{image1}When Montgomery Davis announced that he was stepping down as Artistic Director of the Milwaukee Chamber Theatre after three decades in the position, it was unclear who would fill his place. There was hardly a lack of interest in the position; more than 100 people applied. After considerable consideration, stage veteran C. Michael Wright was chosen.

A New York native, Wright comes to the position with an impressive resume. He has been living in Milwaukee for nearly two decades now. Since moving here, he's acted in a number of shows with a number of companies including the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Milwaukee Shakespeare, the American Players Theatre, the Skylight Opera and, of course, the Milwaukee Chamber Theatre.

He's directed a number of productions over the years as well, including Colleen Madden in Renaissance Theaterworks' hugely successful production of "The Syringa Tree" last year. Wright has also served as assistant Associate Artistic Director of the Next Act Theatre for a number of years, so he's no stranger to the larger concerns of a theater company.

To talk to him, you wouldn't guess that all the work so far has worn him out in the least. There's a real passion in his voice as he talks about what he feels to be a very natural progression from actor to director to artistic director. There's an intelligent, youthful energy to his voice that seems somewhat incongruous with his 52 years of age. This energy will serve him well as he deals with people from every edge of the theatre process from board members to actors, directors, cast and crew.

Exiting Artistic Director Montgomery Davis seems quite satisfied to be handing the position over to Wright.

"It's nice to see someone taking over who has a lot of the same interests as I have, the same instincts for what is good in theater and can work under the same constraints that small theater imposes," says Davis.

With best wishes from Davis, Wright even seems excited at being able to work with all the constraints of a smaller theater.

Wright has quite a passion for small theater and is quite excited to have one to work with on a larger scale. He's expressed an interest in producing more recent plays from more recent playwrights and fresh interpretations of older material as an aesthetic counterweight to the "museum theater" of period plays in huge venues elsewhere in town.

He's quite eager to maintain a strong connection between the production, its audience and the community in the intimate confines of a small theatre atmosphere. To this end, one of his first decisions as Artistic Director was to put "Milwaukee," back in the company's name.

While it will be a particularly busy season ahead for Wright -- who is appearing in and directing a number of shows this coming season -- he already has a wide range of ideas for MCT. A big fan of musicals -- he'll appear in the Skylight Opera's "Man of LaMancha" later this season -- Wright will look to produce one small-scale musical every season.

Wright would also like to maintain a strong connection to the literature that is the lifeblood of theater. To this end, he's expressed an interest in working with local universities to possibly produce a young playwrights' festival. With so many excellent playwrights in the area, it's surprising this kind of idea hasn't already been attempted by one of Milwaukee's larger theater companies.

Wright laughed when I asked him if he'd expected to be in the position for as long as Davis. Three decades is a long time for anyone. It's reassuring that he's planning on maintaining the position for as long as he can. As the 20th anniversary of his move to Milwaukee approaches, Wright has no plans to leave.

"I love Milwaukee," he says.