40 Under Forty Awards 2024
Kate Liberman | 39
Executive Director, Trinity Repertory Company
What is the biggest challenge currently facing your industry and how are you responding to it? The nonprofit theater industry continues to recover from the damage of COVID-19-related closures. It has halved our subscriber base, decreased our single-ticket buyers and cut our annual donations. At the same time, post-COVID expenses have increased significantly, especially in an industry reliant on people and labor. At Trinity Rep, we are rebounding as best we can with a major commitment to expanding and diversifying our audience, welcoming new people into the theater every day. This season saw 4,500 new ticket buyers.
Where do you see yourself in five years? At Trinity Rep! We will be on the other side of our major capital construction project in a thriving theater with updated and modern spaces, serving everyone in our community as the State Theater of Rhode Island.
What was your first job? Working summers for Sweetberry Cafe at the outdoor pool of the JCC [Jewish Community Center] in Newton, Mass.
What advice would you give your 22-year-old self? Relax and trust that everything will work out.
What is your favorite Rhode Island food or drink? The polenta at Mike’s Kitchen in Cranston. Yum!
What was your last streaming or cable binge watch? “Suits.” It’s wild.
What is your preferred source for national news? The New York Times.