The 41-year-old Providence, Rhode Island company will maintain managing director Edgar Dobie and associate artistic director Amanda Dehnert during the transition.

"We’re delighted for Oskar, and very proud of what this says about Trinity Rep,” said Trinity Rep’s board of trustees chairman Arnold B. Chace, Jr. "Thanks to this work, Edgar’s expertise, and Amanda’s artistic vision, we’re in a great position to select our next artistic director.”

Dehnert joined Trinity Rep in 1997. She directed this season's Henry IV as part of the company's epic Shakespeare three-play cycle The Henriad, Shakespeare's Kings. For the company, she has also staged West Side Story, A Moon for the Misbegotten, The Skin of Our Teeth, Peter Pan or the Boy Who Would Not Grow Up, Noises Off, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, My Fair Lady, Othello and Saint Joan.

Her recent conceptually bleak take on Annie caught the attention of the musical's collaborators, however. Its composer Charles Strouse was impressed and approached her to help develop his new show You Never Know. She has also composed the original music and lyrics for Trinity Rep’s recent Boston production of A Christmas Carol and music for The Cider House Rules.

Eustis will succeed current Public Theatre head George C. Wolfe. The new director assumes his duties Jan. 15, 2005 and plans to continue his Trinity Rep focus. "Artistically, the reason to take the job is the development of new works by diverse populations and works that are socially engaged," Eustis told Playbill On-Line. "That is the thing I love doing the most. That is what, ultimately, made sense about my going there, because it's the thing I care about most." (To read the full interview, click here.) For more information on Trinity Rep, visit the company online at www.trinityrep.com.