The Long Beach Playhouse is ending its search for a new executive director, and instead is creating a new structure with a producing artistic director in the leadership role and a business and operations manager position responsible for the administrative duties.
Andrew Vonderschmitt has accepted the producing artistic director position. Vonderschmitt has been with the Playhouse for the last four years— his first two years as technical director, and the last two as artistic/technical director. Liz Lydic, who served as interim executive director following Lauren Morris’s departure, will stay on as business and operations manager through the end of March. A search is underway for someone to permanently fill that position.
As part of this organizational restructure, the Playhouse has determined it is better served to return to staffing levels more in keeping with the needs of a community theater. As a result, it will reduce its 12-member staff to six full-time and two contract positions. This new structure will allow the Playhouse staff to focus entirely on the quality of its productions, according to a press release issued this week by the theatre.
“The reduced staffing level is a return to the operating model in place in previous years,” said Playhouse Board President Shirley Guy. She says it is a model that served the Playhouse well in the past and is expected to help contain costs without affecting the quality the public has come to expect.
To learn more about the Playhouse or to get involved, visit lbplayhouse.org
