It’s time to officially welcome Charles Phaneuf, Executive Director at Raleigh Little Theatre. He’s been on the job for a month and while we don’t have a T-shirt with his mugshot on it screaming that we’re “fans of Phaneuf” (pronounced FAN-uf), we did get a chance to catch up with the new leader of the theatre.
According to a press release from Raleigh Little Theatre (RLT), the Board of Directors unanimously chose Phaneuf to lead the 76-year-old Raleigh cultural institution forward. The board conducted a national search to find Phaneuf who was serving as Managing Director of Joe’s Movement Emporium, a multidisciplinary community performing arts center, located just outside of Washington, D.C.
Read our interview with the new Executive Director and then watch the short welcome video from RLT.
Welcome to Raleigh Little Theatre! What is the most exciting part of this opportunity for you?
I grew up coming to this theater and it’s the first place that I remember seeing an outdoor drama. Since I’ve been back in town, I’ve heard from a lot of people that they have early memories of the amphitheater or seeing Cinderella (one friend who now lives in DC sang me several songs on the spot). I’ve been away from Raleigh for eight years, so it’s exciting to have the opportunity to come back here and lead an organization that means so much to me personally and has such a powerful effect and impact in the community.
Give our readers a fun fact about yourself.
On my second day here at RLT everyone showed up at our staff meeting with t-shirts with my face on them that say “I’m a fan of Phaneuf.” It was orchestrated by a friend of mine who used to work here and came to my going away party in DC. But the RLT staff went one step further — they all wore matching sombreros (the picture was from a taco night and I was wearing one). It was very fun and slightly unsettling to be in a room of people wearing t-shirts with your face on them.
What will be the most challenging part of being the new RLT Executive Director?
It’s all about setting priorities. We do a great many things here and serve many people (40,000 a year), holding steady over the last few years, but Raleigh has grown tremendously during that time. For organizations that have a rich history, this situation presents both an opportunity and a challenge—we want to respect the important work that has happened here while building on past success and welcoming new people to join us.
What role does RLT play in being part of Raleigh’s Creative District?
RLT is a community theater with an emphasis on the community part. Not only do we produce plays that people need to see, but we provide opportunities for people to develop their skills as actors, artisans, stage crew, etc. I’m a firm believer that everyone should have an artistic practice, regardless of whether they define themselves as an artist – it’s an incredibly rewarding way to spend your time! We are a rare institution where professionals and amateurs interact and work together to create.
What’s something new and exciting that you have in store for RLT?
The exact details are coming together, but I just talked with Robert Ward, the Pulitzer-prize winning composer of the opera “The Crucible,” and we’re working to produce a fun event around our production of Arthur Miller’s stage version that would include actors as well as opera singers in early April. We want to find more opportunities like this to collaborate with other art forms and organizations, in this case NC Opera is helping us find musicians. In the near-term, we want to build partnerships that will allow us to do exciting things in the amphitheatre, which hasn’t been used as much in the last few years.
Raleigh Little Theatre Welcomes Charles Phaneuf as the new Executive Director
[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cKv65huLaI’]