When Debbie Chinn started placing blankets on the seats at the California Shakespeare Theater, which performs outdoors - along with a hand-written note - some observers dismissed the gesture as hokey.
But theatergoers in the Bay Area loved it. Now, other outdoor festivals in California are doing the same thing.
And it's one of the explanations most frequently noted for the 44 percent increase in earned revenue and the 14 percent increase in subscription renewals that Cal Shakes experienced in the seven years since Chinn took over as the troupe's managing director.
Arts administrators say they hope Chinn brings similar creativity to her new job. Center Stage's board of directors voted last night to appoint her as the theater's managing director, succeeding Michael Ross.
Chinn plans to move to Baltimore over the summer - she is already house-hunting - and will assume her new duties before the season kicks off Sept. 17.
"Debbie has a vigorous intellectual mind, a warm personality, and she's a straight-shooter," says Irene Lewis, Center Stage's artistic director, who noted that she and Chinn share an inclination to mount shows that push the envelope.
"She strives for a high level of theatrical excellence. I think we're very, very lucky to be getting her."
Chinn will not only be responsible for balancing the budget and facilities management, but she will also become the public face of Baltimore's largest regional stage company.
In recent years, there has been an impetus nationally to get artistic directors more involved in public relations and fundraising. For instance, Marin Alsop is the face of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra - and not Paul Meecham, the music group's president and CEO.
Many artistic leaders, Lewis included, shrink from these tasks, reasoning that their talents are better suited to creating productions.
But artistic directors are under so much pressure to court potential donors that there have been some high-level resignations, including that of musical superstar Daniel Barenboim from the helm of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Luckily, the Center Stage board has seen it Lewis' way and has installed previous managing directors who have relished taking on a more visible role, from the widely respected Peter Culman, who was Center Stage's managing director for 34 years, to the ebullient Ross. Chinn will be expected to do the same.
