Richard Cook, left, and Steven Lockwood at Park Square.
Steven Lockwood is retiring as executive director of Park Square Theatre. Lockwood has been with the organization since 1980 and has held the chief administrative job since 1995.
No surprise, the St. Paul company has named C. Michael-jon Pease to replace Lockwood. Pease was development director for seven years and then spent the last five years as director of external relations, overseeing development, marketing and PR.
Pease has been a key player in Park Square's ascent the past several years. Audiences are up 33 percent and the number of theater artists employed as nearly doubled. Overall, Park Square says its business has grown 27 percent in the past five years and a $4.2 million capital campaign has secured $3.6 million to date. Money was used to refurbish the main auditorium, and plans are still on track to build a 200-seat theater in the basement of the Hamm building.
Lockwood and artistic director Richard Cook have spearheaded Park Square's business for many years.
Lockwood was a director, costumer and actor before moving into the executive director's job. Park Square has an annual budget of $2.3 million – nearly double what it was a decade ago. In the season just ended, the theater reported attendance of 60,000 and ticket revenue of $1.3 million, which is a very healthy ratio.
In a statement, Park Square board chair Jeff Johnson said Lockwood " has been at the heart of Park Square's success and growth over many decades. His passion for the theatre and drive for excellence will be missed, but not forgotten."
Susan Berdahl, Park Square's marketing director, will take over Pease's external relations job. Berdahl has been with the company since 2010. She began her career with the Minnesota Orchestra and has worked in arts marketing in Houston, Aspen and Detroit.
