Chad M. Bauman announced as Rep managing director

Chad Bauman, current associate executive director at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., will fill the Milwaukee Rep’s vacant managing director position.

News from the front: Only a few weeks after revealing their 2013-14 season, the Milwaukee Rep announced earlier today that Chad M. Bauman will take over as the company’s managing director, effective June 1.

Bauman, currently the associate director of Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., will take over the role most recently filled by Dawn Helsing Wolters, whose departure was itself announced last November. Helsing Wolters had previously joined the company in 2009, a year before the arrival of current artistic director Mark Clements.

For more on the decision, I’ve appended an abridged version of the Rep’s press release:

Milwaukee Repertory Theater today announced that Chad M. Bauman of Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater in Washington, D.C., has been named Managing Director, effective June 1.

Bauman, who currently serves as Associate Executive Director at Arena Stage, will be responsible for all day-to-day operations and jointly lead the 180 member staff at The Rep. He also will oversee fiscal management, leadership development and administrative and technology functions at the nearly 60-year-old Milwaukee-based theater company.

Judy Hansen, President of The Rep’s Board of Trustees, said that Bauman is the ideal candidate for the position and has the experience needed to strengthen The Rep’s ability to continue its mission as an important community asset and position it for further national recognition.

“Chad’s experience in helping bring to the stage some of the best theater being performed in America will be a significant addition to our already strong team,” said Hansen. “His skills in strategic planning, team building and leadership made him a standout candidate among the wonderful pool of theater professionals that were interested in this prestigious position.”

Mark Clements, The Rep’s Artistic Director, praised Bauman’s theatrical acumen and said he looks forward to working with him to help continue the company’s ascent as one of the top American theater companies.

“The Rep has landed a rising star in Chad Bauman, and his experience at Arena Stage and his previous track record of success will make him a key leader in realizing our bold artistic vision. I’ve spent a lot of time with him recently and find him to be a smart, articulate professional who is ready to join our brilliant and committed team,” said Clements.

“I’ve learned a lot in my work at Arena Stage, and I’m ready to step up to the next level and work with an incredibly talented group of artists and other professionals under the leadership of one of America’s most talented artistic minds, Mark Clements,” Bauman said. “Mark and I clicked when we met each other, and I’m honored to be joining a company whose reputation is growing based on the excellent body of work that they are offering theater goers. I look forward to becoming part of the Milwaukee community.

Bauman has worked at Arena Stage since 2007, and was instrumental in the 2010 opening of the Mead Center for American Theater, the largest performing arts center to open in the nation’s capital since the Kennedy Center. While at Arena Stage, he more than doubled earned revenue, reversed a decline in subscriptions by almost doubling the base and shattered several company sales records that dated back almost 60 years. Besides his marketing acumen, he has considerable experience in business and strategic planning, operations and fundraising, as well as facilities management and information systems. Prior to Arena Stage, he was Director of Marketing and Communications for Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts in the United States, as well as Virginia Stage Company, a member of the League of Resident Theatres, in Norfolk, VA. He is a frequent speaker and consultant to theater groups, with past clients that include the Pew Charitable Trust, Carnegie Hall, EmcArts Innovation Labs, Arts & Business Council and Americans for the Arts.