Cornerstone copes with sabbatical

Cornerstone Theater will operate without its two co-founders from July through February, when artistic director Bill Rauch takes a sabbatical. Co-founder Alison Carey exited last year.

Rauch’s sabbatical was already established in his three-year contract when the company learned that Carey was leaving, he says. Associate artistic director Mark Valdez will fill in as interim artistic director, assisted by a committee of three including founding member Lynn Jeffries.

In addition to continuing its faith-based programming cycle, Cornerstone plans to launch a new educational wing, Cornerstone Institute, in Rauch’s absence. But he said he will be back to direct the first production to grow out of the new institute, in 2004.

-- Don Shirley