Emporia State University’s Director of Theater will be leaving on a high note.
It was announced earlier this year that now-former Director Pete Rydberg would be departing ESU after leading the department for the past three years. Rydberg took over for longtime director Jim Bartruff during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, which Rydberg says was both challenging and creatively inspiring.
Rydberg now leaves Emporia State to take the role of Director for the University of Wisconsin La Crosse School of Visual and Performing Arts and says it is very bittersweet as the move will put him closer to family, however, he says he will greatly miss Emporia.
Rydberg’s tenure concludes following the recent summer production of Ride the Cyclone which was nearly sold out each night of its four-show run. Rydberg tells KVOE News the show managed to make an impact on just about everyone who attended, making it a great “swan song” for his ESU tenure.
He adds the last two years of summer theater have been the epitome of everything he and his colleagues knew it could be.
Taking over for Rydberg will be Dennis Turney who has been named as the interim director of theater for the 2023-24 school year. For more information on the ESU Theatre Department or upcoming productions visit Emporia.edu/visual-and-performing-arts.
