In 1990, Gregory Poggi was working with the Dallas Theater Center on a production of “All My Sons” — by University of Michigan alumnus and renowned American playwright Arthur Miller — when Miller and his wife, Inge Morath, attended the show.
Today, Poggi keeps a framed black-and-white photograph from that meeting with Miller next to his desk at the Walgreen Drama Center.
Reflecting on how intimidating it was to have the playwright in the audience, Poggi notes that the couple was very complimentary.
“‘I really liked the show, kiddo,'” Poggi recalls Miller saying, laughing at the friendly moniker. “Which was quite nice to hear. Very special. I’ve always been a big fan of his work. “
Poggi now works at the School of Music, Theatre & Dance as a professor of theatre and drama, directing the performing arts management academic minor.
Growing up in New York City, it was hard for Poggi not to feel the influence of the arts. As a student in high school and college, Poggi attended Broadway and off-Broadway shows, operas, dance performances and classical music concerts.
“I was particularly taken with the theater. And it was right there at my doorstep in New York City. And that was what got me hooked.”
After graduating from Indiana University-Bloomington with a Master of Arts and a Ph.D. in drama, Poggi spent 22 years working in professional theater as a producer and managing director. His responsibilities included fundraising, ticket sales, working with boards of directors and volunteers, and producing a full season of plays and musicals in the institutional nonprofit theater.
Poggi helped start the Indiana Repertory Theatre in Indianapolis. Throughout his career, he also served as the managing director at the Manitoba Theatre Centre in Winnipeg, Canada, as well as the founding chairman of the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres in Toronto, the artistic and producing director of the Philadelphia Drama Guild, and artistic consultant at the Dallas Theatre Center.
He spent 15 years at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, heading a dual-degree program that offered students a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Arts in arts administration.
Poggi came to U-M as chair of the Department of Theatre and Drama, a position he held for five years.
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“Michigan has a wonderful reputation, not just in general, but the department here is outstanding,” he says.
After stepping down as chair of the department, Poggi started the performing arts management academic minor and exclusively runs the program today.
Poggi also teaches several of the courses, including Producing in the American Theatre, as well as Fundraising in the Arts. He also supervises the arts administration internship program for students in arts management.
Poggi boasts proudly of the first classes of alumni from the relatively new program, who are working today across the nation at renowned casting agencies, marketing agencies, and at SMTD’s Department of Development.
Q&A
What moment on the job stands out as the most memorable?
When a student thanks me for getting them connected to the field or to a career move that really makes them blossom.
What can’t you live without?
My wife, Allison, and our two standard poodles.
What is your favorite spot near campus?
Victor’s at the Campus Inn; always tranquil.
What inspires you?
Sunny mornings on Cape Cod.
What are you currently reading?
I just finished the recent biography “Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgimage of the Flesh” by John Lahr and have started “Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates.
Who had the greatest influence on your career path?
A great man of the theater named Thomas Bohdanezky. He was a superb manager, role model and collaborator with London’s West End theaters.
