Baltimore Center Stage Welcomes New Director of Marketing and Communications

Center Stage announces that after a five-month national search, Beth Hauptle has joined the theater as its new Director of Marketing and Communications. Hauptle comes to Center Stage with more than 30 years' experience marketing for non-profit arts organizations, most recently as the Director of Marketing and Communications at Studio Theatre in Washington, DC.

"We are thrilled to welcome someone with as much experience and creativity as Beth to Center Stage," Managing Director Stephen Richard said. "She is a consummate professional and strong leader who will be an invaluable asset to our team, especially as we approach building-wide renovations to our historic space next year as well as a re-brand, new website and conversion of our ticketing and database system."

For the past three years, Hauptle led Studio Theatre's rebranding campaign and new website development while rebuilding the marketing staff, strategy and operations.

"Beth will be integral in positioning Center Stage as a leading theater for the 21st Century," Artistic Director Kwame Kwei-Armah said. "Her background in all areas of theater marketing and communications is impressive, and we're very happy to have her join the Center Stage family."

"I am pleased to join this incredible institution with its rich history and significant stature in the American theater. Kwame's vision is so compelling, vibrant and forward-thinking, and Stephen's managerial acumen so sharp that I feel truly honored to join them as a part of the management team," Hauptle said.

Hauptle launched her arts management career in 1987 at Arena Stage, where she served as Press Director, overseeing the publicity of landmark projects include Yuri Lyubimov's Crime and Punishment and August Wilson's pre-Broadway run of Joe Turner's Come and Gone. In 1989 she moved to The Shakespeare Theatre Company as Director of Public Relations and Marketing, where she served for 12 years, growing the theater's subscription base from 4,000 to 17,000 full season subscribers and earned income from $2 to $5 million. She successfully led the audience's 1992 mid-season move from the Folger Shakespeare Library to the Lansburgh, oversaw the efforts that attracted sizeable crowds to Carter Barron Amphitheater for The Shakespeare Theatre Free for All, and helped position the theatre for the Harman Center expansion.

In 2001, she began a consulting practice and retained The Shakespeare Theatre Company as a client, helping to launch and develop the theater's National Council, raise corporate sponsorship funds, and produce several promotional videos. She also worked with Imagination Stage and the Atlas Performing Arts Center in branding and marketing their facility transitions. Other companies she has consulted with include American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, Olney Theatre Center, Mount Vernon Children's Theatre, and Washington Concert Opera, among others. She holds a master's degree in Arts Management from American University and has served as an adjunct professor in George Mason University's Graduate Arts Management Program.