Act II Playhouse Names Pam Dickler Managing Director

Act II Playhouse has named Pam Dickler managing director of the professional theatre company. Originally from Bucks County, PA, Dickler has spent much of the past two decades as part of Chicago's thriving theatrical community as a producer, director, actor and writer.

Dickler takes over for Melissa Zimmerman, who served as Act II's General Manager for the past two seasons. Ms. Zimmerman has been accepted into Yale University's prestigious Theatre Management master's program. As Founding Managing Director of Chicago's Terrapin Theatre, Ms. Dickler produced 10 seasons, which included such award-winning productions as Blue Remembered Hills (After Dark award, Best Production), Stags and Hens (Best Ensemble), and Aunt Dan and Lemon (Best Ensemble, of which she was a member). As Producer/Director, Dickler worked with Tony-nominee Herb Schapiro, helping to shape his world premiere of The Love Song of Saul Alinsky, which included panel discussions with such luminaries as (then) Illinois State Sen. Barack Obama and Msgr. Jack Egan. 

Commercially, Ms. Dickler managed the long-running hits Do the White Thing, Always…Patsy Cline and Menopause the Musical. Pam was also a contributing writer for The Arab-Israeli Comedy Hour at Chicago's iO (formerly ImprovOlympic).

As Managing Director of the Chernin Center of the Arts, she worked with Artistic Director Ifa Bayeza to build a thriving arts center with two theaters, music studio, computer lab, and more. Their work was cited for excellence by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Chicago Arts & Business Council, and Mayor Richard Daley. They continued their work together by founding DBA Studios in 2004, a company that creates new and provocative theatrical work, encouraging dialogue among races, cultures, and people.

Ms. Dickler received her BFA from Syracuse University, where she served on the College of Visual and Performing Arts' inaugural Advisory Board (2000-2004).

Act II Playhouse, entering its 12th season of professional theatre in the Philadelphia suburb of Ambler, PA, is committed to creating world-class theatre in a venue whose intimacy draws audiences and actors into dynamic interaction. Act II produces new, classic, and contemporary plays and musicals under the artistic direction of Bud Martin (Producing Artistic Director), Harriet Power (Associate Artistic Director) and Pam Dickler (Managing Director). In July 2010, Howard Shapiro of The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote that "Act II Playhouse is arguably the most up-and-coming of the region's small professional theaters outside Center City."