Pugliese Steps Down at Oddfellows, Steps Up at UConn Rep Theatre

Connecticut Repertory Theatre Artistic Director Vincent Cardinal announced that Matthew J. Pugliese is the theater’s new Interim Managing Director.  

Pugliese is stepping in to fill the role recently vacated by Frank Mack, who served for 10 years as the Managing Director of Connecticut Repertory Theatre. Mack will stay with CRT as Management Associate, and join the Department of Dramatic Arts faculty as Associate Professor of Arts Administration, as he pilots the schools’ graduate online certificate in Arts Administration and the new Master of Fine Arts in Arts Administration program. 

Pugliese is an alumnus of UConn, having earned his BA in Theater Studies and his Graduate Certificate in Non-Profit Management from the university.  As Interim Managing Director, Pugliese will oversee the management functions of Connecticut Repertory Theatre, the professional arm of the Department of Dramatic Arts, for the remainder of the 2013/2014 Subscription Series and the 2014 Nutmeg Summer Series.  

For the last five years, he served as the Executive Director of Oddfellows Playhouse Youth Theater in Middletown, CT named in 2013 by Connecticut Magazine as Best Children’s Theater.  

He joined Oddfellows in 2008 as managing director and became executive eirector in 2011. Prior to that, Pugliese served as a director for several Teen Repertory Company productions and was a teaching artist for many different Oddfellows. programs.

“I have been honored to represent Oddfellows for the last five years. It is an incredible arts organization, and has had a profound impact on so many young people over the last 39 years,” Pugliese said.

Prior to that time he served several seasons as the Production Manager at the Ivoryton Playhouse.  During his time with Ivoryton the theater won two Connecticut Critics Circle Awards and was nominated for six more.  In 2012 Pugliese was selected by the Hartford Business Journal as one of its 40 under 40 Young Business Leaders.  

He has worked professionally as an actor, director, playwright and teacher. 

Mr. Mack said, “We are excited to have Matt Pugliese here as Interim Managing Director.  Having an alumnus at CRT in this position is a great advertisement for Arts Administration training at UConn. Matt brings not only his education from UConn but nearly 10 years of leadership experience in the profession.”

Mr. Cardinal said, “Frank Mack has done a wonderful job during his tenure as Managing Director at Connecticut Repertory Theatre, working with me to bring back the Nutmeg Summer Series, increasing the subscriber audience and patron support of CRT.  We’re excited that Frank will be lending his expertise to our new MFA program.”