Christopher Ashley Artistic Director

has served as Artistic Director at La Jolla Playhouse since October, 2007. During his tenure, he helmed the world premiere of Arthur Kopit and Anton Dudley's A Dram of Drummhicit, Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, the world premiere of Claudia Shear's Restoration, and the acclaimed musical Xanadu and Memphis, which won four 2010 Tony Awards including Best Musical. Mr. Ashley spearheads the Playhouse's Resident Theatre program, which encourages the artistic development of up-and-coming theatre companies and provide a temporary home each year to one of the many vibrant local theatre troupes without a permanent venue. He was also instrumental in developing THE EDGE series, a program designed to bring the freshest, most adventurous work to the Playhouse's stages. In addition, he oversaw the world premieres of Little Miss Sunshine, Limelight: The Story of Charlie Chaplin, Surf Report, Bonnie & Clyde, Doug Wright's adaptation of Creditors, the Page To Stage workshop of Charlayne Woodard's The Night Watcher, and the West Coast premiere of 33 Variations. Prior to joining the Playhouse, Mr. Ashley directed the Broadway productions of Xanadu (Drama Desk nomination), All Shook Up and The Rocky Horror Show (Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations), as well as the Kennedy Center Sondheim Celebration productions of Sweeney Todd and Merrily We Roll Along. Other New York credits include: Blown Sideways Through Life, Jeffrey (Lucille Lortel and Obie Awards), The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, Valhalla, Regrets Only, Wonder of the World, Communicating Doors, Bunny Bunny, The Night Hank Williams Died, Fires in the Mirror (Lucille Lortel Award), among others. He also directed the feature film Jeffrey and the American Playhouse production of Blown Sideways Through Life for PBS. Mr. Ashley is the recipient of the Princess Grace Award, the Drama League Director Fellowship and an NEA/TCG Director Fellowship.

Michael S. Rosenberg Managing Director

was appointed Managing Director of La Jolla Playhouse in April, 2009. During his tenure he has worked in partnership with Artistic Director Christopher Ashley to produce eight world premieres, six Playhouse commissions and the hit musicals Bonnie & Clyde (now on Broadway) and Limelight. He was also was instrumental in bringing two special engagements to the Playhouse: the international sensation Aurélia's Oratorio and the new Page To Stage workshop production of John Leguizamo Diary of a Madman, which recently enjoyed a successful Broadway run. Additionally, he fostered the growth of the Playhouse's award-winning Performance Outreach Program (POP) tour, achieving sold-out performances in local schools for the first time in Playhouse history. Previously Mr. Rosenberg was Co-Founder and Executive Director of Drama Dept., a New York non-profit theatre company, where he produced new works by the likes of Douglas Carter Beane, Warren Leight, Isaac Mizrahi, Paul Rudnick and David and Amy Sedaris. He has been part of the producing teams for the Broadway productions of Grey Gardens and American Buffalo and the current national tour of Little House on the Prairie. He is a member of The Broadway League and the Producers Guild of America.

Shirley Fishman Director of Play Development

In addition to her duties as Director of Play Development, Ms. Fishman has served as dramaturg on Carmen, The Deception, Most Wanted, The Wiz, Culture Clash's Zorro in Hell, The Scottish Play, Palm Beach, Eden Lane, When Grace Comes In, Adoration of the Old Woman, The Collected Works of Billy the Kid, Diva, I Am My Own Wife (2004 Pulitzer Prize) and Dracula, The Musical. At the Joseph Papp Public Theater, Ms. Fishman dramaturged such projects as Jessica Hagedorn's Dogeaters, directed by Michael Greif; Two Sisters and a Piano by Nilo Cruz; Tina Landau's Space; Arthur Miller's The Ride Down Mount Morgan; Tony Kushner's A Dybbuk: Or Between Two Worlds; David Henry Hwang's Golden Child; numerous works-in-process, readings and workshops and co-curated the Public's annual New Work Now! Festival. She has been a Creative Advisor/Dramaturg at the Sundance Theatre Lab, working on such projects as Doug Wright's I Am My Own Wife; Naomi Iizuka's 36 Views and Moises Kaufman's The Laramie Project. She is an M.F.A. graduate of Columbia University's Theatre Theory/Criticism/Dramaturgy program, has lectured at UCSD's Department of Theatre and Dance and is a Dramaturg for UCSD's Baldwin Playwrights Festival. She serves on the Board of Trustees of the San Diego Performing Arts League.

Debby Buchholz General Manager

has served as General Manager of La Jolla Playhouse since 2002. She is a member of the Executive Committee of the League of Resident Theaters (LORT). In 2009, she received a San Diego Women Who Mean Business Award from San Diego Business Journal. Previously she served as Counsel to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C.. She was a faculty member of the Smithsonian Institution's program on Legal Problems of Museum Administration. Prior to the Kennedy Center, she served as a corporate attorney in New York City and Washington, DC. She is a graduate of UC San Diego and Harvard Law School. Ms. Buchholz and her husband, noted author and White House economic policy advisor Todd Buchholz, live in Solana Beach and are the proud parents of Victoria, Katherine and Alexia.

John T. O'Dea Director of Finance

Mr. O'Dea joined the Playhouse in 2006. Mr. O'Dea received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and has an active CPA license. In addition to his extensive experience as a senior accountant for Price Waterhouse, he has worked closely with several publicly traded high-tech companies as a controller. His experience working with outside auditors and with budget preparation, cash flow management and staff supervision, as well as the presentation of financial material to trustees and board committees, made him exactly the right fit for La Jolla Playhouse. Originally from New York, Mr. O'Dea moved to La Jolla in junior high school and has lived in San Diego ever since. O'Dea stays connected to his community by staying highly involved. He serves on both the board of his church and the board of the local UCLA Club of San Diego.

Charlene Pryor Development Director

Stephen McCormick Director of Education and Outreach

Mr. McCormick completed his Master of Fine Arts in Theatre for Youth from Arizona State University in 2001. He has been the Director of Education and Outreach for La Jolla Playhouse since 2006. During his time at the Playhouse Mr. McCormick has commissioned world premiere productions for youth from high profile playwrights such as Will Power, Kathryn Walat and Rhiana Yazzie. Prior to his time at the Playhouse, Mr. McCormick served as Associate Artistic Director and Education Director for First Stage Children’s Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Over the course of his 15 year relationship with First Stage Mr. McCormick directed productions including Sideways Stories From Wayside School, Two Donuts, Ramona Quimby and A Taste of Sunrise and appeared in numerous productions as an actor. Mr. McCormick has also worked as an educator and/or performer for Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Utah Shakespearean Festival, Nashville Children's Theatre, Childsplay, Arkansas Children's Theatre, National Theatre of the Deaf, Arizona State University, Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Springer Opera House and the Tennessee School for the Blind. He can also be heard playing various aquatic life in multiple video games for the SpongeBob Squarepants TV series.

Dana Harrel Producing Director

Ms. Harrel comes to La Jolla Playhouse after serving as the Associate/Resident Director on Xanadu on Broadway. For three years served as Artistic Associate and then Producer Musical Theatre Lab (Stage II) at Barrington Stage Company, where she helped develop and produced The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee by William Finn, Ears on A Beatles (which transferred to the Daryl Roth Theatre) and Burnt Part Boys (premiering in NYC fall 2008). For three years, served as Co-Artistic Director of Genesius Theatre Group in NYC, where she produced Fair Game by Karl Gajdusek and Worth by Suzanne Lee. Directing credits include the critically-acclaimed play Medallion by Tanya Barfield for the Antigone Project at the Women's Project, Urinetown for Yale Dramat, Hush at INTAR, Night Train to Bolina by Nilo Cruz, Yerma, Hide and Seek and Fiddler at the Hangar Theatre, Blood Wedding at GSU, El Dia Que Me Quieras for Actors of the World, Such a Pretty Day for New Georges, as well as numerous readings and workshops in NYC and around the country. Associate and Assisting Credits include The 25th Annual ..Spelling Bee (Resident Director), Modern Orthodox (also Resident Director), and Fran's Bed (all for James Lapine), Two Sisters and A Piano, Lackawanna Blues (Loretta Grec, Dir), Sound of Music, Josh Keenan (Associated Director - Kevin Moriarty, Dir). Translated Lorca's House of Bernarda Alba for Emily Mann at McCarter Theatre and Yerma at Hangar Theatre. NYU Graduate, NEA/TCG Finalist and Drama League Alumni.

Gabriel Greene Director of New Play Development

joined La Jolla Playhouse's artistic staff in 2007; since then, he has dramaturged nearly a dozen productions of new plays and musicals, including Kirsten Greenidge's Milk Like Sugar (off-Broadway transfer; Obie Award), Joe DiPietro and David Bryan's Memphis (Broadway transfer; four 2010 Tony Awards including Best Musical), Claudia Shear's Restoration (off-Broadway transfer), Rick Elice's Peter and the Starcatchers, Christopher Curtis and Tom Meehan's Limelight (2010 San Diego Theatre Critics Circle Award, Best New Musical) and Sean Cunningham and Michael Friedman's HOOVER COMES ALIVE!. From 2003 to 2007, Mr. Greene was the Literary Manager at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company, where he served as a dramaturg on their annual First Look Repertory of New Work and co-adapted I Sing America (performed at Millennium Park). Other dramaturgy: Playwrights Horizons, New York Theatre Workshop, South Coast Rep, 5th Avenue Theatre (Seattle), TimeLine Theatre Company, Noble Fool and Shattered Globe (all in Chicago). He is a graduate of University of Michigan and Trinity College, Dublin.

Linda Cooper Production Manager

Linda has recently taken on the role as the Production Manager at La Jolla Playhouse, and has already helmed productions such as Hands on a Hardbody, Sleeping Beauty Wakes, Milk Like Sugar, and oversaw the transfer of Jesus Christ Superstar from Stratford Shakespeare Festival and looks forward to culminating her 1st year with Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. For the 8 years prior to this, she served as the Associate Production Manager. Previous to her work at the Playhouse, she worked as the Assistant Production Manager for Santa Fe Stage and Theatre Instructor and Director at Philos Learning Center both in Santa Fe, NM; Associate Artistic Director at SteppingStone Theatre for Youth Development in St. Paul, MN. She is a native to Illinois where she received her BFA in Theater and Stage Management at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.

Mary Cook Director of Marketing

Becky Biegelsen Public Relations Director

Ned Collins Director of Operations