- 2023-10-09
Noralee McKersie named new development director
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 28, 2014
MARIN THEATRE COMPANY NAMES
NORALEE MONESTERE MCKERSIE
AS NEW DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
MILL VALLEY, CA— Last week, Mill Valley resident Noralee Monestere McKersie became the development director of Marin Theatre Company. Formerly, the associate director of major and special gifts of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and executive director of the Marin Symphony, McKersie assumed her full-time duties at MTC on February 18, 2014.
“We are delighted to welcome Noralee to Marin Theatre Company,” said managing director Michael Barker. “She has a proven track record of building relationships with funding organizations and patrons, connecting passion to projects. This, combined with her love of the performing arts and long history in Mill Valley and Marin County, will be key as MTC moves into our next stage of growth and service to our community.”
MTC has grown dramatically in the last five years, thanks in part to the loyalty and generosity of its patrons and the successful relationships built by its Development Department. This past year, MTC added a five-play Theater Series for Young Audiences in partnership with the Bay Area Children’s Theatre, developed a new theater training program for middle schoolers and 24-Hour Playwriting Festival for teens, and expanded its onsite educational offerings to include classes for adults and preschoolers. FY 2012, which ended on June 30, 2012, was the fourth year in a row that MTC ended its season with a revenue surplus. In 2011, MTC acquired an offsite scene shop in Oakland/Emeryville, hired additional production staff and upgraded its lighting and sound equipment. In 2010, MTC became a year round theater, committing to producing six mainstage productions each season.
MTC’s strong position both financially and programmatically have allowed the company to refocus its energy on new work – like the National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere of Carson Kreitzer’s Lasso of Truth, the company’s co-commission with NNPN that is currently on stage through March 16. Today, San Francisco-based playwright Lauren Gunderson’s I and You, which received its NNPN Rolling World Premiere at MTC in October, was announced as a finalist for the 2014 Harold and Mimi Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award, the top playwriting award for scripts that premiere professionally outside New York City. And, yesterday, MTC announced its 2014-15 Season, which includes a season of all new plays by contemporary living playwrights.
“As a member of the theater going audience of the Bay Area,” said president of MTC’s board of directors Gale Gottlieb. “I am very aware of the rich artistic experiences we are fortunate to have. Noralee, due to her past experience with Marin Symphony, Legion of Honor and the De Young, is quite knowledgeable with the desires, needs and hopes of the audiences that participate and help promote these organizations. Noralee has graciously agreed to bring those skills to us as we continue to promote the mission of Marin Theatre Company in providing new and relevant works on the stage at Miller Avenue.”
ABOUT NORALEE MCKERSIE
Noralee Monestere McKersie (Development Director) started at MTC in February 2014. She was previously Associate Director of Major and Special Gifts for the the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (Legion of Honor/De Young). For twelve years, she was the executive director of the Marin Symphony, directing all fundraising, marketing, and community engagement, leading to significant growth in operating budget and net assets for that institution. Noralee is a California native, has lived in Marin County for 30 years and lives on Strawberry Point with her husband Robert Reitherman, an earthquake engineer. She has two daughters, Amanda Monestere Howard of Dubai and Emily Monestere Zimmerman of Denver, and a 17-month-old granddaughter Emma Howard.
ABOUT MTC
Founded in 1966, Marin Theatre Company is the Bay Area’s premier mid-sized theater and the leading professional theater in the North Bay. We produce a six-show season of provocative plays by passionate playwrights from the 20th century and today in our 231-seat main stage theater, as well as a five-show Theater Series for Young Audiences in partnership with the Bay Area Children's Theatre in our 99-seat studio theater. We are committed to the development and production of new plays by American playwrights, with a comprehensive New Play Program that includes productions of world premieres, two nationally recognized annual playwriting awards, readings and workshops by the nation’s best emerging playwrights and membership in the National New Play Network. Our numerous education programs serve more than 6,000 students from over 40 Bay Area schools each year. MTC is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
PRESS CONTACT
Sasha Hnatkovich, Communications Director
(415) 388-5200, ext. 3313 | sasha@marintheatre.org
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