Diversionary Theatre Reveals New Staff in Leadership Positions

Diversionary Theatre has announced that Stephen Brotebeck will be serving as Interim Artistic Director while a national search is conducted for Diversionary’s next Artistic Director after former Executive Artistic Director Matt M. Morrow took on a new role of Artistic Director of Walnut Creek’s Center Rep.  Executive Director Jenny Case will work in partnership with Diversionary’s Board of Trustees and with Brotebeck’s artistic support to oversee the success of Diversionary’s upcoming 2023/2024 Season and the search for Diversionary’s next Artistic Director.  Diversionary Theatre has also just announced that Wilfred Paloma has taken on the role of Director of Education and Community Engagement, Kian Kline Chilton (kiki/they/he) is the new Artistic Producer, Jesse Marchese has taken on the roles of Director of Development and Resident Dramaturg, and MG Green (they/them) has been promoted to General Manager.

Diversionary Theatre is the nation’s third-oldest LGTBQIA+ theatre dedicated to amplifying queer voices through the performing arts in a dynamic, inclusive, and provocative environment that celebrates and preserves their unique culture, while contributing to an environment of diversity and inclusion throughout the broader community.  Brotebeck, Paloma, Chilton, Marchese, and Green have all recently begun work in their new roles with Diversionary.

Stephen Brotebeck recently co-directed Head Over Heels, which closed out Diversionary’s thirty-seventh season, and also directed Diversionary’s past production of Girlfriend and choreographed The Loneliest Girl In The World.  He is a former Artistic Director of the Okoboji Summer Theatre.  Stephen is a Professor in the MFA Musical Theatre program at San Diego State University where he has directed and choreographed numerous productions including Postcard American Town (World Premiere), Steel Pier, Pippin, James and the Giant Peach, The Full Monty and The Drowsy Chaperone (Craig Noel Award Nomination). Broadway: Ghost, Peter and the Starcatcher (Movement Associate).

“It is an honor to help continue the artistic legacy of Diversionary Theatre through this exciting transition period,” says Brotebeck.  “I am looking forward to working with Jenny Case and the amazing team of artists and staff that she and Matt have assembled. Creating theatre that reflects the diversity of our community at Diversionary is more important than ever. It is a privilege to have the chance to give back to this ground breaking institution. It truly feels like coming home.”

As a director, Brotebeck has helmed the Off and Off-Off Broadway productions of The Shark Play, Breaking The Shakespeare Code, St. Francis (NY Fringe – Excellence in Directing Award), The Maltese Walter, Greasemonkey and Scenes from a Balcony.  Kennedy Center: Spring Gala (Director), My Fair Lady, Camelot, and Children of Eden (Associate Director/ Choreographer).  Additional credits as a director and/or choreographer include Ghost at the Finger Lakes Musical Theatre Festival; Peter and the Starcatcher, Monty Python’s Spamalot, And The World Goes ‘Round (Oscar Wilde Nomination), and I Love A Piano (Oscar Wilde Nomination) at Farmers Alley Theatre; Looking For Roberto Clemente at Imagination Stage; “The Great American Songbook Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony” presented by Michael Feinstein. Internationally, Stephen has directed productions for Creativiva Caribbean, and choreographed multiple projects in Indonesia, China, and Guatemala for Passport to Broadway.

Wilfred Paloma has taken on the role of Director of Education and Community Engagement at Diversionary as their founding Director of Education, Skyler Sullivan, leaves San Diego.  Many may know Wilfred from his work leading Diversionary’s Teen-Versionary program, or from his work on the Diversionary stage, most recently in the world-premiere musical Eighty-Sixed.  Paloma is a multi-hyphenate theatre artist. Paloma's artistic work includes directing and choreographing as well as developing new works. His artistic practice spans Opera, Dance Theatre, Musical Theatre, dramatic works to Theatre for Social Change. Wilfred has directed over 30 productions. His favorite work fuses social activism and community engagement to the broad scope of his theatre and dance performance experience. Wilfred is a trained facilitator in Augusto Boal's Forum Theatre and has contributed to multiple theatre-based educational vehicles that have served San Diego and the greater community. These programs include Human Trafficking awareness and prevention, anti-racism training, diversity and belonging training, mental health awareness, and more. 

“Stepping into this role at Diversionary feels like coming home,” says Paloma. “For years, I have been working in various programs, coming to this theatre as a patron and performing here. The opportunity to bring my work as an educator and artist together in service to this theatre and our community is a huge honor. I also recognize that in a time when visibility, diversity and inclusion are being challenged, it takes people with compassion and vision in positions of power to innovate and bring about needed change. That is what I am called to do, and it is certainly what I aim to do with my time at Diversionary.”

Paloma is an Actor’s Equity member with an M.A. in Theatre Arts and a B.A. in Theatre Performance: Acting and Musical Theatre.  Paloma is also a graduate of the Meisner and Chekhov Integrated Acting Studio (MCIT). He is currently in the final year of the M.F.A. Musical Theatre program at San Diego State University. For over the last 10 years, Wilfred has been a teaching artist working in residency at schools and varied locations in partnership with La Jolla Playhouse, Arts for Learning/Arts Education Connection, Young Actors Theater, San Diego Junior Theatre, and Blindspot Collective in all of the major K-12 school districts in San Diego. He is also an adjunct professor at Southwestern College, Grossmont College, and University of San Diego. His additional professional development includes on-going training in trauma informed and healing centered care, emotional Intelligence, and restorative justice as well as continued pedagogical and andragogical approaches to program facilitation and instruction, course/curriculum development and construction and learning assessment.

Also hailing from San Diego State’s theater program with a BA in Theatre Arts is Diversionary’s new Artistic Producer Kian Kline Chilton, a queer director and multi-hyphenate artist who has worked on many projects at Diversionary including the recent production of The High Table, as well as This Bitter Earth, and The Gentleman Caller.  KiKi is dedicated to developing new theatrical works that examine the passion of the human soul and delve into the journey of queer identities, while also celebrating the communities and friendships that become our family. They are the founder of Patchwork Theatre Company, a collective dedicated to the uprising of immersive artists in San Diego. They have a passion for pushing the boundaries of what theatre can be by experimenting in its different forms. Recent credits include Exotic Deadly: Or The MSG Play and Taming of the Shrew at The Old Globe; Life Sucks, La Cage Aux Folles, and The Wind and The Breeze at Cygnet Theatre; Walks of Life with La Jolla Playhouse and Blindspot Collective. 

“As a genderfluid artist, it is incredible to be given this opportunity to uplift the vast pool of queer talent and stories that are being made right now,” says Chilton.  “Our community is so rich and in this time where people want us to disappear, let's not shrink, but let’s continue to show the world how extraordinary and resilient we are. It's a radical and beautiful time to be a queer artist. I feel extremely courageous and thankful for the team that has been built and will continue to support me on this journey. This company and the work that is produced is sensational and I am thrilled to be a part of the evolution that's happening here. We will miss Matt dearly, but I am confident in our ability to carry the torch. The great work continues.”

Jesse Marchese started working with Diversionary last fall as Production Dramaturg of The Mystery of Irma Vep and then as Donor and Patron Services Manager, and has been promoted to Director of Development and Resident Dramaturg. "I'm delighted to be stepping into the joint roles of Development Director and Resident Dramaturg, as this new position allows me to combine the two things I love doing most at a mission-driven and value-aligned organization that I greatly admire,” says Marchese.  “I look forward to bringing everything I have learned in my career as a fundraiser, theater administrator, artist, dramaturg, and LGBTQIA+ theater historian to this position, which will allow me to connect the dots between our artistic programming and our fundraising efforts. By telling the story of our organization, our history, and our legacy, I hope to ignite renewed passion and support for our vital work here in San Diego."

Marchese is a queer theater administrator, writer, scholar, historian, director, and dramaturg. Previously, Jesse served as Executive Director of Astoria Performing Arts Center (APAC) in Queens, where he produced acclaimed productions of Follies and Caroline, or Change, and the premiere productions of Madhuri Shekar’s Queen and Monet Hurst-Mendoza’s Veil’d. Prior to his work with APAC, Jesse served as Associate Director of Off-Broadway’s award-winning Mint Theater Company where he helped to produce nearly fifteen productions, two of which he also directed: The Lucky One by A.A. Milne and The Fatal Weakness by George Kelly, nominated for two 2015 Drama Desk Awards. His work has also been seen in San Diego at UC San Diego - Epicene: A Queer Extravaganza and Napoli - and in New York City at The Civilians, as well as at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, New York City Children’s Theater, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, York Theatre Company, New World Stages, Theater for the New City, Gallery Players, Village Light Opera Group, and Marymount Manhattan College. He received his BA in Theatre Arts at Marymount Manhattan College and his MA in Theatre at CUNY Hunter College.

MG Green has been working with Diversionary as an artist and stage manager over the last year, and has recently been promoted to General Manager.  They are a multi-racial, trans and nonbinary human with a longstanding dedication to facilitating the visibility of marginalized stories. “I feel excited and passionate to work with this (inter) stellar team of humans,” says Green.  “It’s a privilege to nurture seeds of strength, representation, compassion and justice with and for our community!”

Green attended Lake Forest College studying theatre, writing and literature and merged those passions early on as a devised theatre practitioner in Chicago. They have been a company member, staff member and producer with several nonprofit theatre and education companies including For Youth Inquiry, Erasing the Distance Theatre and Playmakers Laboratory. They strive to work with people to center marginalized and oppressed voices to encourage needed culture shifts that arise with a focus on community healing and justice.  They are beyond thrilled to have the privilege of serving in the role of General Manager and grateful for each person who made it possible for them to be a living, well, and thriving queer person today.

Diversionary’s 38th season was announced last month, and will kick-off this fall and run through the summer of 2024.  The 2023/2024 season is centered around the theme of “Liberation,” exploring the idea of personal freedom and how it evolves the way we view the world around us in delightful and innovative new ways and includes the San Diego premiere of Dragon Mama (September/October 2023) by Sara Porkalob and directed by Andrew Russell; the legacy revival of The Glass Menagerie (November/December 2023) by Tennessee Williams and directed by Lisa Berger with Shana Wride taking on the iconic role of Amanda Wingfield; the West Coast premiere of Notes on Killing Seven Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Board Members (May/June, 2024) a co-production with Moxie Theatre by Mara Vélez Meléndez and directed by Andréa Agosto; the world-premiere musical TL;DR: Thelma Louise; Dyke Remix (May/June, 2024) by EllaRose Chary and Brandon James Gwinn, directed by Sherri Eden Barber and co-produced with Moxie Theatre

Diversionary Theatre is the nation’s third-oldest LGTBQ+ theatre dedicated to amplifying queer voices through the performing arts in a dynamic, inclusive, and provocative environment that celebrates and preserves their unique culture, while contributing to an environment of diversity and inclusion throughout the broader community.  Since Diversionary’s founding in 1986, it has continually provided an inspiring and thought-provoking theatrical platform to explore complex and diverse stories of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning communities in the form of live entertainment that can be enjoyed by all. 

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