But a story in the Boston Globe earlier this winter seemed to suggest that Harvard, and not Brustein at the ART, will take the lead role in naming a new director.

Brustein declined comment about the nature of his involvement in the search for his successor.

Orchard said while there are "a number of highly qualified candidates under consideration," he plans to stay with the ART and does not feel he is qualified to assume Brustein's post.

"Like a bad penny I'll be around for a while," Orchard writes in an e-mail message. "But I'm not an artist, I'm a producer. The artistic director should be an artist."

--Staff writer Daniela J. Lamas can be reached at lamas@fas.harvard.edu.