McCallum Theatre Appoints Eric Sims as Chief Programming and Operating Officer
In this role, Sims will oversee all programming and operations for the McCallum Theatre, managing both front-of-house and back-of-house activities.
Yvonne Bell, President and CEO of the McCallum Theatre, has appointed Eric Sims as Chief Programming and Operating Officer for the renowned performing arts center.
In this role, Sims will oversee all programming and operations for the McCallum Theatre, managing both front-of-house and back-of-house activities. He will assume his new position on August 10, 2026.
Over the past 25 years in Los Angeles, Eric Sims has overseen productions and presentations and venues ranging from the 77 seat Powerhouse Theatre in Santa Monica to the 2100 seat Ahmanson Theatre at the Music Center in Downtown LA. Favorite productions include A Very Merry Unauthorized Children’s Scientology Pageant at the Powerhouse (directed by Alex Timbers), Val Kilmer’s Citizen Twain at the Kirk Douglas Theatre, What the Constitution Means to Me at the Mark Taper Forum, and the pre-Broadway productions of Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends starring Bernadette Peters & Lea Salonga and the international sensation Paranormal Activity at the Ahmanson.
Eric Sims has worked for Center Theatre Group since 2005, initially responsible for print production, direct marketing, and early digital campaigns for all CTG’s venues. He then served as Director of Theatre Operations for the Kirk Douglas Theatre overseeing front of house, audience engagement, facilities, rentals, special events, and community relations. Since re-opening after COVID, he has overseen over 40 productions and presentations at the Ahmanson Theatre and Kirk Douglas Theatre as well as general managing CTG’s annual Gala performance at the Mark Taper Forum as CTG’s General Manager, Presentations.
In addition to his lifelong passion for theatre, Eric is dedicated to community engagement. He is Vice President and past President of the Culver City Downtown Business Association, past Co-Chair of the Culver City Arts Foundation, and was the Co-Chair of the LAStage Alliance Ovation Rules Committee, producing the Ovation Awards from 2015-2019. During the pandemic closure, he partnered with community leaders to form Feed Culver, an initiative formed to address food insecurity and strengthen local businesses by purchasing over 50,000 meals from restaurants struggling with COVID restrictions and providing them at no cost to neighbors in need between April 2020 and December 2021. He is excited to bring his full breadth of experience to the McCallum Theatre.
The McCallum Theatre, located in Palm Desert, California is one of the nation’s leading nonprofit performing arts centers, dedicated to presenting world-class entertainment and educational programming that enriches the cultural life of the Coachella Valley (Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage, Indio, Desert Hot Springs, Coachella and beyond). The McCallum Theatre is a proud member of The Broadway League. The McCallum’s 2026-27 Season will begin in September 2026.
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