this time in New York, I met Akiko Nishijima Rotch, a fellow NYU student who also works as a Set Designer, teacher, and USA29 Scenic Artist. We were married in early 2008.

After finishing my MFA I had returned regularly to design for Perseverance Theater during PJ Paparelli’s time there as Artistic Director. In mid 2007, I was asked to consider coming back to Perseverance to help with a challenging period for the theater, and in 2008 I returned to Alaska to lead Perseverance as Artistic Director.  It may be unusual for designers to serve in this role, but for me, it was a one of a kind opportunity to work with a company and community I knew very well. I was excited to work on ways to bring the theater’s work to more Alaskan audiences, and to offer higher fees and salaries to more Alaskan artists and theater workers. I was also pleased to commit the theater to support original works and especially encouraged Alaska Native writers to write for the stage, and in my last four seasons, consistently produced Native writers on the subscription seasons on the theater’s largest stage, with two of those Alaskan writers finding notice and writing opportunities in other states. I designed sets while also lighting and, later, directing regularly.  Working a lot in the Perseverance space had an impact: It’s both intimate, and a large volume. As both a designer and director, I learned to value details and the sculptural volume of a thrust space. I’m glad Perseverance combines intimacy and scale, while my academic and freelance careers brought me to many other, larger kinds of spaces.

For many years, my wife and I were bi coastal with homes in Alaska and New York. My entire family are on the east coast, and the distance took its tool. In late 2019, I relocated from Alaska back to New York City with Akiko, whose work is becoming more New York based.  The pandemic has helped me focus on some personal projects and take time off, in an odd time, but a good way. It is a great time to be back in the northeast, again closer to my family, and to pick up again the freelance career I set aside to return to Alaska in 2008.