Christopher Ashley Artistic Director

was recently nominated for several awards for Memphis, including a Tony Award nomination for Outstanding Director of a Musical. Mr. Ashley has served as La Jolla Playhouse’s Artistic Director since October, 2007. During his tenure, he helmed Restoration and the acclaimed musicals Xanadu and the 2010 Tony Award winner for Best Musical, Memphis. He also spearheads the Playhouse’s Resident Theatre program and was instrumental in developing THE EDGE series. Prior to joining the Playhouse, he 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. Mr. Ashley 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 first season, he worked in partnership with Artistic Director Christopher Ashley to produce three world premieres, including two Playhouse commissions and the hit musical Bonnie & Clyde. He was also instrumental in bringing two special engagements to the Playhouse: the international sensation Aurélia’s Oratorio and the Page To Stage workshop of John Leguizamo Diary of a Madman. Additionally, he fostered the growth of the Playhouse’s award-winning Performance Outreach Program (POP) tour, achieving the most performances at local schools 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 a part of the producing teams for the Broadway productions of Grey Gardens and American Buffalo and the 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

Ms. Buchholz joined La Jolla Playhouse in September 2002. Prior to joining La Jolla Playhouse, Ms. Buchholz was Counsel to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C., where she oversaw the business and legal arrangements for the Kennedy Center and the National Symphony Orchestra. She worked on numerous special events and television and radio projects including the Kennedy Center Honors and the PBS special, The Kennedy Center Presents. Ms. Buchholz was a member of the Kennedy Center's Senior Management Committee charged with determining budgets, programs and policies for the Center. She was a faculty member of the Smithsonian Institution's program on Legal Problems of Museum Administration. Prior to joining the Kennedy Center, she served as a corporate attorney in New York City and Washington, D.C. She is a graduate of UCSD 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.

Peter J. Davis Production Manager

Before relocating to San Diego in 2003 to join the staff of La Jolla Playhouse, Mr. Davis spent seven seasons as Production Manager at Second Stage Theatre in New York City, where he helped produce the "second stagings" of Edward Albee's Tiny Alice, Sam Shephard's Tooth of Crime and Kenneth Lonergan's This Is Our Youth, as well as the New York premieres of August Wilson's Jitney, Stephen Sondheim's Saturday Night and Mary Zimmerman's Metamorphoses (on which he also served as Co-Production Supervisor for the year-long run on Broadway).

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.

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 Associate Producer

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, "em>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.

Mary Cook Director of Marketing

Becky Biegelsen Public Relations Director

Ned Collins Director of Operations