{"id":380847,"date":"2025-10-16T17:10:22","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T21:10:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/?p=380847"},"modified":"2025-10-16T17:10:23","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T21:10:23","slug":"why-i-left-the-kennedy-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/10\/16\/why-i-left-the-kennedy-center\/","title":{"rendered":"Why I left the Kennedy Center"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This article was originally published in <\/em>American Theatre Magazine<\/em><\/a> on October 15, 2025.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has always been a part of my life.<\/strong> Growing up just outside of Washington, D.C., in the 2000s, I always saw its large marble building as integral to my city\u2019s landscape, just as much as the Washington Monument. I came of age in the building, seeing Theater for Young Audiences as a kid, national tours of Broadway musicals as a middle schooler, and music concerts as a high schooler.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The creation of such a multifaceted arts organization was only possible thanks to the federal government. In 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National Cultural Center Act, which allocated D.C. land for a culture center, and mandated that it would be a privately funded organization. President John F. Kennedy helped fundraise for the building before his assassination, and his successor, Lyndon B. Johnson, helped dedicate the center as a \u201cliving memorial\u201d to Kennedy. Johnson remarked at a groundbreaking ceremony that \u201cartistic activity can enrich the life of our people, which really is the central object of Government.\u201d The Kennedy Center officially opened in 1971.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The Kennedy Center lit in rainbow colors in times gone by. Photo by Nicholas Wright<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

More than 50 years later, from August 2022 through March 2025, the Kennedy Center was my employer. My official title was junior copywriter\/coordinator, advertising communications, in which role I collaborated with marketers and programmers to promote the Center\u2019s wide range of performances. I edited dance season brochures, interviewed artists for a patron magazine, wrote radio ads for comedians, and sent emails for free Millennium Stage shows. I was especially proud to promote the Social Impact team, which provided outreach programs to local and national communities. The team often used the Center\u2019s recently built REACH space to provide classes, staged readings, discussions, festivals, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My job dramatically changed early this year. On Friday, Feb. 7, The Atlantic <\/em>reported the Trump administration\u2019s plans to fire Kennedy Center board members (who historically were appointed by the president for six-year terms). Trump stated these intentions himself with a Truth Social post on the same day, which also said, \u201cJust last year, the Kennedy Center featured Drag Shows specifically targeting our youth \u2014 THIS WILL STOP.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I spent the rest of that weekend waiting for the dominos to fall, and soon they did. (To read the rest of this article in American Theatre <\/em>magazine, click here<\/a>.)<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A former employee of the institution reflects on the tenuous position of arts workers under the Trump administration. By NATHAN PUGH<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":380849,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,20],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-380847","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-washington-district-columbia","8":"category-interviews"},"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhy I left the Kennedy Center - DC Theater Arts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A former employee of the institution reflects on the tenuous position of arts workers under the Trump administration.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/10\/16\/why-i-left-the-kennedy-center\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why I left the Kennedy Center\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A former employee of the institution reflects on the tenuous position of arts workers under the Trump administration.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/10\/16\/why-i-left-the-kennedy-center\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"DC Theater Arts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-16T21:10:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-16T21:10:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/nicholas-wright-DcIHTmpmXVw-unsplash.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1569\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1201\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Nathan Pugh\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Nathan Pugh\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/10\/16\/why-i-left-the-kennedy-center\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/10\/16\/why-i-left-the-kennedy-center\/\",\"name\":\"Why I left the Kennedy Center - DC Theater Arts\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/10\/16\/why-i-left-the-kennedy-center\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/10\/16\/why-i-left-the-kennedy-center\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/nicholas-wright-DcIHTmpmXVw-unsplash.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-16T21:10:22+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-16T21:10:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#\/schema\/person\/f55aa75deb82478eb31d20b07d553b29\"},\"description\":\"A former employee of the institution reflects on the tenuous position of arts workers under the Trump administration.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/10\/16\/why-i-left-the-kennedy-center\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/10\/16\/why-i-left-the-kennedy-center\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/10\/16\/why-i-left-the-kennedy-center\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/nicholas-wright-DcIHTmpmXVw-unsplash.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/nicholas-wright-DcIHTmpmXVw-unsplash.jpg\",\"width\":1569,\"height\":1201,\"caption\":\"The Kennedy Center lit in rainbow colors in times gone by. Photo by Nicholas Wright on Unsplash\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/10\/16\/why-i-left-the-kennedy-center\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Why I left the Kennedy Center\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/\",\"name\":\"DC Theater Arts\",\"description\":\"Washington, DC's most comprehensive source of performing arts coverage.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#\/schema\/person\/f55aa75deb82478eb31d20b07d553b29\",\"name\":\"Nathan Pugh\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/cropped-Nathan-Pugh-2025-scaled-1-96x96.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/cropped-Nathan-Pugh-2025-scaled-1-96x96.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Nathan Pugh\"},\"description\":\"Nathan Pugh (he\/him) is a writer, journalist, and culture critic currently based in the Washington, DC, area. He is gay, biracial, and Filipino American. Pugh\u2019s writing explores how identity is performed both on and off the stage (with special attention paid to race, sexuality, and gender). His bylines include Theatrely, Smithsonian magazine, DCist, NPR\u2019s Code Switch and It\u2019s Been a Minute. From August 2022 to March 2025, he served as a copywriter\/coordinator for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. BA English & Theater: Wesleyan University. Pugh is available for contact through his website\u00a0nathanpugh.site\u00a0and on\u00a0Instagram\u00a0@nathanpugh.3\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.nathanpugh.site\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/author\/nathan-pugh\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why I left the Kennedy Center - DC Theater Arts","description":"A former employee of the institution reflects on the tenuous position of arts workers under the Trump administration.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/10\/16\/why-i-left-the-kennedy-center\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Why I left the Kennedy Center","og_description":"A former employee of the institution reflects on the tenuous position of arts workers under the Trump administration.","og_url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/10\/16\/why-i-left-the-kennedy-center\/","og_site_name":"DC Theater Arts","article_published_time":"2025-10-16T21:10:22+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-10-16T21:10:23+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1569,"height":1201,"url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/nicholas-wright-DcIHTmpmXVw-unsplash.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Nathan Pugh","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Nathan Pugh","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/10\/16\/why-i-left-the-kennedy-center\/","url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/10\/16\/why-i-left-the-kennedy-center\/","name":"Why I left the Kennedy Center - DC Theater Arts","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/10\/16\/why-i-left-the-kennedy-center\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/10\/16\/why-i-left-the-kennedy-center\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/nicholas-wright-DcIHTmpmXVw-unsplash.jpg","datePublished":"2025-10-16T21:10:22+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-16T21:10:23+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#\/schema\/person\/f55aa75deb82478eb31d20b07d553b29"},"description":"A former employee of the institution reflects on the tenuous position of arts workers under the Trump administration.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/10\/16\/why-i-left-the-kennedy-center\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/10\/16\/why-i-left-the-kennedy-center\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/10\/16\/why-i-left-the-kennedy-center\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/nicholas-wright-DcIHTmpmXVw-unsplash.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/nicholas-wright-DcIHTmpmXVw-unsplash.jpg","width":1569,"height":1201,"caption":"The Kennedy Center lit in rainbow colors in times gone by. Photo by Nicholas Wright on Unsplash"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/10\/16\/why-i-left-the-kennedy-center\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Why I left the Kennedy Center"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/","name":"DC Theater Arts","description":"Washington, DC's most comprehensive source of performing arts coverage.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#\/schema\/person\/f55aa75deb82478eb31d20b07d553b29","name":"Nathan Pugh","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/cropped-Nathan-Pugh-2025-scaled-1-96x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/cropped-Nathan-Pugh-2025-scaled-1-96x96.jpg","caption":"Nathan Pugh"},"description":"Nathan Pugh (he\/him) is a writer, journalist, and culture critic currently based in the Washington, DC, area. He is gay, biracial, and Filipino American. Pugh\u2019s writing explores how identity is performed both on and off the stage (with special attention paid to race, sexuality, and gender). His bylines include Theatrely, Smithsonian magazine, DCist, NPR\u2019s Code Switch and It\u2019s Been a Minute. From August 2022 to March 2025, he served as a copywriter\/coordinator for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. BA English & Theater: Wesleyan University. Pugh is available for contact through his website\u00a0nathanpugh.site\u00a0and on\u00a0Instagram\u00a0@nathanpugh.3","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.nathanpugh.site\/"],"url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/author\/nathan-pugh\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=380847"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380847\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/380849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=380847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=380847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=380847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}