Writers Theatre artistic director Michael Halberstam resigns

Writers Theatre co-founder Michael Halberstam, who has served as the artistic director since the theater's creation, has resigned effective immediately.

Writers had received complaints about Halberstam's workplace comments and conduct, according to a prepared statement announcing his departure. The timing reflected Halberstam's and Writers' "desire to preserve the goodwill of the theater and to continue to ensure a respectful workplace for all," according to the statement issued by the law firm K & L Gates.

Halberstam's resignation concludes his 30-year artistic leadership of the Glencoe theater, a tenure marked by the opening of Writers' new facility in 2016.

In the prepared statement, Halberstam expressed affection for his longtime artistic home.

"I am proud of the strong working relationships I have created with some of the field's finest practitioners. I am grateful for their many years of unparalleled artistry and the work we have created together. I am fortunate in having served one of the finest audiences a theater could ask for and particularly for having diversified our stages in the past five years," he said.

Bobby Kennedy, Writers' director of new work and dramaturgy, will serve as interim artistic director while the national search for a new artistic director continues.