Cinnabar Theater’s executive director Terence Keane will be stepping down from his position after the summer and handing to the reins temporarily over to Cinnabar Arts Corporation member Stephen Hamilton.
Keane was hired part-time in early 2013 and asked to maximize ticket sales, increase fundraising, overhaul communications and work with the board, staff and volunteers to sustain the theater and its education programs for youth.
Hamilton will serve as interim executive director, manage day-to-day operations, and head the search for a full-time executive. Keane will remain with Cinnabar into the summer months to support a stable transition.
“We are enormously grateful for everything that Terence achieved,” said CAC member Richard Kapash. “We asked him to grow Cinnabar so that it could afford a full-time executive director, and he did that faster than any of us expected. So we were disappointed when Terence declined this full-time position. We’re sad to see him go, but we appreciate all that he’s done - and we look forward to identifying a leader to take us to the next level.”
Keane said, “I’m proud to have been part of Cinnabar’s crackerjack team of staff and volunteers, and pleased with the progress we made. The theater’s not the only thing that’s been growing in the past two years. I have an exuberant 14-month-old son, and my wife and I just learned that we’re expecting our second child. I value the flexibility this job gave me to be with my family, and that’s where my priorities lie at present. So I’ll be supporting the board through a smooth transition, continuing to consult for select clients, and playing twice as much peekaboo.”
“Terence truly shared our vision and our mission - to create transcendent artistic experiences for adults and for kids,” said artistic director Elly Lichenstein. “I deeply appreciate how hard he worked to support that vision. Together, we’ve put the organization on more solid footing and created a stable foundation for the future. We wish Terence and his family the best, and we look forward to seeing them in our audience for years to come.”
“Terence is leaving some very large shoes to fill,” added Hamilton.
Hamilton has extensive experience in sales, marketing and administration at public, private and not-for-profit organizations. He had a 20-year managerial career at Hewlett-Packard and more recently a career as a consultant assisting large and small companies with organizational change. Among other things, he served as chairman of the board for the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival and helped guide that organization through its third decade.
Keane has two decades of experience serving grassroots, national, and global nonprofits. Prior to his service at Cinnabar, he devoted more than eight years to the Tony Award-winning Berkeley Repertory Theatre. He helped lead its marketing team to the highest ticket revenue in the company’s history.
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