Theatre Bay Area appoints Brad Erickson new Executive Director
TBA Bids Farewell to Interim Director Richard Smith
San Francisco , CA , June 12, 2003 - Theatre Bay Area (TBA) Board President Sharon Walton has announced the appointment of Brad Erickson as the organization's new executive director, effective immediately. Erickson most recently served as the executive director of Northern California Supplier Development Council. He is also a playwright who has served as coartistic director of First Seen, a San Francisco-based playwright-led theatre collective. Erickson's appointment comes at the conclusion of an extensive national search led by TBA's Board of Trustees, which was initiated following the departure of Cate Foltin last August.
"On behalf of the entire board, I am truly delighted to be welcoming Brad Erickson to TBA," commented Walton. "Brad brings to us an extensive background in nonprofit management, a real sensitivity to the particular issues and needs of a membership organization, and most importantly, an infectious passion for theatre. We are confident that with his skills and enthusiasm, he will be a superb leader of TBA, and voice for the entire Bay Area theatre community.
"I would also like to extend my deepest gratitude to Rick Smith" continued Walton, "who has served as TBA's interim director for the past 10 months. Thanks to Rick and our fantastic staff, TBA is in very solid standing and poised for excellence under Brad's leadership."
"I am deeply honored to be joining TBA as its new executive director" added Erickson. "Theatre Bay Area is in the enviable position of supporting one of the most dynamic and important theatre scenes in this country. I am excited by the opportunity to lead TBA's efforts to serve and promote our extraordinarily creative and diverse theatre community."
Erickson comes to TBA from the Northern California Supplier Development Council, a private nonprofit dedicated to promoting ethnic minority-owned businesses, where he worked since 1997 in several different capacities, most recently as executive director. Erickson also served as a coartistic director of First Seen, a playwright-led theatre collective that develops and presents new work in the San Francisco Bay Area. As a playwright, he has had works produced locally by Theatre Rhinoceros, San Francisco Fringe Festival and First Seen. He is currently collaborating with four Bay Area artists on the creation of Burning Louise, a new music theatre work. He is a graduate of the Goodman School of Drama (now the Theatre School of DePaul University).
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 300 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. Callboard, 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
