Great Barrington Public Theater Board Chair Susie Weekes Roeder today announced that as of January 2025 the company’s founding Managing Director Tristan Wilson will hand off responsibilities to Serena Johnson. Her appointment has been in the works and expected since Johnson joined the company as Director of Development earlier this year.
“Our mission is to create a lively company with the skills and talents of theater professionals who live in the Berkshires and neighbor communities,” Weekes Roeder explained. “Tristan is respected and well-known in the Berkshires and has a depth of valuable professional experience and know-how. He came aboard five years ago to get GB Public efficiently organized and operating on target. The plan has always been to pass the baton to the right candidate. We hired Serena with that in mind and Tristan has been working closely with her to bring her up to speed on all aspects of financial and administrative management. We’re very pleased with her imagination, creativity and watchful insights and are ready to expand her role.”
GBPT founder and Artistic Director Jim Frangione adds, “Serena’s skills and energy are a great match for our culture and future. She’s already kicked the ball ahead quite a bit since joining us, increasing our donor base and playing a key role in our success during the 2024 season. We’re extremely fortunate to have had Tristan at the helm these past several years. His experience and leadership have been instrumental to the organization’s success and his positive attitude and unflappable nature in the face of inevitable theatrical crises will be sorely missed.”
Johnson, a resident of Canaan NY, is active in Berkshire business and cultural communities. She came to GB Public by way of the 1Berkhsires Leadership Program, which has prepared new leaders and added to the quality of life in the Berkshires since 1997. A classically trained singer and stage performer originally from California, Johnson was a member of the team that successfully developed funding and operations for the Antaeus Theatre in Glendale, CA. She brings proven theater management expertise to her new role and plans to expand audience, donor and corporate relationships throughout the Berkshires and adjacent towns.
“I’m thrilled to take on more responsibilities and play a larger part in realizing the company’s potential,” Johnson says, pointing out, “Great Barrington Public is made up of a dynamic, vibrant group focused on bringing new work and talent to the Berkshires, and has quickly defined itself as a high-appeal addition to the Berkshires’ cultural portfolio.”
On stepping aside, Wilson says, “I am happy and proud to have helped expand GB Public’s production and business profile through Covid and four outstanding seasons of terrific new plays. I look forward to helping where I can as the company grows and continues to bring professional opportunities and breakthrough productions to audiences in the Berkshires and beyond.”
The company’s summer season plays June-August, on two stages in the Daniel Arts Center, Bard College at Simon’s Rock, in Great Barrington. Readings and free community events are also presented across the year at St. James Place in Great Barrington. More information and news can be found on the company site
Great Barrington Public Theater was founded by Jim Frangione and Deann Simmons Halper to create opportunities for theater artists in the Berkshires and neighboring regions. Great Barrington Public Theater recognizes the many excellent playwrights, actors, directors, designers, administrators and technicians living in the Berkshires and surrounding areas. Our objective is to bring a mix of new plays to the stage in a variety of formats; to generate and foster creative and rigorous opportunity for local theater artists, while engaging our theatergoing public with new and contemporary readings, workshops, and fully-staged productions, involving local talent as often as possible and keeping ticket prices affordable.