FreeFall Theatre Company Expands Professional Staff

freeFall Theatre Company, one of Tampa Bay's most celebrated professional theaters, continues to grow with the addition of two new staff members. Margaret Murray and Nick Mathis join freeFall's current staff led by Artistic Director Eric Davis and Executive Director Cheryl Forchilli. freeFall Theatre was founded in 2008 and established its permanent home at 6099 Central Avenue in 2011. During this short time, freeFall has continued to excite audiences while being featured in national publications like Tampa Bay Times, American Theatre Magazine, Time Out New York and The New York Times. After many years of steady growth, freeFall now has 11 full-time employees working together to produce a season of plays and musicals operating under a Small Professional Theatre Contract (SPT Tier 8) in agreement with Actor's Equity Association.

"These highly-skilled professionals will bring so much to freeFall's growing organization, both artistically and administratively. I'm looking forward to working with both Nick and Margaret as freeFall reaches the next threshold in its growth." says Eric Davis, freeFall's Artistic Director.

Margaret Murray joins the team as freeFall's first Development Director. Margaret's most recent position was at the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, where she served as Donor Development Manager for two years and was instrumental in bringing numerous new donors into the museum fold. Prior to joining the MFA, Murray served as executive director for the Tampa Bay International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival from 2001-2003, program director from 2009-2010, and back as ED in 2014-15, after earning her Master's in Arts Administration from Savannah College of Art and Design. She is proud to have worked in development for a variety of arts and cultural organizations, including WMNF Community Radio and the Morean Arts Center, as well as her current role with the Shine Mural Festival Committee and Tour de Shine Mural Tours. For three years, she produced Washington, D.C.'s Reel Affirmations Film Festival, hailed as the nation's largest LGBT film festival and worked in both New York City and Amsterdam for the NYC-based Knitting Factory Records. Her affiliation with freefall began in 2006, when she re-launched her award-winning film series, Movies that Move, on the green at freefall. In 2014, under her leadership, TIGLFF began screening films at freefall, a partnership that continues to this day.

Nick Mathis, freeFall's new Technical Director, comes to freeFall from Opera Theater of St. Louis where he was awarded their Browning Fellowship. Before OTSL, Nick was the Associate Technical Director and Automation Director at Alabama Shakespeare Festival for four years. Production highlights include award-winning productions of The Grapes of Wrath, Titus, The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. Nick also runs his own successful theatrical solutions company named Big Bear Solutions.