Staring at the dozens of movie posters, guitars and albums that dot her office and a floor-to-ceiling calendar detailing two years”™ worth of events adjacent to her desk, the one thing Allison Stockel can”™t do is tell you which show has been her favorite.
“It”™s hard to say,” she says. “Most of them are great.”
Stockel will be marking her 10th year as executive director of The Ridgefield Playhouse in 2014. After a tough two-year stretch from 2008 to 2009, she said patrons are beginning to come out in droves again.
With July headlined by the likes of Lyle Lovett, Kansas, Survivor, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Leon Russell, Stockel said “the growth has been fabulous.”
“When I first started on the board (of directors), we were booking maybe two to four shows a month. And now we do two to four shows a week, depending on the week,” Stockel said.
The Playhouse, which was founded in 2000, is far more than just a concert and movie theater venue, Stockel said. The theater also hosts various speakers and community events, comedians, theater productions, art shows and a variety of workshops.
“As a performing arts center, we really do pretty much everything. Our goal is to offer all aspects of the performing arts,” Stockel said.
While the theater ”” which occupies a former school building ”” doesn”™t seem like much from the exterior, Stockel said it draws crowds from up and down the East Coast.
“We draw from as far as Maine, and we”™ve drawn from as far south as the Carolinas, depending on the show,” she said. “These are national acts that perform in venues all over the world, so definitely there”™s going to be a draw from those.”
The Playhouse turns what would otherwise be a quiet suburb into a cultural hub, she said. “Ridgefield, for the size town it is, has a tremendous amount of culture,” Stockel said, noting the town”™s nationally recognized museum, symphonic orchestra and a vibrant arts scene.
She and CFO Julie Paltauf, who is marking her eighth year at Ridgefield Playhouse this year, have gotten some much-needed assistance this spring with the addition of Suzanne Brennan, who will serve as chief development officer, and Christine O”™Leary, who will serve as chief theater operations officer, to the Playhouse”™s executive team.
“When I first started here as executive director, there were two other people here,” Stockel said. She said the additions “reflect the fact that we”™ve grown so much as a performing arts center.”
While in the past Stockel did everything from managing productions to booking performances to marketing shows, the theater now has a much larger operations staff that requires managing. “So that”™s why we felt we needed someone to oversee all of that.”
“Everyone kind of utilizes the Playhouse because it”™s a cultural hub for this area,” Stockel said. “We don”™t want to just do it ”” we really want to do it well. And we think this is the right group. This is the type of place where you can”™t just work here and have it be a job ”” you have to have a passion for what you do.”
Stockel takes that to heart: since 2007, she has donated her full salary back to the theater. Additionally, Paltauf donates a portion of her time to the nonprofit Playhouse.
“I”™m lucky in the sense that I”™m able to do it,” Stockel said. “I work here because I want to work here.”
