Former Board President Debbie MacLeod Joins BPA Staff

Bainbridge Performing Arts is thrilled to welcome Debbie MacLeod as the organization's new Development Director. Debbie's four-year tenure as Board President and three-and-a-half terms as a BPA Board Member yielded a finely-honed, front-row perspective on the positive impact BPA has on the lives of theatre school students, performers, and audience members. Debbie says, "It's a privilege to take a role in expanding engagement opportunities for youth and adults alike," and she relishes the opportunity to "build for the future of the organization by stewarding our current donors and engaging the next generation of supporters."

A high school theatre kid, Debbie earned a degree in Communications from the University of California at San Diego, and completed a teaching credential program at San Francisco State University. While still a sophomore at UCSD, Debbie began work on the founding team of AVID, Advancement Via Individual Determination, a college readiness system for elementary through higher education that is designed to increase school-wide learning and performance. Over the next 30 years, Debbie worked at AVID in numerous capacities, from tutor, to editor of ACCESS (the AVID quarterly journal), to project manager, and archivist.

BPA is a 501 (c)(3) organization and non-equity performance center whose team of theatre professionals works with volunteer cast and orchestra members from Bainbridge, Kitsap, Seattle, and beyond to produce professional-quality, vigorously-supported, and enthusiastically-attended shows in its 245-seat facility. What arose from the impassioned quest of a handful of volunteers in 1956 flourishes today, and serves as a fulcrum for the artistic heart of the island, offering a growing/gathering space for the creative collaborations of volunteer actors, musicians, singers, writers, poets, dancers, and designers. BPA produces five Mainstage shows a year, including a summer Shakespeare production at nearby Bloedel Reserve. BPA is also home to the Bainbridge Symphony Orchestra and their four-concert classical season plus The EDGE Improv and BPA Theatre School for children, teenagers, and adults.

BPA is supported, in part, by Bainbridge Community Foundation, the City of Bainbridge Island, and One Call for All.

Find out more about BPA at www.bainbridgeperformingarts.org, or check us out on Facebook (www.facebook.com/BPAonline and www.facebook.com/BainbridgeSymphonyOrchestra), follow BPA and BSO on LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/in/bpasallyjomartine) and Twitter (@BPAPresents). Check online for the latest on theatre and symphony auditions, complete theatre school and adult class offerings, performance listings, tickets, promos, and more. Go to "About BPA" and click on "Get Our Newsletter" to receive electronic performance announcements and behind-the-scenes news.