Board of Advisors

Guy Bergquist

Guy Bergquist (Producer, Arena Stage) joined the Arena staff as Production Coordinator in 1982. He is responsible for supervising the allocation and use of all production resources and implementing the artistic vision. As Producer, he has the opportunity to work with all Administrative, Artistic and Production departments in order to coordinate the work onstage as well as behind the scenes. Prior to joining Arena, Mr. Bergquist served as a production stage manager for the Hartford Ballet. He also co-owned the Melodrama Theater in Austin, Texas. For 10 years, he was associated with the O’Neill Theatre Center, as stage manager for the National Theater of the Deaf and as production manager for the National Playwrights Conference. He served as Producing Director of the Theatre and Interpretation Center at Northwestern University from 1993-1997.

Anne Ewers

Anne Ewers was appointed in July 2002 as Utah Symphony & Opera’s first CEO and Opera General Director in a precedent setting decision by Utah Symphony and Utah Opera boards of trustees to merge both organizations into one entity.  Since Utah Symphony & Opera’s inception, the company has launched the Deer Valley Music Festival, cut the Utah Symphony’s first CD in 15 years, and for the first time in 19 years will embark on a European Tour in spring 2005.  During Ms. Ewers’ tenure as Utah Opera’s General Director, the season subscription base grew by 20%, the Company’s annual budget grew from $1.5 million to over $5 million, seasonal repertoire increased from three to four main-stage productions, and two capital campaign goals were exceeded resulting in the purchase of the company’s Production Studio in 1995.  The purchase and expansion of these facilities enabled Utah Opera to establish a set and costume rental program that nets in excess of $350,000 annually.

Ms. Ewers has set national benchmarks in outreach to under-served audiences with her development of shadow-interpreted operatic productions for the hearing-impaired, audience aides for the visually-impaired and performances for children with autism and their families.  The Company has received the OPERA American Campaign Awards for Community and Educational Outreach - Dreamkeepers (1997), Internship Program (2000), and Commissioned High School opera Illusions/Illusiones (2002).  In addition to her responsibilities with Utah Symphony & Opera, Ms. Ewers serves on the Board of Trustees for OPERA America, and is a frequent panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts.

Dulcie C. Gilmore

Ms. Gilmore has twenty-five years of experience in successfully operating theatres, including programming, management, establishing governance structures, preparing financial pro formas, audience projections, startup and annual operating budgets.  Two of the theatres she managed (Paramount Arts Centre, Aurora IL and Oriental Theatre, Chicago IL) were startup facilities. The Auditorium Theatre, Chicago IL was on the verge of closing when she took over.  Under her management, it was transformed from a deficit-ridden, run down facility to one of the premier performing arts venues in the country. The Arie Crown Theater, her most recent project, was underutilized.  All four facilities are city, state or federal historic landmarks. 

As General Manager of the Aurora Civic Center Authority (ACCA), Ms. Gilmore oversaw operations of the Paramount and North Island Center, a mixed-use complex consisting of a 50,000SF office building, a parking garage, a 200-seat theatre and meeting and banquet facilities.  ACCA was a municipal corporation with a nine-member, mayoral appointed board.  Funding came from the Illinois Civic Center Support Act (Department of Commerce and Community Affairs), the City of Aurora, and earned income.  Ms. Gilmore led the formation of the Paramount Arts Center, Inc., a 501(c)(3) corporation established to encourage nonprofit arts programming at the Paramount.

The Paramount is a 1931 art deco movie palace with 1,888 seats.  The theatre was completely restored and renovated to become the region's premier performing arts center.  In addition to accommodating local arts groups, such as the community theatre and the symphony, the Paramount, under Ms. Gilmore's management, developed a subscription season of national and international performing arts attractions.  These included Marcel Marceau, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Annie, A Chorus Line, Evita, Eddie Rabbitt, Victor Borge, Pilolobus Dance Company, Pennsylvania Ballet, The Guthrie Theatre, New York City Opera National Company, the Lyric Opera of Chicago Young American Artists, The Acting Company, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Johnny Cash, Ricky Nelson, the U.S. Navy Band, and many others.  She established a successful, balanced program of community and professional artists and attractions.

As Executive Director of the 1889 National Landmark Auditorium Theatre, Ms. Gilmore re-established Chicago as a major market for Broadway musicals.  The Midwest premieres of Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon and Show Boat appeared at the theatre under her tenure.  She balanced the programming of this 4,000-seat theatre with a vast array of international cultural attractions.  These included American Ballet Theatre, the Bolshoi Ballet, Alvin Ailey, Kodo Drummers, and many others.  Ms. Gilmore developed and implemented a strategic plan to increase sales from $2 million to between $20 and $40 million annually, and accomplished those objectives.  She created educational programs serving 20,000 students annually, developed master classes and held discussion groups with visiting directors, actors and technicians.  Ms. Gilmore eliminated a deficit of over $300,000, invested $3.4 million in capital improvements and established a cash reserve of $5.5 million.

At the historic, 2,400-seat Oriental Theatre, Ms. Gilmore oversaw startup operations, including hiring the initial staff of 160 and establishing operating procedures for the restored theatre.  She worked extensively with representatives from the City of Chicago throughout the construction phase on areas concerning codes, certifications, liquor licenses, occupancy, etc.  The theatre re-opened in 1998 with the highly acclaimed musical, Ragtime.  The Oriental serves as the anchor to the City's Randolph Street Theatre District.

The 4,249-seat Arie Crown Theater is Chicago’s largest theatre.  In 2003, Ms. Gilmore was appointed by the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (owners and operators of McCormick Place, Navy Pier, and the Arie Crown) to oversee booking and operations.  Under Ms. Gilmore’s management, the number of use days has increased from 140 to 200.  Attractions include concerts, gospel plays, international productions, as well as industrial shows.  In 2005, she assumed management of Skyline Stage, a popular 1,500-seat summer venue at Navy Pier. 

Through her consulting firm, Dulcie Gilmore Associates, Ms. Gilmore has assisted many arts and entertainment organizations around the country, including the Boyd (Sameric) Theatre, Philadelphia (PA), Rowan University, Glassboro (NJ), Naperville (IL) Regional Performing Arts Center Project, the Orpheum Theatre Foundation in Phoenix (AZ), The New England Center for the Performing Arts in Massachusetts, the Amherst (MA) Performing Arts and Independent Film Center, the DuPage Theatre in Lombard, IL, and the Chicago International Film Festival.  She is president-elect of the League of Historic American Theatres, and has served on the Chicago Central Area Committee and the State Street Council, Chicago's Loop-based retail association.  Ms. Gilmore was appointed by Mayor Richard M. Daley to serve as Commissioner of the State Street Commission (a political body appointed to oversee Special Service Area assessments for the downtown retail district).  She is a trustee of the Stagehands Health & Welfare, Pension and Annuity Funds, Musicians Union Health & Welfare Fund, Ticket Sellers Pension Plan, and a member of the Association of Theatrical Press Agents and Managers.  She served as president of the League of Chicago Theatres from 1993 - 95.

Robert J. Orchard

Robert J. Orchard, Executive Director, American Repertory Theatre.Mr. Orchard co-founded the American Repertory Theatre with Robert Brustein in 1979 and served as the Company's Managing Director for twenty-one years. Recently, he was also appointed Director of the Loeb Drama Center at Harvard. Prior to 1979, he was Managing Director of the Yale Repertory Theatre and the School of Drama for seven years, where he also served as Associate Professor and Co-Chairman of the Theatre Administration Department. For the past fifteen years, Mr. Orchard has been active facilitating exchanges, leading seminars, and advising on public policy with theatre professionals and government officials in Russia.Mr. Orchard has served as Chairman of both the Theatre and the Opera/Musical Theatre Panels at the National Endowment for the Arts, on the Board and Executive Committee of the American Arts Alliance, the national advocacy association for the performing and visual arts, and as a trustee of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national service organization for the American professional theatre and publisher of American Theatre magazine. Mr. Orchard recently received the Elliot Norton Award for Sustained Excellence.

Anatoly Smeliansky

Anatoly Smeliansky Associate Artistic Director of the Moscow Art Theatre
Head of the Moscow Art Theatre School
Anatoly Smeliansky is a leading Russian theatre writer, scholar, and critic. He joined the Moscow Art Theatre (MXAT) in 1980 as Literary Director and was appointed Associate Artistic Director in 1996. Dean of the MXAT School for Academic Studies since 1986, he became the head of the school in 2000. Dr. Smeliansky is alsoEditor-in-Chief of the new edition of the Complete Works Konstantin Stanislavsky and The Moscow Art Theatre Encyclopedia. He is the author of Our Collocutors: Russian Classics on Stage, Bulgakov and the Moscow Art Theatre, Is Comrade Bulgakov Dead? (rated among the best theatre publications in 1995 by American Theatre magazine) and The Russian Theatre after Stalin. He has extensive experience lecturing on Russian and Soviet theatre in the United States (Columbia, Carnegie Mellon University, Georgetown, Harvard, Princeton, Yale), France (the Sorbonne), and England (Cambridge and Oxford). Dr. Smeliansky is a theatre columnist for Moscow News Weekly. As Secretary of the Board of the Russian Union of Theatremakers and founding member of the American-Soviet Theatre Initiative, he has represented Soviet and Russian theatre at various international symposia and conferences all over the world. Dr. Smeliansky facilitated and moderated the Slavyansky Bazaar-100 Years, a conference in Moscow in June, 1997 commencing the centennial season of the MXAT. He is the recipient of several national awards for artistic excellence, including Distinguished Artsmaker of Russia.

Ken Tabachnick

General Manager for New York City Ballet

Tabachnick has an extensive background in both the management and the creative sides of the arts. For more than twenty years, he has maintained a private practice in lighting design and production management. Some companies with whom Ken has collaborated include the Bolshoi and Kirov Companies, Paris Opera Ballet, Robert Wilson, Martha Graham Dance Company, and Trisha Brown Company. Ken was also the resident lighting director at New York City Opera. He has served as the Executive Director of the Hamptons International Film Festival, and as Corporate Relations Director and Gotham Awards Producer at the Independent Feature Project. Ken also practices as an attorney, advising clients on entertainment matters and is a Managing Member of indieWIRE LLC, an internet venture responsible for community sites such as indiewire.com and filmmag.com.