Linda Kinsey and Marshall Jones III Join Board of NJ Theatre Alliance

New Jersey Theatre Alliance ("The Alliance") announced that Linda Kinsey, former Partner at Michael Graves Design Group, and Marshall Jones III, Producing Artistic Director of Crossroads Theatre Company in New Brunswick, have joined its board of trustees. The Alliance is a service organization for the 33 non-profit, professional theatres in New Jersey, supporting them and the theatre-going public with a wide array of services and programs.

"We are thrilled that Linda and Marshall have agreed to join the board," said John McEwen, Executive Director of the Alliance. "Marshall has his finger on the pulse of American theatre and has already been sharing his knowledge and talents with us by serving on our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee since its inception a year ago. Linda's background in theatre marketing and her accomplishments at Michael Graves Design will help us assist our theatres with audience development-a top priority in the theatre world. "

For 31 years, until her retirement in 2017, Kinsey oversaw marketing and business development for Michael Graves Design Group in Princeton, NJ. She became a partner of the firm in 2009. However, Kinsey began her professional career in regional theatre, and held several audience engagement and marketing leadership positions in such theatres as Baltimore's Center Stage, The Denver Center Theatre Company, and McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton. Under the auspices of The Foundation for the Advancement and Development of the American Professional Theatre and Theatre Communications Group (TCG), Kinsey shared her expertise in strategic audience development with numerous professional regional theatres throughout the U.S., including The Portland Stage, The Cleveland Playhouse, The Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, and the Oberlin Dance Collective at The New Performance Gallery in San Francisco, among others.

Kinsey has served on several community Boards including the Arts Council of Princeton, and Young Audiences of New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania. She was a founding trustee of Trenton's Passage Theatre Company and served as its Vice Chair for more than six years.

"My roots are in professional theatre," noted Kinsey, "having come to New Jersey in 1980 to work for McCarter Theatre Center, one of the five founding members of the Alliance. Thirty-seven years later the Alliance is still going strong and has become a national role model for the development of programs that promote collaboration and cooperation among our State's amazingly diverse and incredibly creative professional theatre community. I am so honored to have been invited to help lead this organization by serving on its board of trustees and I look forward to working with its talented staff and board to expand its mission to unite, promote, strengthen, and cultivate the work of New Jersey's professional theatres."

Jones is serving his 12th season as the Producing Artistic Director of the Tony Award-winning Crossroads Theatre Company, located in New Brunswick, NJ. In addition, he has been a Professor of Theater Arts at Rutgers University's Mason Gross School of the Arts since 2002. His most recent directing foray was the world premiere comedy Back to the Real by Pia Wilson. Last season, he directed Beyond the Oak Trees by Kisha Budnridge, an enchanting tale about Harriet Tubman which opened to rave reviews. Some recent notable credits include serving as creative consultant for the Off-Broadway production of Little Rock, which received The New York Times Critics' Pick; and director/producer of Repairing a Nation by Nikkole Salter, which was broadcast on WNET's Theater Close-Up Series, and best-selling novelist Walter Mosley's LIFT, which played Off-Broadway at 59E59 Theaters.

Jones has over 30 years of theatre and live-entertainment management experience in a wide variety of key executive positions at some of New York City's most prestigious venues including the Apollo Theater (General Manager), Madison Square Garden (Company Manager), Radio City Music Hall (Producer), and Disney On Broadway's The Lion King (Company Manager). For the last eight years, Jones has served on the Board of Directors for TCG, where he was Vice President in 2016 and has served on the executive committee for three years. Also, he is a member of the Association of Theatrical Press Agents and Managers, was a Commissioner of the NJ Public Broadcasting Authority (operators of NJTV, formerly known as NJN), was a member of the New Brunswick Arts Council, and taught arts management from 1990 to 2002 at Drew University in Madison, NJ. Jones earned a BA in Theater Arts from Rutgers University and an MA in Arts Management from New York University.

"The quality of theater in New Jersey is quite high, as we have three Tony Award-winning theatre companies in a 30-mile radius," said Jones. "I'm looking forward to working together with my colleagues to advance theatre in our state."

Founded in 1981, New Jersey Theatre Alliance was the first statewide service organization for professional, not-for-profit theatre companies in the United States, and is a leader in developing model programs that unite, promote, strengthen, and cultivate professional theatre in New Jersey. Funding for New Jersey Theatre Alliance, a not-for-profit organization, is provided in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, as well as contributions from individuals, corporations, and foundations including the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey, Bank of America, The Shubert Foundation, and The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation. More information can be found at njtheatrealliance.org.

Photo caption: Linda Kinsey and Marshall Jones III join the Board of Trustees of NJ Theatre Alliance.

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