The moment of change is the only poem.
-Adrienne Rich
A NOTE FROM OUR FOUNDER
After many months of overlap, the time has at last come for me to step aside and allow Cristina Lundy to fully take on her well-deserved role as the guiding voice for New York Shakespeare Exchange. For those of you who have been with NYSX over the years, you know that Cristina has been an essential part of our growth. In addition to her numerous creative contributions, she has guided us behind the scenes in terms of all casting and hiring. She has been the single most important voice in creating a safe, equitable, and representative community. She has been my right hand, my left hand, and altogether her own force of creation.
In the almost two years since I moved out of New York, Cristina and I have had many conversations about the potential of this amazing organization. As Artistic Director, she will be working to make this her version of NYSX and I am truly excited to see what is to come.
And you are not rid of me completely! I am planning to maintain my place on the Board of Directors, and whether she wants it or not, I will continue to be consultant, confidante, and dear friend to Cristina. For my own part, I will be taking some time to breathe and explore what comes next. My road as an artist has had many twists and turns, and no doubt, if I allow myself to stand at the crossroads for a bit, I will be drawn to the right adventure. The one thing I know for sure is that I will be doing a lot of singing as I go (if you are in Cleveland in June, come see me in my first opera!).
Building New York Shakespeare Exchange has been a crowning glory of my life. Thank you for supporting me through the joy, laughter, art, and community.
Until our next exchange,
Ross Williams
Founder/Board of Directors
A NOTE FROM OUR ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Ross Williams is a tough act to follow. He’s an innovator at heart, and his knack for seeing the potential in undeveloped corners of artistic real estate is the reason NYSX has become known for putting Shakespeare on bar-tops and Sonnets on film. His “why not?” spirit has laid the foundation of this company, and it is the origin point of not only every project NYSX has ever brought to fruition, but also the culture of curiosity that makes me so proud to call this company my artistic home.
This curiosity is what drives me to seek a path forward for NYSX that might look very different from what the last 12 years have held. It drives me to look outside myself to members of our community – artists, to be sure, but also audience members – and ask, “What has made your relationship to NYSX special? What would be missing in your life if we had never crossed paths? How can we be of service to our fellow artists and citizens with the work we do and the way we do it?”
I’m excited to get to ask these questions of any of you who are open to the conversation. I hope to be surprised by some answers. And I look forward to the collaborations and creativity that will birth new projects and priorities for the company. I’ve never been more excited to not know what comes next.
What’s past is prologue – let’s raise a glass to it, and to our future.
Huzzah!
Cristina Lundy