Barrington Stage Company Names Meredith Lynsey Schade as its New Managing Director

Meredith Lynsey Schade has joined Barrington Stage Company as its Managing Director. Schade comes to BSC after most recently serving as Producing Director of HERE Arts Center in New York City.

"After a comprehensive nation-wide search led by AlbertHall&Associates, I am delighted to welcome Meredith to Barrington Stage," says BSC Board President Marita Glodt. "Meredith's in-depth management and producing experience and her demonstrated non-profit leadership will complement Alan Paul's artistic vision. Throughout her career, Meredith has proven to be a collaborator, an innovator and a strong voice for diversity, equity, and inclusion. We welcome her talents. Barrington Stage has embarked on a new era, and we believe that we have the leadership team in place for sustained success."

"I am delighted to have Meredith as a partner in leading the next chapter of Barrington Stage Company," said BSC Artistic Director Alan Paul. "I am looking forward to the plays and musicals we will produce together, and the ways we can invigorate the company's work on a local and national scale. I can't wait to work together as we shape the future of this wonderful theatre."

Meredith Lynsey Schade is an award-winning non-profit and commercial theatre executive, producer and consultant with over two decades of continuous success in the theatre industry. Most recently she spent four years as the Producing Director of HERE Arts Center in New York City, following three years as its General Manager. While at HERE she produced the world premiere of Taylor Mac and Matt Ray's The Hang, which was nominated for two Drama Desk Awards, and was hailed as one of the top ten theater productions in New York City in 2022. In addition to her work with HERE, Meredith has served as the Producing Executive Director of ArtWallah in Los Angeles and founded the e-play periodical StageReads. She has also worked in various capacities with Classic Stage Company, Ars Nova, Dee Gee Theatricals, the Center for New Performance, and Connecticut Repertory Theatre.

"When I was 17, Renee Lutz hired me as an assistant stage manager at Barrington Stage Company. It was my very first job in the professional theatre," Schade says. "In those days, the theatre was operating out of a high school auditorium. Twenty-four years later, Barrington has become a powerhouse, built on the vision of Julianne Boyd and the dedication of a wonderful board and staff. I am thrilled to return to BSC and honored to be working alongside such an incredible team."

Complementing her extensive non-profit leadership experience, Meredith has also had an accomplished career in commercial theatre as a three-time Tony Award-winning producer for the Broadway productions of The Inheritance, Hadestown, and Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike.

As one of the co-founders of the non-profit company The Vicious Circle, she
produced the international Gun Control Theatre Action Week; the two-year,
international, 17-play cycle by Erik Ehn titled Soulographie (including its two
week marathon of performances at La MaMa); and she developed the devised
play Unnatural Acts for Classic Stage Company.

During the pandemic, Meredith was very active in arts advocacy efforts on both a local and national scale, becoming a major resource for artists and organizations as they navigated the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant, PPP Loans, EIDL Loans, Employee Retention Tax Credits, and various other small business programs. Her work led to the re-writing of the New York State Shared Work law, and the revision of granting policies at New York State Council on the Arts.

"Meredith is a brilliant, passionate, and fierce advocate for the integrity and wellbeing of artists, institutions, and the beautiful and unique process of making and presenting theater," remarked legendary puppeteer Basil Twist. "Barrington Stage Company is lucky (and wise) to have her in a leadership position worthy of her talents."

Meredith received her BFA in Design and Technical Theatre from the University of Connecticut and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Producing from California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles.

ABOUT BARRINGTON STAGE COMPANY

Barrington Stage Company (BSC) is an award-winning theatre located in Pittsfield, MA, in the heart of the Berkshires. Co-founded in 1995 by Julianne Boyd, BSC's mission is to produce top-notch, compelling work; to develop new plays and musicals; and to engage our community with vibrant, inclusive educational outreach programs. Alan Paul succeeded Ms. Boyd as the company's Artistic Director in 2022.

BSC attracts over 60,000 patrons annually and has gained national recognition for its superior-quality productions and comprehensive educational programming, including the award-winning Playwright Mentoring Project, the Musical Theatre Conservatory, Youth Theatre, KidsAct! and other initiatives. The company has become integral to the economic revitalization of downtown Pittsfield.

BSC's reputation for excellence began with a smash revival of Cabaret that moved to Boston in 1997 for an extended run. The theatre's prominence grew with the world premiere of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee by William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin (BSC 2004; Broadway 2005-2008, winner of two Tony Awards). Other notable productions include the world premiere of Christopher Demos-Brown's American Son (BSC 2016; Broadway 2018); Mark St. Germain's Freud's Last Session (BSC 2009; Off-Broadway 2010-2012); Leonard Bernstein, Comden & Green's On the Town (BSC 2013; Broadway 2014, four Tony Award nominations); Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's Company, starring Aaron Tveit (2017); and West Side Story in honor of Leonard Bernstein and Jerome Robbins' centenaries (2018).

BSC develops and commissions new work with two programs: PlayWorks, which supports the creation of new plays, and the Musical Theatre Lab, which develops new musicals. Since 1995, BSC has produced 45 new works, 22 of which have moved to New York and major US regional theatres.