Mark J. Plesent ’83

Mark J. Plesent ’83, of New York City; Feb. 19, of cancer. He joined Working Theatre as an intern in 1989 and quickly became managing director. He served as development director of Lar Lubovitch Dance Company from 1992 to 1996 before returning to Working Theatre as producing director. He became the sole producing artistic director in 2010 and brought on Tamilla Woodard in 2020 to serve as co-artistic director. Under his leadership, Working Theater was honored with six Drama Desk Award nominations, a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble for Tabletop, and three Audelco Awards. He also founded the company’s community arts education program TheaterWorks, which provides classes in writing and performance for working people. He instituted a ticket subsidy program to provide low-cost tickets to groups of working people and in 2015 he founded Five Boroughs One City, which is a community-based theater producing project aimed at fostering dialogue about pressing social justice issues within and between the diverse working-class communities of New York City. He is survived by his husband, Roger Belknap; his parents; two sisters; and several nieces and nephews.