New leadership plan for Theater on the Lake

The Chicago Park District today announced a switch in its artistic leadership model for Theater on the Lake, the summer program that presents remounts of selected recent theater productions at the CPD facility at Fullerton Avenue and Lake Shore Drive.

Hallie Gordon, who's served as Theater on the Lake's artistic director for the past six seasons (and who serves in the same capacity at Steppenwolf for Young Adults), is stepping down. Rather than naming a new permanent artistic director, Theater on the Lake is transitioning to co-curators who will serve single terms. The co-curators for the 2012 season will be Michael Patrick Thornton, artistic director of the Gift Theatre, and Meghan Beals McCarthy, associate artistic director at Chicago Dramatists. Thornton and McCarthy's eight-show season will be announced in the spring.