Obituary of Thomas J. Aberger

Thomas (Tom) Joseph Aberger, age 70, left this world on May 22, 2021. Tom was a Renaissance theatre guy who devoted his professional life to the pursuit of moving theatre audiences to think, to feel, to consider the absurd, and to fall in love with the unlovable. A fierce advocate for new play development, Tom spent much of his career working with Lloyd Richards as the production manager for the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's National Playwrights Conference. From 1972 through 1999, Tom trained and mentored thousands of early career theatre professionals and passed on his love of theatre, his respect for the theatrical process, and a belief that we are all collaborators no matter what hat we wear on a particular production. He also served as production manager at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, South Coast Repertory, Walnut Street Theatre, and Manhattan Theatre Club and was technical supervisor for Peter Brook's The Mahabharata at BAM. As a production stage manager, Tom worked on Broadway, Off-Broadway, at many leading regional theatres, at Radio City Music Hall, and at New York's Phoenix Theatre, premiering over 20 productions, including Ladyhouse Blues, Uncommon Women and Others, and City Sugar. He also ran the award-winning Getting Out in New York City and on tour to Yugoslavia, Ireland, and Israel. Tom was a graduate of Hunter College in NYC and taught at University of California, San Diego, and at Arizona State University. Tom served on the board of USITT and as a mentor for the Production Managers Forum. Tom leaves behind a gypsy's trail of friends around the country. Those who were lucky enough to be on Tom's Christmas CD list know that he loved all kinds of music, and he identified with those artists who, like Tom, freely shared their stories filled with emotion, imagery, and love.