In a year of upheaval, perhaps no Chicago theater company has seen more of it than the Company Formerly Known as Pride Films and Plays. Rocked by social media allegations that founder David Zak (a pioneer of LGBTQ+ theater in Chicago) had either engaged in patterns of abuse and harassment toward actors and staff or ignored such incidents from others involved in the company (as well as wide-ranging complaints about the general safety and hygiene of the rehearsal and performance spaces), Zak announced he was stepping away on July 3 of last year. The board then announced that actor-director Donterrio Johnson would take over as artistic director. (Zak’s official title at the time he resigned was executive director; there had been no artistic director at Pride since Nelson Rodriguez left in 2018, after serving two years in that role.)
“I think right now David’s official title is like just a soundboard,” says Españo. “He’s been turning over a lot of things to me—introducing me to people, telling me writers he’s been working with. Just the other day I was writing a grant letter and I needed to decide which of our [upcoming] plays is best suited for the grant. I sent him a text and he was like, ‘Nope, it’s all on you now.’”
But will Zak still have a role? Tatar says, “I will be honest and say that it will be a continuing process. I don’t think it’s ‘this is the date that you’re here, and this is the date that you’re not.’ I think David—one, we’ve hired Jay as the artistic director. So in any conversation with us, in any conversation with David, Jay is the artistic person.”
A stage manager’s legacy
