South Coast Repertory Elects New Officers

At South Coast Repertory's Annual Meeting on July 30, Board President Larry Higby presented an assessment of the 2007-08 Season and introduced a new slate of officers for 2008-09, headed by incoming President Wylie Aitken.The unanimously elected executive committee will lead the theater during the 45th Season (September 1, 2008 – August 31, 2009), which will be a landmark for South Coast Repertory and its founders David Emmes and Martin Benson, America's longest-running co-artistic direction.

According to Higby, who led the theater for two consecutive seasons, total attendance for 2007-08 was 122,000 for the five-play Segerstrom Stage season, the four-play Argyros Stage season, the three-play season of Theatre for Young Audiences, and the holiday shows A Christmas Carol and La Posada Mágica (The Magical Journey).

"Thanks to steady audiences, strong underwriting and dedicated leadership from our Trustees — helping us raise over $2.9 million to meet the theater's $9.9 million operating budget — on August 31 we will conclude the 44th consecutive season with a balanced budget," Higby said

With this solid artistic and financial success behind them and with SCR firmly ensconced as one of the finest theaters in America, Higby turned over the gavel to Aitken, who looked forward to an exciting 2008-09 Season.

 

Other officers unanimously elected to serve during SCR's 45th Season are Tom Rogers, Vice President, Advancement; Tod White, Vice President, Development; Damien Jordan, Vice President, Finance; and Linda Hovee, Vice President, Community Relations. Six new members welcomed to the roster are Michael Bertolino, Mary Ann Brown, Sophie Cripe, Terry Horne, S.L. Huang and Nancy Kelley.

Seven Board members completed their 9-year tenure as trustees, and two former members were elected to the Emeritus Board.All of these outstanding community leaders were honored for their service and commitment to South Coast Repertor

Emeritus Board members are Sue Stern and Socorro Vasquez, both former Gala Ball chairs and longtime supporters.Retiring Trustees include Julianne Argyros who, with her husband George, contributed $10 million to SCR's Legacy Campaign, which was announced at the 2007 Gala; two-time Board President Chris Anderson; former Vice President of Community Relations and Gala Chair Betty Huang; Kim Kelly; Denise Moon; Stacey Nicholas and two-time Board President and current Legacy Campaign Chair Tim Weiss.

2007-08 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

Among the 44th Season's achievements was the fifth successful year of SCR's Theatre for Young Audiences, which included 30 free performances for 9,000 OrangeCounty school children, thanks in part to grants from the Nicholas Endowment and the Segerstrom Foundation.

Nearly 2,000 people, including 80 representatives from 42 theaters across the country, attended the Pacific Playwrights Festival (PPF), May 4-6, 2008.The eleventh annual PPF continued SCR's tradition of developing new work, with a weekend of four play readings, the workshop of a fifth and full productions of two world premieres — Kate Robins' What They Have on the Segerstrom Stage, and Richard Greenberg's The Injured Party on the Argyros Stage.

Instrumental in helping SCR commission, develop and produce world premieres and support PPF and a full array of play development programs was the Shubert Foundation, with special thanks to The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust and the Elizabeth George Foundation.

The Educational Touring Production of You're Getting Warmerby Richard Hellesen and Michael Silversher played 115 performances in 80 locations to over 35,000 school children, with strong underwriting support from The Boeing Company and Capital Group Companies Charitable Foundation.

 

After the Annual Meeting, Trustees gathered in the SCR lobby for cocktails, followed by the Annual Dinner, which included a large-screen season retrospective, 23 individuals and eleven corporations were presented with framed mementos for their generous gifts that helped underwrite the 44th Season.

SCR's 45th Season opens on the Segerstrom Stage September 12 with the world premiere musical An Italian Straw Hat:A Vaudeville, book and lyrics by John Strand, music by Dennis McCarthy, directed by Stefan Novinski.The runaway hit comedy dead man's cell phone by Sarah Ruhl, directed by Bart DeLorenzo, opens on the Argyros Stage September 26.Prior to the exciting First Nights on SCR's two stages, the Orange County social season will kick off on September 6 with SCR's Gala Ball, "A Midsummer Night's Dream...Celebrating 45 years of South Coast Repertory," chaired by Jean Weiss at the St. Regis Monarch Bay.

 

 

 

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