Longtime A.R.T. Director Retiring

After 30 years, the executive director of the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge is retiring. Robert Orchard has been with the A.R.T. since the company formed in 1980.

Founding Director Robert Brustein, who was Orchard's instructor at Yale University, said he brought Orchard with him to Cambridge and has worked closely with him since the beginning.

"Obviously, given the longevity of his tenure, it testifies to the marvelous quality of his gifts," said Brustein.

Robert Orchard will stop working full-time at the end of the current season. But he will stick around to advise the A.R.T.'s new artistic director, Diane Paulis, as she kicks-off her first season this fall.