Berkeley Rep Announces Influential Local Leaders Elected To Guide 42nd Season

This month, at the annual meeting for Berkeley Repertory Theatre, influential leaders from the Bay Area's top firms signed on to guide the Tony Award-winning nonprofit through its 42nd season. The board of trustees elected new members and a slate of officers to steer the Theatre during a year of daring shows, which includes the latest work from the nation's top artists.

"As a nonprofit, we depend on the time and the talent donated to us by the Bay Area's brightest minds," said Susie Medak, managing director of Berkeley Rep. "I have always been impressed with the caliber of people who volunteer to sit on our board, and I am grateful for their service. This year's team includes top executives in finance, law, real estate, technology, and other fields, as well as entrepreneurs and philanthropists. Berkeley Rep continues its tradition of producing bold new plays in the season ahead. Our ability to work with America's leading artists relies on the strong leadership of board members like these."

The officers of Berkeley Rep's board, elected to one-year terms, are as follows:

* President: Marjorie Randolph, senior vice president for Walt Disney Studios

* Vice President: William Falik, managing partner of Westpark Associates and visiting professor at UC Berkeley's School of Law

* Vice President: Patricia Sakai, learning and organizational development consultant
* Vice President: Jack Schafer, president of Jack Schafer Associates
* Treasurer: Phillip Trapp, retired business executive
* Secretary: Scott Haber, corporate partner at Latham & Watkins LLP
* Chair of the Trustees Committee: Kerry L. Francis, partner at Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP

The new members are as follows:

* Emily Shanks, senior vice president and market executive for Bank of America
* Sally Smith, corporate spokeswoman and project manager for clients in the corporate, private, and nonprofit sectors

In addition, two former board members have returned to serve new terms:

* Roger Strauch, chairman of the Roda Group
* Jean Strunsky, vice president of administration for the Ira and Leonore Gershwin Trusts

They are part of a team that totals 33 trustees, including the following eminent local citizens:

* Becky Bleich, community leader
* David Cox, retired president and CEO of Cowles Media Company
* Thalia Dorwick, an author and editor retired from McGraw-Hill Higher Education
* Oz Erickson, owner of the Emerald Fund, Inc
* William T. Espey, private wealth advisor
* John Field, retired chairman of Field Paoli Architecture
* David Fleishhacker, president of the Fleishhacker Foundation
* Robert G. Harris, senior consultant with CRA International
* Wayne Jordan, president of Jordan Real Estate Investments
* Julie Matlof Kennedy, lecturer at Stanford Law School and litigation trainer for Morrison & Foerster LLP
* Carole S. Krumland, community leader
* Dale Rogers Marshall, president emerita of Wheaton College
* Sandra R. McCandless, partner at Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal
* Helen Meyer, executive vice president of Meyer Sound
* Dugan Moore, private investor
* Mary Ann Peoples, president of the Boyd Family Foundation
* Peter Pervere, retired financial officer for Sybase and Commerce One
* Len Rand, managing director of Granite Ventures, LLC
* Stephen Snow, president of Delta Investments
* Felicia Woytak, managing director of the 65th Street Development Company

Two Berkeley Rep staff members also serve on the board: Ms. Medak and Artistic Director Tony Taccone.

See tomorrow's plays today at Berkeley Rep. Subscribe now for the 2009/10 Season and enjoy seven daring new shows: the world premiere of American Idiot from Green Day and Michael Mayer, the world premiere of Girlfriend from Todd Almond and Matthew Sweet, the world premiere of Concerning Strange Devices from the Distant West from Naomi Iizuka and Les Waters, the world premiere of a new play from Lisa Kron and Leigh Silverman, the West Coast premiere of Tiny Kushner from Tony Kushner and Tony Taccone, and local debuts for Athol Fugard's Coming Home and Aurélia's Oratorio. This year of fearless theatre is supported by BART and Wells Fargo, the official sponsors of Berkeley Rep's 42nd season. Inviting prices ensure that everyone can join the fun.

Born in a storefront, Berkeley Rep has moved to the forefront of American theatre - and is still telling unforgettable stories. In four decades, four million people have enjoyed more than 300 shows at Berkeley Rep, including 51 world premieres. In the last four years alone, Berkeley Rep has helped send four shows to Broadway: Bridge & Tunnel, In the Next Room (or the vibrator play), Passing Strange, and Wishful Drinking. Founded in 1968, the Theatre quickly earned respect for presenting the finest plays with top-flight actors. In 1980, with the support of the local community, Berkeley Rep built the 400-seat Thrust Stage where its reputation steadily grew over the next two decades. It gained renown for an adventurous combination of work, presenting important new dramatic voices alongside refreshing adaptations of seldom-seen classics. In recognition of its place on the national stage, Berkeley Rep was honored with the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre in 1997. The company celebrated by unveiling a 600-seat proscenium stage in 2001, the state-of-the-art Roda Theatre. It also opened the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre, a permanent home for its long tradition of outreach and education programs. The addition of these two buildings transformed a single stage into a vital and versatile performing arts complex, the linchpin of a bustling downtown arts district which has helped revitalize Berkeley. The Theatre now welcomes an annual audience of 180,000, serves 20,000 students, and hosts dozens of community groups, thanks to 1,000 volunteers and more than 400 artists, artisans, and administrators.

For more information, call (510) 647-2949 or toll-free at (888) 4-BRT-Tix - or simply click berkeleyrep.org.