32 Community Leaders Step Forward to Guide Berkeley Rep

Today, the Tony Award-winning Berkeley Repertory Theatre announced the team of leaders who have stepped forward to guide the organization for the coming year. At the annual meeting of this renowned nonprofit, the board of trustees welcomed new and returning members, elected officers, and reiteratEd Berkeley Rep's commitment to provide a home for adventurous audiences and artists. This year's board includes respected executives in finance, law, real estate, and technology, as well as prominent entrepreneurs and philanthropists.

Marjorie Randolph, senior vice president for Walt Disney Studios, returns to chair Berkeley Rep's board for a third term. "It is a joy to work with this talented team of volunteers who are devoted to keeping the arts alive, vibrant, and unapologetically relevant in today's world," she remarked. "Times may be tough, but I am enormously proud that Berkeley Rep continues to create excellent work, deliver extensive community service, and manage itself in a manner that is true to its past and responsible to its future. We're going to dig in, we're going to do good, and we're going to balance our budget for yet another year."

In the last six years, six shows developed at Berkeley Rep have ended up on Broadway. Seven more landed off Broadway, one moved to London, two turned into films, and others have toured the nation. The Theatre's 44th season - which begins in September - features a script that won the Tony Award for Best Play, performances by legendary talents like Rita Moreno and Mikhail Baryshnikov, a classic Molière comedy, and the debuts of four exciting new shows. That will bring the total number of premieres seen over the years at Berkeley Rep to 107, including 61 world premieres, 5 American premieres, and 41 West Coast premieres.

"Without a doubt, the Theatre's continued success is the result of bold and consistent leadership," said Susan Medak, managing director of Berkeley Rep. "We are thankful for all the past volunteers who have renewed their commitment to the Theatre, and we wholeheartedly welcome the new trustees who have arrived to strengthen our hand."

The officers of Berkeley Rep's board, elected to one-year terms, are as follows:

President: Marjorie Randolph, senior vice president for Walt Disney Studios
Vice President: William Falik, managing partner of Westpark Associates, visiting professor at UC Berkeley's School of Law, and member of the professional faculty at the Haas School of Business
Vice President: Sandra R. McCandless, partner at SNR Denton US LLP and member of the American Bar Association's board of governors
Treasurer: David Cox, retired president and CEO of Cowles Media Company
Secretary: Scott Haber, office managing partner at Latham & Watkins LLP
Chair of the Trustees Committee: Kerry L. Francis, chairman of Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP
Chair of the Audit Committee: Emily Shanks, regional executive for small business banking and Oakland/East Bay market president for Bank of America NA

Six new trustees have come on board for the upcoming season:

Carrie Avery, president of the Durfee Foundation
Lisa Finer, senior vice president and regional manager of the East Bay commercial bank for Wells Fargo
Paul Friedman, partner at Morrison Foerster
Julie Michelle McCray, community leader
Pamela Nichter, CFO, COO, and vice president of Osterweis Capital Management
Anne Wattis, community leader

Two former board members have returned to serve new terms as well:

Oz Erickson, chairman and owner of the Emerald Fund, Inc
Richard Shapiro, partner at Farella Braun + Martel LLP

Those individuals are part of a team that totals 32 trustees, including the following eminent local citizens:

Thalia Dorwick, PhD, retired editor-in-chief of McGraw-Hill Higher Education
William T. Espey, vice president and senior relationship manager at Mechanics Bank
David Fleishhacker, president of the Fleishhacker Foundation
David Hoffman, PhD, consulting professor of mathematics at Stanford University
Carole S. Krumland, director of the Harold & Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust
Dale Rogers Marshall, president emerita of Wheaton College in Massachusetts
Susan Medak, managing director of Berkeley Rep
Helen Meyer, co-founder and executive vice president of Meyer Sound
Mary Ann Peoples, president of the Boyd Family Foundation
Len Rand, managing director of Granite Ventures LLC
Richard A. Rubin, founder and president of Richard A. Rubin & Associates and professor at the University of San Francisco's Fromm Institute
Jack Schafer, president of Jack Schafer Associates
Sally Smith, corporate spokeswoman and project manager for clients in the corporate, private, and nonprofit sectors
Roger Strauch, chairman of The Roda Group
Jean Z. Strunsky, vice president of administration for the Ira and Leonore Gershwin Trusts
Tony Taccone, artistic director of Berkeley Rep
Felicia Woytak, managing director of the 65th Street Development Company

Berkeley Repertory Theatre has grown from a storefront stage to a national leader in innovative theatre. Known for its core values of imagination and excellence, as well as its educated and adventurous audience, the nonprofit has provided a welcoming home for emerging and established artists since 1968. The Theatre welcomes an annual audience of 180,000, serves 20,000 students, and hosts dozens of community groups, thanks to 1,000 volunteers and more than 400 artists, artisans, and administrators. With two stages, a school, and a Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre, Berkeley Rep is proud to premiere exhilarating new plays. In the last six years alone, the company has helped send six shows to Broadway: American Idiot, Bridge & Tunnel, Ghetto Klown, In the Next Room (or the vibrator play), Passing Strange, and Wishful Drinking.

This fall, for its 2011-12 Season, Berkeley Rep launches a new series of adventurous work. First it's the world premiere of Rita Moreno: Life Without Makeup, a captivating show created specifically for this outstanding actress. Then Bill Cain, the award-winning author of Equivocation and 9 Circles, premieres a poignant new play about caregiving called How to Write a New Book for the Bible. For the holidays, Kneehigh Theatre Company comes back to the Bay Area with The Wild Bride, another spectacular fairy tale from the creators of Brief Encounter. After that, with Ghost Light, Tony Taccone takes the plunge as a playwright and hands the reins to respected director Jonathan Moscone. Next Steven Epp - the star of Figaro and The Miser - returns to unleash a Molière masterpiece with A Doctor in Spite of Himself. In March, Associate Artistic Director Les Waters takes on John Logan's Tony Award-winning Red, and finally Dael Orlandersmith delivers a fierce and unforgettable performance in the world premiere of Black n Blue Boys. As an added attraction, Berkeley Rep is offering a special presentation of In Paris, a beautiful romance starring Mikhail Baryshnikov. This entire experience is supported by BART and Wells Fargo, who have generously renewed their commitment as Berkeley Rep's official season sponsors.

Come see tomorrow's plays today at Berkeley Rep. Subscriptions are on sale for the upcoming season, and individual tickets become available on August 21. For details, call (510) 647-2949 or toll-free at (888) 4-BRT-tix - or simply click berkeleyrep.org.