Stan Ponte, Bonnie Comley Head Drama League Board

The Drama League today announced the 2017-2018 Board of Directors Executive Committee. Longtime board members assuming new leadership roles are Stan Ponte, named President, along with Bonnie Comley, 1st Vice President, Kathy Henderson, 2nd Vice President, Susan Lang, 3rd Vice President, Anna May Feige, Secretary and Ken Wirth, Treasurer.

"From its inception, The Drama League has brought together the best minds of the theater and the business community to strengthen the art form," shared Mr. Stelian-Shanks. "Our 2017-2018 board leadership team includes producers, theater journalists, and leaders from the finance and real estate sectors who have one common goal -- to create opportunities for early-career artists as they build the theater of the future. I look forward to working with them on this most important task, and to ensuring that the next generation finds a New York Theater community unparalleled in the world.

Stan Ponte (President) is a graduate of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where he studied at the Stella Adler Conservatory, and arrived in New York City in 1989 to be an actor. His heart and soul have always been at the theater, and professionally, Stan is one of the top Real Estate Brokers in the country at Sotheby's International Realty. In addition to his new role as President of the board of The Drama League, he serves on the board of The Bedford Playhouse and on the NYC Leadership Circle of the American Repertory Theater. Stan is also a strong supporter and former board member of the Anti-Violence Project, which awarded him in 2017 with their highest recognition, "The Courage Award." Stan also supports the work of the Bailey House, GLSEN and the Catskill Animal Sanctuary.

"The Drama League, founded in 1916, is our country's oldest theater non-profit organization. I am excited and humbled to have the opportunity to collaborate with our Staff, Board of Directors and thousands of members to focus on our core mission to connect audiences to, and support, the creation of thoughtful and exciting theater!," said Mr. Ponte. "Alumnae like Diane Paulus, Rachel Chavkin, Christopher Ashley, Mark Brokaw and Rebecca Taichman of The Drama League Directors Project are just a few of the artists who are shaping and informing the future of the theater with their award-winning work on and off-Broadway, regionally and internationally. The theater has always been one of the public forums that have the opportunity to inspire social advancement and engagement, and The Drama League will continue grow and evolve to meet the challenges of the day. Onward!"

Bonnie Comley (1st Vice President) is a three-time Tony Award-winning producer of two dozen Broadway productions, including the musicals On Your Feet!, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Come Fly Away, All About Me, and Legally Blonde; the plays War Horse, Superior Donuts, Enron, and The 39 Steps; and Broadway revivals of Sunset Boulevard, Sylvia, Romeo and Juliet, Jekyll and Hyde, A Streetcar Named Desire, Gore Vidal's The Best Man, The Merchant of Venice, American Buffalo, Cyrano de Bergerac, Fiddler on the Roof, Gypsy, and Sunday in the Park with George. She has also received an Olivier Award and two Drama Desk Awards for her stage productions. Ms. Comley is the Founder and CEO of the online streaming service BroadwayHD that promotes and preserves live theater, extending the reach of Broadway and Broadway-caliber shows to anyone, anywhere. BroadwayHD made history with the first livestream of a Broadway show, She Loves Me, to over 60 countries, and currently has over 220 titles of stage-to-screen content, including Les Miserables, Jesus Christ Superstar, Long Day's Journey Into Night, Nicholas Nickelby, The Woodsman, Oklahoma!, Billy Elliot, The Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Company, and features for education, subtitles, captions and audio descriptions. Recent additions include the Broadway revival of Falsettos and the Tony Award-winning play Indecent. Honors include The Actors Fund Medal of Honor, The Drama League Special Contribution to the Theater Award, The Paul Newman Award from Arts Horizons, The Theater Museum Distinguished Service Award, among others. Comley is a longstanding member of The Broadway League and The Drama League.

Kathy Henderson (2nd Vice President) has been a theater journalist for more than 30 years, including stints as a columnist for Playbill, founding Editor-in-Chief of the weekly magazine InTheater, and Senior Editor at Broadway.com. She is currently a regular contributor of features and interviews for Broadway.com and BroadwayDirect.com. During a brief foray into the production side of the business, she served as an associate producer of the Off-Broadway premiere of Stalking the Bogeyman and the Broadway revival of The Heidi Chronicles. Kathy is a graduate of Auburn University in her native Alabama and earned an M.A. in journalism from New York University.

Susan Lang (3rd Vice President) is Director of the Center for the Study and Teaching of Writing at The Ohio State University, where she continues her research in hypertext theory, writing program administration, data and text mining, and technical editing. Lang became involved with the Drama League as a member in the mid-1990s and served as a technology consultant for the organization. Accomplishments included creating and maintaining the organization's website for several generations, as well as creating the first online voting booth for the Annual Awards and the initial online application system for the Director's Project. Service since joining the board includes chairing or co-chairing the benefit and spring auctions, assisting with the establishment of the New Visions, New Voices project, and being the primary board representative on a dozen trips to Bulgaria as part of the League's International Cultural Exchange projects.

Anna May Feige (Secretary) is an experienced business leader with over thirty years in the financial services industry, the majority at Prudential, where her responsibilities ranged from managing the company's 1,500 insurance agents and financial planners in NY and New England to overseeing its 500-person mutual fund back operations start-up to leading a $5 billion, 3,300 staff health insurance operation. Anna May left the for-profit arena to become Director of the Fund for Public Schools at the New York City Department of Education. She currently works as a volunteer at Good Shepherd Services. Over her career, Anna May has served on the Executive Committees of half a dozen non-profits and currently serves on the board of The Playwright's Realm as well as The Drama League.

Ken Wirth (Treasurer) is CEO of First Financial Resources located in Greenwich, Connecticut. The firm's areas of concentration for their 46-year history have been Wealth Management, Estate and Retirement Planning. Mr. Wirth earned a BA in Philosophy from St. Bonaventure University and an MFA in Creative Writing from Manhattanville College. Mr. Wirth has been a producer of five Broadway productions, including Peter and the Starcatcher, Jitney, Turn Me Loose, Butler and Les Liasions Dangereuses. His productions have earned six Tony Awards. Mr. Wirth has served as a Board member for the following organizations: Leukemia Society, Rippowam-Cisqua School, Hebrew Hospital and Home, Teamwork Foundation, and Connecticut Flame AAU Program. Mr. Wirth has been the Business Manager of the Midtown Men who are the four original stars of Broadway's Jersey Boys.

The new Executive Committee will be in attendance at this year's 34th Annual Benefit Gala: A Musical Celebration of Broadway. The black-tie evening honoring Steve Martin - whose prolific body of work has earned him an Academy Award, five Grammy awards, an Emmy, the Mark Twain Award, and the Kennedy Center Honors - will take place on Monday, November 6, 2017 beginning at 6:30 p.m. in New York City at the The Plaza (768 Fifth Avenue). The Gala Chair is Joseph Pizza; the Vice Chairs are Anna May Feige, Kathy Henderson, and Stan Ponte; and the Gala Committee includes Bonnie Comley, Leslie Feldman, Janet Kagan, and The Lee Shull Foundation for the Arts. For additional information about The Drama League and upcoming events, call (212) 244-9494, or e-mail info@dramaleague.org, or visit the website at www.dramaleague.org.

The Drama League of New York, since 1916, has been at the forefront of the American theater community, with initiatives to promote artistic development and audience engagement. It is one of the nation's oldest continuously-operating, not-for-profit arts advocacy and education organizations. Through its programming, The Drama League serves over 3,000 artists and 15,000 audience members each season with over 150 events and programs. More information can be found at www.dramaleague.org.