Max Ponticelli

Max Ponticelli is proud to serve as the General Manager for Providence’s award-winning Wilbury Theatre Group, having previously worked as one of their resident designer, technical director, and consultants. Audiences saw his work most recently at Wilbury in Fun Home as he serves as the festival’s on-site Technical Director.

In addition to his work with The Wilbury Group, Max is also a Full-time Lecturer and Designer for the University of Rhode Island Theatre Department, instructing introductory, technical, and design courses, in addition to his student mentor responsibilities. His work appeared this past season in The Wolves (Scenic Design) and Women and War (Lighting Designer). A proud alumnus, he is thrilled to now be contributing to the long legacy of theatrical excellence that graduates from the program. Max also is a Part-time Faculty Member for the Clark University Theatre Department, where he also instructs a variety of classes, including the ever-popular Stage Combat course. In 2020 he completed his work for Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Rhode Island.

Previous to URI, Max was the Operations Manager at 2nd Story Theatre for over 9 years covering approximately 90 productions. He served as the organization’s jack-of-all-trades, having job responsibilities in one or multiple areas over the course of a production: stage manager, designer, technical director, production manager, administration, IT, facilities, front-of-house, and generally anything that needed doing including acting onstage (albeit not well).

Max is a Board Member for Friends of the State Theatre, a non-profit focused on the preservation and revitalization of the historic State Theatre in Downtown Stoughton, Massachusetts. Through their work, they hope to restore and operate this regionally one-of-a-kind, atmospheric, Vaudeville theatre to serve and benefit the surrounding community. This centrally located diamond-in-the-rough would be an entertainment destination for affordable music, dance, theatre, and movies, while creating opportunities for local artists, providing educational services, and more. Under Max's leadership The Wilbury Group received the 2020 nonprofit Excellence in Business Award ​from Providence Business News (PBN).