Skylight Opera’s Firing Fiasco Didn’t Have To Be One

Skylight Opera Theatre’s decision to eliminate the position of artistic director, in the process jettisoning its beloved and creatively successful a.d., Bill Theisen, has been a public-relations debacle. Even worse, if the company’s intent all along was to merge the artistic- and managing-director jobs, “reduce fixed personnel cost and … streamline the flow chart,” that could have been accomplished “without poisoning their own well.” Here’s how.