San Francisco Theater Festival Changes Management

The San Francisco Theater Festival announces the resignation of Bill Schwartz as Executive Director of the organization and Producer of the annual festival. Kelli McCusker, who has been working with Mr. Schwartz for the last two years as associate producer and producer, will take over those positions.

"It has been a gratifying and terrific experience for me," said Schwartz, who founded the event in 2004. "I hope we have made a contribution to our theater scene by making theater more accessible and by exposing hundreds of performers to new audiences. Now more of my attention will be on the Coalition for a Mid-Market Theater District, an effort to create a new theater district that will also uplift theater in the Bay Area."

The festival, held at Yerba Buena Gardens each July in the last seven years, is one of a kind. Although it has expanded to include events that span the whole weekend, its main focus has been a Sunday extravaganza of 120 short performances on 17 stages. Shows include children's shows, improvisation, solo performances, musicals, play excerpts, and one-acts, from the smallest theater groups to Beach Blanket Babylon and the SHN production of Wicked.

"I look forward to continuing to bring live theater to the Bay Area working with the Coalition, and know the theater festival will continue to be a special event under Kelli's leadership," said Schwartz.