Big Changes at Next Act Theatre

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Next Act Theatre announced that founding member David Cecsarini will step down at the end of the 2022-2023 season. Cecsarini has been with the company since it began 32 years ago and has served as Producing Artistic Director for the last 30 years

Next Act was founded in 1990 with the merger of Theater Tesseract, which brought contemporary Off-Broadway shows to Milwaukee, and Next Generation Theater, devoted to children’s productions. “I had been affiliated with both,” Cecsarini recalls. “We tried to combine our missions, keeping both kinds of theater on a parallel track. We confused everybody—as anyone who knows anything about marketing could have told us.”

The new company wasn’t selling many tickets. Working with his colleague Jonathan Smoots, Cecsarini “came up with a survival plan—lose the children’s mission and pursue contemporary theater.” The downsized agenda fit well in their provisional home, the Rep’s Stiemke Theatre. Funds were raised, debts were forgiven and tickets were sold. “Intimate and Powerful” became Next Act’s motto. As the Stiemke grew busier, Next Act became semi-itinerant until renting space at 342 N. Water Street. “We were happy there for 10 years,” Cecsarini says.

By 2010, the property was under new management and, as Cecsarini puts it, “a non-profit organization was not part of their plan. We looked for other spaces and found our final destination”—the Next Act Theatre at 255 S. Water Street where the company opened its Fall 2011 season.

“It was a scramble,” Cecsarini recalls. “Lease negotiations held us up. We started building up [the site] in April. We scrambled for our opening in October and we made it.”

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Like other performing arts groups, Next Act’s reliance on season subscriptions has been challenged by a changing world. “It’s a different game these days—with streaming and so much on demand,” he says.

As for why he is stepping down from the leading role at Next Act? “I’ve been doing this for 32 years. I’ll be 68 this fall and I’m looking for an opening to do other things—acting, directing—without the additional responsibility. For another reason, “32 years is a long time for one company’s leadership. Our culture is changing. Next Act could use a new perspective on things, including finding a younger demographic and connecting with other communities. I’d like to clear the way for another person.”

Next Act will focus its search for Cecsarini’s replacement on the Upper Midwest region. “Someone from Milwaukee would be terrific, someone with loyalty and commitment to this community,” Cecsarini says, adding, “Next Act for me is about producing stories that reflect the challenges in our lives and communities.”

Cecsarini will have the opportunity to show his successor the ropes—and he may continue being visible at Next Act as an actor or guest director in seasons to come.