ACT Announces Staff Promotions, Names New Artistic Director

ACT - A Contemporary Theatre's Executive Director Carlo Scandiuzzi and Chair of the Board of Trustees Chuck Sitkin are pleased to announce that Becky Witmer has been promoted to Managing Director. Witmer previously served as ACT's General Manager and Director of Marketing and Communications. She will work with the staff and board to continue ACT's success in developing audiences, raising funds, and overseeing the daily operations of the theatre. Witmer signed a two-year contract in 2016 and now reports to the Board of Trustees.

Scandiuzzi, Executive Director since 2008, recently accepted the renewal of a three-year contract. His work will focus on leading ACT's major gifts campaign to raise capital for the theatre's artistic development fund, to renovate ACT's historic landmark building, and to build reserves for financial sustainability. As John Langs begins his official post as Artistic Director, the theatre now has a trio of executive leaders dedicated to supporting and growing ACT's mission of presenting contemporary theatre and being the downtown home of Seattle's theatre artists.

For the Board of Trustees, Chuck Sitkin will serve as Chair through 2016. New trustees and newly appointed officer positions are listed below.

Preliminary results from the FY15, which ended on December 31, indicate that ACT will end the year in the black. ACT has 6,000 Mainstage season subscribers and 1,100 ACTPass Members. Combined, these package ticket buyers contribute significantly to the success of ACT's earned revenue. The 40th annual production of A Christmas Carol exceeded the all-time gross ticket sales record for the third consecutive year and performed at 86% of capacity. ACT's 50th Anniversary Mainstage season attracted 21,019 single ticket buyers and in its eighth year, the ACTLab attracted 23,461 single ticket buyers to the various events created through partnerships with area artists. There were 513 performances and events in ACT's five venues in 2015. Total attendance was over 136,000.

ARTISTIC MILESTONES

Highlights from the 50th Anniversary Mainstage season include Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, which landed in the top five of gross ticket sales in the company's history. ACT produced two world premieres in the season. The political sex farce Threesome, by local playwright Yussef El Guindi was wildly successful; each performance in the final weekend had 20 people in Standing Room Only. The play moved on to a successful New York run off-Broadway. Steven Dietz' highly acclaimed premiere of Bloomsday was commissioned through ACT and the play is now a finalist for the Harold and Mimi Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award. Productions of Hold These Truths and Mr. Burns, a post-electric play each exceeded revenue goals and introduced new audiences to the theatre. Overall, ACT saw a 32% increase in first-time visits this season.

Standout co-productions in the ACTLab were the world premiere of DeeJayCee Creative Ventures' Seven Ways to Get There, The Seagull Project's The Three Sisters (recipient of The Gregory Award for Outstanding Production), Azeotrope's Sound, Washington Ensemble Theatre's Dirty, KT Niehoff's A Glimmer of Hope or Skin or Light, and the annual Ham for the Holidays production by Tongueinchic Productions.

2015 was a great success and a fitting note on which to bid farewell to Kurt Beattie, ACT Artistic Director for the past 12 years. Beattie now holds Emeritus status and will continue to work with ACT, particularly focusing on the 2017 production of The Tale of the Heike.

ACT'S FUTURE

2016 marks ACT's 20th year in the historic Eagles Building. Having received funding from the State Building for the Arts grant as well as grants from 4Culture, the Norcliffe Foundation, and the Joshua Greene Foundation, ACT is embarking on a multi-phase effort to renovate its 90-year-old facility.

ACT has raised $2.5 million in the ACT for the Future major gifts campaign, including lead gifts from Nancy Alvord, Katharyn A. Gerlich, and the Lawrence True and Linda Brown Foundation. The campaign raises funds above and beyond ACT's operational needs to support artistic endeavors, facility improvements, and stabilizing reserves.

In 2015, ACT received significant funding for future artistic projects from the Doris Duke Charitable Trust; the National Endowment for the Arts; the Shubert Foundation; the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust; the Boeing Company; the Nesholm Family Foundation; and many more.

The staff and board are currently developing a strategic plan to launch ACT into its second half-century with a clear artistic vision, future cornerstone projects, and a path to manage growth and development with bold and deliberate intention.

Under John Langs' leadership, ACT reinforces its commitment to connecting with audiences, youth education, community engagement, artist training and mentorship, as well as the stewardship of new work by today's most exciting playwrights.

2016 Officers of the Board of Trustees:

Chair: Chuck Sitkin Retired Management Consultant Partner, Ernst & Young

Vice Chair: Ross Henry Laird Norton Wealth Management

Treasurer: Gary Houlahan Mutual Materials

Secretary: Bill Kuhn President & Owner, NWX Consulting, Inc.

New Trustees:

Matt Aalfs Weinstein A+U

Leslie Ray Bernstein Community Volunteer

Rayner D'Souza Microsoft Corporation

Jim Minorchio Riddell Williams P.S.

John Muhic Boeing Company

Shanna Waite Owner, The Studios

Ryan Waite Cray, Inc.

Trustees Elected to New Terms:

Charles Fitzgerald Community Volunteer

Stephanie Hilbert Community Volunteer

Grady Hughes, MD Seattle Eye Care

Diane Lind Internal Compliance Auditor, Lake Serene Clinic

Judy Ness Independent Marketing Consultant

Barry Scovel Vice President AVAD

Chuck Sitkin Retired Management Consultant Partner, Ernst & Young

Rob Stewart President, Greacen Homes

Kyoko Matsumoto Wright Realtor, Caldwell Banker Bain