Court Theatre Announces Appointment Of Executive Director Stephen J. Albert

The Court Theatre Board of Trustees today announces that Stephen J. Albert has been appointed Court Theatre's Executive Director. Albert is a nationally known producer, manager and consultant who has led some of America's most prestigious theatres. He has been serving as a management consultant to Court since January and will begin full time with the company in August 2010.

"We are thrilled that Steve Albert will join our theater and work with Artistic Director Charlie Newell to help the theater fulfill its mission to become a center for classic theater. Steve's experience and theatrical expertise make him ideally suited to the position. All of us on the Board look forward to his leadership," says Court Theatre Board Chair Virginia Gerst.

"The prospect of Steve's coming to Chicago has created extraordinary excitement among the faculty and arts leadership of the University. Court Theatre is now well poised to cross new and exciting frontiers, and we are certain that Steve, working in close collaboration with Artistic Director Charlie Newell, will provide the best direction in that forward march," says University of Chicago Deputy Provost for the Arts, Larry Norman. "There is great interest on campus in Steve's teaching experience and the unique talents that he can bring to our curricular programs in business and arts administration and leadership."

Artistic Director Charles Newell adds, "I am thrilled that Steve Albert will be Court's new Executive Director. To have such a nationally recognized leader join the team is extraordinary; to gain such a partner is truly a blessing. For the last six months working as a consultant, Steve has already provided vital strategic leadership for Court in its vision to create a center for classic theatre with the University of Chicago. Recently, in sharing this fabulous news with the staff, Steve stated clearly his desire to bring not simply incremental change, but rather to make manifest our ambitious leap forward. This is the kind of passionate, powerful leadership that will enable our Board working with the University to move Court Theatre forward."

"I have been offered a rare opportunity to join a professional theatre company that is embedded in one of the world's great intellectual communities, the University of Chicago. In my theatrical career working as a producer, manager and consultant, I have been honored to be in service of many singular extraordinarily talented artists, and in Charles Newell I recognize a richly talented director and leader. Our work together over the past six months has convinced me that together we can capitalize on the remarkable opportunities that are available to Court," says Albert. "The dedicated Board of Trustees and the conviction of the University leadership regarding the importance of the arts in the life of this community provide Court Theatre with the promise of a spectacular future that I want to help realize. I am also looking forward to becoming fully engaged in the life of the University as a resource and teacher."

Stephen J. Albert is a founding Partner in Albert Hall & Associates, LLC a leading arts consulting firm. During the past eleven years, the firm has had a significant impact on the field through its executive placement of over 130 executives and in providing organizations with strategies to protect their mission while managing the changing environment that confronts the arts. Prior to forming the consulting practice, Albert was recognized as a leading arts manager. He has led some of America's most prestigious theatres, including the Mark Taper Forum/Center Theatre Group, Alley Theatre, and Hartford Stage Company.Albert began his career with the Mark Taper Forum/Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles where he worked in senior management positions for over a decade, rising to Managing Director. He went on to become Executive Director of Houston's Alley Theatre where he led a turnaround that stabilized the organization, enabling the Alley to return to national standing and drove a capital campaign that secured the organization's future.

At Hartford Stage, his partnership with Mark Lamos resulted in some of the theatre's most successful seasons and reinforcEd Hartford Stage's position at the forefront of the regional theatre movement. During his tenure in Hartford, Mr. Albert led the initiative to create a 25,000 square foot, state-of-the-art production center, securing the donation of the facility and the funding for its renovation.

Albert has served as both President and Vice President of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT) and as a board member of Theatre Communications Group (TCG). He has also written and produced a variety of productions for television, is an ACE award nominee, and has been an associate producer of numerous acclaimed Broadway productions. He is a Senior Fellow with the American Leadership Forum, a graduate of the University of Southern California and holds a MBA from the UCLA Graduate School of Management.

Court Theatre, under the leadership of Artistic Director Charles Newell, Board Chair Virginia Gerst and Deputy Provost of the Arts Larry Norman, is generously supported by the Chicago Community Trust, Richard and Barbara Franke, Hyde Park Bank, The Joyce Foundation, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Polk Bros. Foundation, the Shubert Foundation, and the University of Chicago. Court Theatre is also funded in part by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts; CityArts Program IV of the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs; a Cultural Outreach Program grant from the City of Chicago; and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.

For more information, visit www.courttheatre.org.

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