Executive Director Cate Foltin Departs Theatre Bay Area
Richard Smith Hired as Interim Director

August 1, 2002 – Cate Foltin, Theatre Bay Area’s (TBA) Executive Director, has announced that she will be leaving TBA, effective immediately, to pursue other interests in the performing arts. Ms. Foltin will continue to work as a consultant for TBA on the negotiations with the San Francisco Department of Recreation and Parks on the new Half-Price Ticket Pavilion in Union Square scheduled to open in October. TBA’s Board of Directors has hired Richard Smith to serve as the Interim Executive Director until a replacement is hired.

“TBA is a wonderful organization that plays a crucial role in connecting the business and private sectors to the arts, as well as serving as an information hub for those working in theatre in the Bay Area,” said Ms. Foltin. “But through working with all of the unbelievably talented people in the theatre and dance communities, it became increasingly clear that I needed to return to a position where I was more immediately involved producing art, rather than working on the sidelines.”

Since joining TBA in June 2000, Ms. Foltin has overseen the organization and fiscal restructuring of Theatre Bay Area, the nation’s largest regional theatre service organization. Under her tenure, TBA increased its focus on community outreach and advocacy, including work on obtaining rent subsidies for arts organizations and increased visibility and an ambitious, cross-discipline discounted ticketing campaign, “The Bay Area Theatre and Arts Want You,” following the events of September 11th. Ms. Foltin was active in developing relations with the business and tourism community in promoting the Bay Area as a theatre and arts destination point for residents and visitors alike. She also served on the board of directors of California Arts Advocates, the California Association of Local Arts Agencies and the San Francisco Business Arts Council. She worked with various city departments and other nonprofit organizations to promote the City and the arts and to encourage attendance at arts events and to increase funding for the arts, particularly arts education.

Sharon Walton, President of TBA’s Board of Directors stated, “Cate is a woman of tremendous energy and enthusiasm, and her list of accomplishments during her tenure at TBA is substantial. The Board wishes her well on whatever she chooses to devote herself to next.”

As principal of RAS Management Services, Richard Smith has served as the interim executive director of both Summerbridge National and Family Law Center, in addition to serving as a management consultant to numerous grant makers and non-profits. Previously, he was senior operations manager for strategic Marketing Resources, Inc. and was the National Executive Director of Support Center for Nonprofit Management.

About Theatre Bay Area:
Theatre Bay Area is a nonprofit member service organization whose mission is to unite, advance, and strengthen an active Bay Area theatre community. Founded in 1976 by a group of theatre workers, TBA has approximately 350 company members and 3,000 individual members, and has a service region extending north to Fort Bragg, south to Salinas and east to the Sierra Foothills. TBA’s services include ticketing, communications, professional development, audience development, and the facilitation of cooperative ventures such as the Community Box Office Network. TBA’s half-price ticket programs, TIX Bay Area and TIX By Mail (TBM), provide access to hundreds of performing arts events for thousands of art lovers who cannot afford full-price tickets. Theatre Bay Area, a monthly magazine, is the central source of information for and about Bay Area theatre industry. A monthly online newsletter, Management Memo, provides up-to-date information on management, fund-raising and promotional opportunities at the local, state, and federal level to our company managers and decision-makers, and the TBA website provides the most complete listing of performing arts events each month. TBA also provides professional training seminars, regional auditions, community relations, grassroots advocacy, and a variety of other services for both individual artists and theatre and dance companies.