The sudden resignation of Sharon Ott from Seattle Repertory Theatre has shocked many in the theatre community. “Any time something like this happens, everybody in the field quivers,” adds Berkeley Rep managing director Susan Medak, who worked with Ott for seven years. Drawing parallels to Pamela Rosenberg’s resignation at the San Francisco Opera, Medak cites the increased difficulties in “running an arts institution now. There’s not the general level of support that makes the job easy. The anxiety level has shot up, because you can’t afford to make mistakes. “