As the British ska band The Specials proclaimed in 1980:
Are you ready for this? I told you he was coming.
Who? J.B., and he’s ready to sock it to you one time.
The Long Wharf Theatre could break into a similar chant. Of course, The Specials were singing about James Bond (“Unh! Spy Who Loved Me! You Only Live Twice!”), and Long Wharf is welcoming back Joshua Borenstein. But in both cases it’s all about security and intelligence.
Long Wharf announced today that Joshua Borenstein would be the interim managing director at the theater. It’s a canny and fortunate circumstance, since few arts administrators know the place better or could step in so confidently at such short notice.
Borenstein was Associate Managing Director at the Long Wharf from 2003-2008, spanning the periods when Michael Stotts, then Joan Channick were the Managing Directors. Borenstein was even an interim managing director for a few months between Stotts and Channick. This time the theater got him by contracting him through his current employer, AMS Planning and Resarch Corp., which tracks the sustainability and marketability of arts organizations. The company just released a major national study, Culture Track 2011, which according to the AMS website examined “the attitudes and behaviors of cultural audiences, trends in attendance at visual and performing arts events, and the motivators and barriers that affect participation.” Borenstein was the lead researcher on that study.
Even before he was at Long Wharf, Borenstein was knowledgeable about theatergoing trends in the area as a theater management student at the Yale School of Drama. He’s worked at the Yale Rep, Boston’s Huntington Theatre Company and Providence’s Trinity Rep. He’s been a guest lecturer at Yale and served on the board (as both president and treasurer) of the Yale Summer Cabaret. Can you ask for a better background?
At Long Wharf, Borenstein will replace Ray Cullom, who lasted a mere two seasons at Long Wharf and left in March to become the executive director of the Queens Theater in Park in Flushing Meadows, New York.
When Cullom left, there were statements from the Long Wharf to the effect that this was an appropriate time for such transitions; administrators often leave theaters in spring, when one season is over and the next has already been pretty much booked and budgeted. Cullom’s leaving was amicable, and he was able to give notice and wrap up a few loose ends. Other than putting together a search committee, the Long Wharf board wasn’t behaving particularly anxious.
But with leaner theater staffs (Cullom’s first task at Long Wharf was to downsize the place), things are planned out longer in advance and there’s no real downtime at regional theaters anymore. The Long Wharf is about to officially announce its 2011-12 season on May 9, and is also putting together a summer season and planning its annual gala. It needs a Managing Director on hand.
A Long Wharf spokesman says it’s too early to talk about any permanent candidates for the permanent Managing Director position. The Long Wharf board is currently searching for a search firm which will search for candidates. In the meantime, Josh Borenstein works for AMS Planning and Research Corp. and has been contracted to help out the Long Wharf in the short term. We’re sure he’ll manage.