Lesher Center For The Arts General Manager To Retire

Press release from the City of Walnut Creek:

Sept. 29, 2021

Scott Denison, General Manager of the City of Walnut Creek’s Lesher Center for the Arts and Managing Director of the City’s Center REPertory Company, has announced his plans to retire in early January 2022 after a 50-year career in service to the Walnut Creek community. In addition to his management roles, Denison has contributed to the broader Bay Area theatre community as an actor, director, and producer.

Denison began his career in Walnut Creek providing technical support to productions at the Civic Arts Theatre, located in the walnut growers’ warehouse that previously stood on the grounds of the Lesher Center and housed community theatre productions.

As he progressed to Technical Director and ultimately General Manager of the Lesher Center, he was instrumental in the creation of the state-of-the-art theater complex, the renovation of the Center’s outdoor Rudney Plaza, and the successful production of the Center’s over 800 annual events prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For the past 18 months, Denison has guided the Lesher Center, its staff, producers, and partners through mandated closures in order to welcome patrons safely back to the theater in July 2021.

Denison created and produced the Shellie Awards for 41 years and created and produced the Chevron Family Theatre Festival for 13 years, directed many shows including Les Miserables , Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, The Wizard of Oz, Hairspray, and over 50 others including A Christmas Carol for more than 22 years.

Denison plans to return to direct shows, produce more Shellie Awards programs and Family Theatre festivals, and write more Fantasy Forum shows.

“I am proud of what we have built, developed and produced,” Denison said. “I remain passionate about the Lesher Arts Center, Lesher Center staff, the Arts and Recreation Department and the greater good of Walnut Creek.”

“Scott Denison is synonymous with the Lesher Center for the Arts,” added Walnut Creek Mayor Kevin Wilk. “He was instrumental from its conception onward, and anyone who has seen any show there, has been impacted by his leadership and innovation. The Lesher Center would not be the jewel that it is without Scott Denison, and he can be extremely proud of the legacy he has left.”
Carolyn Jackson, Community Relations Manager for the Arts + Recreation Department since 2015, will serve as Interim General Manager of the Lesher Center beginning in January 2022. She has previously served as Communications Director for non-profit theater Dance Place and Assistant Director for modern dance company DancEthos, both in Washington, DC.

While at Dance Place, her responsibilities included serving on the curatorial team for the annual performance season, as well as creating and enacting comprehensive programmatic and institutional marketing plans for programs in the theater, school and community.

In addition to significant training with Denison in preparation for this transition, Jackson holds an M.A. in Arts Administration from American University and previously supported the City’s Arts + Recreation Department in interim management roles overseeing the Center for Community Arts and Recreation Classes and Social Services divisions.

In conjunction with this leadership transition, the City of Walnut Creek and Diablo Regional Arts Association engaged Michael Kaiser from the DeVos Institute of Arts Management (http://devosinstitute.umd.edu) to develop a strategic plan focused on renewing the business model of the Lesher Center to balance artistic approach, audience development, and economic sustainability. Mr. Kaiser was president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., from January 2001 through August 2014 and created the Kennedy Center Arts Management Institute, renamed the DeVos Institute of Arts Management in 2010. Mr. Kaiser and his firm provide a practical approach to navigating rapid changes in technology, demographics, government policy, and the economy that are affecting arts organizations around the world. The project, anticipated to be completed this fall, is intended to identify ways to strengthen existing partnerships and programs, implement best practices in operations, and develop a programming direction that meets current and future community and organizational needs.

This press release was produced by the City of Walnut Creek. The views expressed here are the author's own.