CENTERSTAGE ANNOUNCES NEW MANAGING DIRECTOR

Michael Ross has been the Managing Director at CENTERSTAGE since 2002 and has been a fixture on N. Calvert Street. When he announced his departure last fall, many in the Baltimore theater community were saddened with this news. His success has been no less than amazing over the last six years. The community was awaiting the news who would have the daunting task of replacing this icon.

Well, that decision has at long last been made and after a national search, Debbie Chinn, who has been the Managing Director of the California Shakespeare Theater for the last seven years, will head to Baltimore to assume Ross' position. Chinn is a veteran arts administrator who has achieved much success.

But what a change of venue this will be for Chinn. The California Shakespeare Theater has one of the most unique settings to experience live theater set in the Siesta Valley between Berkeley and Orinda, CA. The Bruns Memorial Amphitheatre seats 545 and according to their web site (www.calshakes.org) during a performance one can "hear the sounds of coyotes in the far off distance and smell eucalyptus leaves in the air". They even provide complimentary blankets for the chilly air. Compare this to the sometimes cacophonous sounds of fire trucks or police sirens outside the home of Center Stage. This will certainly be an adjustment for Chinn. 

The season at CST runs from June through October and they are presenting four plays: Pericles, An Ideal Husband, Uncle Vanya, and Twelfth Night. Not a bad line-up.

Chinn has an impressive resume. She graduated from the University of Southern California School of Theatre where she studied under the artistic direction of John Houseman. (Who can forget his 1971 Best Supporting Actor Oscar as the Harvard Law School Professor Charles W. Kingsfield, Jr. in the film "The Paper Chase".)

Her background includes managing director of the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, five years as Volunteer Council Director of the San Francisco Symphony, and she was Special Events Director for the Center Theatre Group of Los Angeles where she produced major events for the Mark Taper Forum and the Ahmanson Theatre.

But I'm sure the Center Stage Board of Directors was overwhelmed with her experience at the California Shakespeare Theater where she oversaw general operations which included budgeting, marketing, public relations, board development and strategic planning. She probably also sold tickets.

More importantly, during her tenure in California, she was responsible for the theater's growth from a $2.5 million organization to $3.8 in the current fiscal year.

Chinn admitted she never expected to leave California which has been her home for more than half of her life. She commented, "The invitation to be associated with CENTERSTAGE, which is undoubtedly one of the finest theaters in the country, and to help guide the organization to its next series of achievements is an opportunity that I could not refuse and wholeheartedly welcome."

It seems that Center Stage has landed a jewel in Chinn. She begins her position this summer. Welcome to Baltimore Debbie Chinn.

Photo Credit Jay Yamada

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