American Theater Group Announces New Board Appointments

American Theater Group (ATG), Central NJ's professional theater company, has announced the following appointments to its Board of Directors.

South Orange Village Trustee and resident Stephen Schnall will assume the role of Board President, after most-recently serving as Vice President. Schnall is the founder and producer of "South by South Orange," now called SouthNEXT. This annual event brings Arts, Ideas and Music programming to the Village, and focuses on Creative Collisions, offering artistic activities that offer multiple productive perspectives to the Village's diverse community.

Schnall is a Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional and the winner of several prestigious business awards. He has spoken at many conferences sharing the message of using innovation to achieve business goals. As ATG Board President, Schnall will be exploring opportunities for the company's growth and strategic partnerships. Potential parties, including those interested in joining the Board, are encouraged to contact Schnall at schnas2@gmail.com.

Diane L. Parker and Alan Roseman have been appointed Co-Vice Presidents. Parker is an Old Bridge resident and a leader in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategy and Human Resource Management. She currently serves as Vice President and Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at PGIM Fixed Income, the investment management firm for Prudential. Prior to joining Prudential, she held senior DEI roles with the Associated Press and Dotdash Meredith, the number one magazine publisher in the US. She received her master's degree in HR management and a B.A. in mass communication from Lindenwood University. She completed the DEI certification program at Cornell University and is an alumnus of the Stella Adler/Billie Holiday Theatre Black Arts Institute. An experienced actress and director, she co-founded and serves as the executive director of the New Jersey Creative Arts Collaborative (NJCAC) and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the NJ Theatre Alliance.

Alan Roseman, a Maplewood resident, has served as a director in the academic publishing industry in various sales capacities for over 25 years. Since 2011, he has been part of the licensing team for Springer Nature, the world's second-largest academic publisher. In this role, he presents their suite of electronic products to many of the leading academic institutions in the U.S. to help further the cause of research and scientific advancement.

"As a lover of live theater, I was thrilled to join the ATG Board in 2018," noted Roseman. "ATG is committed to presenting thought-provoking and entertaining productions of the highest quality and I am pleased to contribute to its ongoing success in any way I can."

Outgoing ATG Board President and South Orange resident Michele Pawk noted, "It has been an honor and privilege to serve as American Theater Group's Board President. I am inspired and motivated by ATG's production of consistent quality theater, not to mention our extensive community outreach and educational initiatives. I wholeheartedly believe in our mission and look forward to continuing to serve with our outstanding Producing Artistic Director, Jim Vagias, and dedicated group of fellow Board members." Pawk is a Broadway veteran and Tony Award-winning actress who has served on the Board since the company's founding in 2012. She is currently starring as Madame Morrible in Wicked on Broadway.

"ATG is fortunate to have such an experienced, gifted group of arts and business professionals serve on our Board and help guide our mission of producing outstanding, transformative theater while inspiring and educating artists and audiences of tomorrow," said Jim Vagias, ATG's Producing Artistic Director.

American Theater Group (ATG), founded in 2012, produces new and classic works primarily by American Playwrights with an emphasis on the development of new works and the rediscovery of undeservedly neglected older ones. It also provides quality arts-in-education initiatives, including its annual DramaFest for students and its PlayLab program for BIPOC and queer playwrights. ATG is in residence at the Sieminski Theater in Basking Ridge, NJ, and its programming is made possible in part by an American Rescue Plan Act grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to support general operating expenses in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Made possible by the Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission, a partner of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. More information can be found at www.americantheatergroup.org.

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