Philadelphia Theatre Company Welcomes New Board President Elliot Schwartz

Philadelphia Theatre Company, celebrating its 40th Anniversary season, is pleased to announce that Elliot Schwartz has been elected President joining E. Gerald Riesenbach who remains Chair of the Board of Directors. Priscilla M. Luce, former President, has been named full-time Executive Managing Director working in partnership with longtime Executive Producing Director, Sara Garonzik. Luce had been a member of the PTC staff, functioning as Managing Director, since April 2013. In other Board leadership moves, Julia Ericksen and Victor F. Keen will assume new positions on the Board's Executive Committee, Ericksen as Executive Vice President and Keen as Vice President.

"Elliot, Julia and Victor have been valuable contributors to several important board committees over a number of years. In their new senior leadership positions, PTC will benefit even further from their wisdom and experience as they help steer the company forward and further cement our role on the local and national theater scene," Riesenbach said. "Together, Sara Garonzik and Priscilla Luce represent a strong executive team who are continuing to implement an aggressive strategic plan to build on PTC's artistic mission as the region's top producer of new American plays and musicals."

Elliot Schwartz is the owner of the Carol Schwartz Gallery in the Chestnut Hill Section of Philadelphia. With a business background in the fashion industry as a clothing manufacturer, and a lifelong appreciation for the arts, operating the Carol Schwartz Gallery was a natural progression for him. The Carol Schwartz Gallery offers an eclectic collection of fine art, vintage posters, Judaica, jewelry, and crafts by local, national and international artists. Schwartz, who joined the PTC Board in 2004, remains as Chair of the Board's Governance Committee on which he will play a key role in continuing to strengthen the Board.

Mt. Airy resident Julia Ericksen, former professor in the Sociology Department at Temple University, is a specialist in gender studies, and spent her academic life exploring the many ways gender influences social behavior. She is an award winning competitive ballroom dancer. Ericksen's publications include Dance with Me: Ballroom Dancing and the Promise of Instant Intimacy (New York University Press), Taking Charge of Breast Cancer (University of California Press) and Kiss and Tell: Surveying Sex in the 20th Century (Harvard University Press) and have led to guest appearances on Radio Times, PBS, and an interview with Stephen Colbert. A passionate theatre lover, Erickson joined the PTC board in 1999 and has served as Vice President, Strategic Planning Committee Chair and Ad Hoc Education Council Chair.

Victor F. Keen, a Center City resident, is Of Counsel to the law firm of Duane Morris LLP, and practices in the areas of partnership and corporate taxation and the tax aspects of workouts and bankruptcies. Keen created the Bethany Mission Gallery in Philadelphia to house his collections of "outsider art" and vintage Catalin radios. He also developed The Performance Garage which was used for 12 years by Jeanne Ruddy Dance and more than 100 other Philadelphia dance companies. A great supporter of Philadelphia's cultural community, he serves on board of directors of PlayPenn, among other arts organizations.

Priscilla M. Luce spent the majority of her long career in corporate communications with TRW Inc., a Fortune 100 company headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. As the company's senior corporate communications executive, she directed press and community relations, and employee and marketing communications for this global company with more than 200 locations around the world. She has been volunteer president and executive director of The Albert M. Greenfield Foundation in Philadelphia since 2000. Luce has extensively consulted with non-profit organizations in strategic and operational planning, constituency development, organizational positioning and marketing communications as well as development and fund-raising strategy.

Founded in 1974, Philadelphia Theatre Company is a leading regional theatre company that produces, develops and presents entertaining and imaginative contemporary theatre focused on the American experience. By developing new work through commissions, readings and workshops, PTC generates a national impact and reaches broad regional audiences. Under the guidance of PTC's Executive Producing Director, Sara Garonzik, since 1982 and Executive Managing Director Priscilla M. Luce, who joined the leadership team in early April of 2013, PTC supports the work of a growing body of diverse dramatists and takes pride in being a home to many nationally recognized artists who have participated in more than 140 world and Philadelphia premieres. PTC has received 53 Barrymore Awards and 169 nominations. PTC's home on the Avenue of the Arts, the Suzanne Roberts Theatre which opened in October 2007, has helped revitalize of Center City Philadelphia's thriving arts district.

For further information, call 215-735-7356.

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