When Eleanor Stacey was growing up in Nelson, her mother was the general manager of the Capitol Theatre for 18 years. During that time she gained experience as a volunteer, designer and director. Having recently returned to the Kootenays after an illustrious career that’s taken her to New York, Germany and the British West Indies, among other places, she will now be following in her mother’s footsteps by taking on the role of executive director of the Nelson Civic Theatre.
“It is a tremendous pleasure to join the Civic Theatre at this pivotal moment in its development as a cultural entity and community service. I look forward to working with the board, staff, membership and great local community to continue to grow and shape this unique organization,” said Stacey.
The Civic’s board president Marilyn Mint said they are thrilled by Stacey’s appointment.
“We are very pleased that Eleanor is joining our team. We are indeed fortunate to have found someone with her experience and capabilities. Eleanor is ideally suited to lead us towards our goal of converting the Civic into a state-of-the-art multi-screen, multi-purpose community, facility,” she said.
Stacey holds an MFA in Performing Arts Administration from Brooklyn College, and as a student she gained professional experience with Leandestheater Tuebingen (Germany), New York City Opera and The Roundabout Theatre.
She founded the Apple Summer Youth Theatre Program in Anguilla, British West Indies, which she administered from 1999 to 2003, and then again in the summer of 2008.
While working in New York, Stacey held the position of development associate the Theatre Communications group, North America’s largest professional theatre association and the producer of American Theatre magazine. She was also the director of development for Classic Stage Company.
In 2005 she returned to BC and joined The Cultch, where she managed a multi-faceted fun raising program.
Most recently, Stacey was the executive director of the Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance. She returned to Nelson over a year ago, hoping to find professional opportunities while she raises her young family here.