PUTNEY-Last month, the Colonial Performing Arts Center (CPAC) in Keene, New Hampshire, announced the appointment of Next Stage Executive Director Keith Marks to fill that same role at the Colonial.
A Colonial press release notes that "Marks, a seasoned arts administrator with a proven track record of revitalizing arts organizations and a deep commitment to fostering diverse and inclusive cultural experiences, brings a wealth of experience and a passion for the arts to this prestigious role."
Marks, the release continues, "spearheaded a transformation of [Next Stage] from a relatively unknown entity into a vibrant and respected cultural hub, proudly showcasing a broad array of ethnic, racial, and cultural programming supported by strong relationships with artists from New York, Boston, and other urban areas."
In its nationwide search, the nonprofit CPAC received more than 50 applicants. Marks emerged unanimously as first choice to lead the center, which offers a "diverse array of world-class performances, educational programs, and community events."
In an interview, Marks discussed his tenure at Next Stage, the transition, and the state of the arts in the region.
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Annie Landenberger: You've done an awful lot for Next Stage, Keith. What will you miss?
Keith Marks: The thing I will miss most is that my professional role and my personal role in this community really felt meshed. My kids have spent the last five years growing up here. My son has produced the livestreams for us. My daughter volunteers and helps out. This has felt like another home for us.
I have a really wonderful relationship with our downtown community - the town manager, Mike and Kim [Cosco] at the general store, Eleni [Maksakuli] at the diner, Hannah [Pick] at the food shelf, Ruby [McAdoo] at Putney Community Cares. I will miss that familial feeling.
A.L.: Are you moving to Keene?
K.M.: No. To be honest, over the past year, I've turned down jobs that would have required us to leave the area. [But] my family is doing so well here, with real friendships, a real sense of connection to community, that it was pretty obvious to both my wife and me that picking up and moving the family really was not what we wanted to do.
That's what's so beautiful about the opportunity at the Colonial: I still get to stay connected to this region and stay available to be part of what's a very exciting community in a very exciting region at an interesting time.
A.L.: What intrigues you about the Colonial? What draws you there?
K.M.: Yeah, this is going to sound clichéd, but it's the growth - the opportunity to learn and grow personally and professionally. I feel like the dials at Next Stage have gotten smaller over the last five years in terms of the shifts that we can make and so it felt a little more like maintenance than it did big dream-y, as it did when I got here.
There are great things to happen to Next Stage, and there's still a lot of opportunity for growth: It just felt like somebody else could come in after me and build on what we've built here.
So when the Colonial came up ... you know, programming a 900-seat theater is an incredible opportunity.
They built the Showroom, a smaller theater, during the Covid era, and now the relationships that I've cultivated for the past five years here and in the work I was doing in Florida can come with me into the Showroom.
The Colonial gives me an opportunity to learn and grow. They just did a $13.5 million renovation, and they've built a whole new infrastructure to be able to bring in Broadway shows. So there's a real opportunity that exists at the Colonial that's very exciting for me.
A.L.: So you'll get some of the Broadway touring companies?
K.M.: Yeah, we'll see. There's a lot of minutiae that I have to get myself educated on. But there's more possibility and potential there.
And also Keene is an exciting city right now. They're really growing from top down and bottom up. I was there for three days for my job interview, and I went out to have dinner at night: There was a bar scene and restaurants; there was retail shopping open, and in the mornings the coffee shops were buzzing. It just kind of seems like the Colonial and Keene have a really strong connection to build a really bright future over the next few years.
A.L.: Is the main stage there a union house?
K.M.: It's not. I think some of the core staff worked in union houses in New York City, though. So there's professional experience in that theater currently, and that's another really exciting piece for me - that I get to learn from these people.
A.L.: Their programming on the main stage has tended to be a little more traditional than what you were doing at Next Stage. Could the Showroom be for more experimental programming? Is that how you're walking into it?
K.M.: Not necessarily. I've been creating a document with different ideas. I think that the city, the board, the staff, the community, the audience - they're looking, they're open and excited for new programming to hit the main stage.
The math is different because you need to figure out what's going to sell - instead of 150 tickets, think 500, 700, 900 tickets.
I think in the same way that I was creative with programming at Next Stage, I'd like to imagine that we can bring that same level of creativity there: It's not to say that we won't bring in more traditional [programs], but can we expand the palette and bring our audience with us in a way that's exciting, that speaks to even a wider audience base.
A.L.: So, what would you say has been your greatest accomplishment at Next Stage?
K.M.: Ultimately, the organization. When I came on, the organization had good bones. It had a lot of opportunity. It was well-respected in the Putney community.
What we've done that I feel most proud of is we've strengthened that. The reputation of the organization, the sense of collaboration, the sense of community engagement, our financial stability, our marketing reach.
A.L.: There's a palpable sense of good health.
K.M.: When I was in New York for the Association of Performing Arts Professionals conference, I was shocked at how many artists and agents knew Next Stage. I'd go up and shake a hand and somebody would say, "Oh, you're the guy from Next Stage. Cool! We've been following you. You're doing a great job of programming that space."
A.L.: Very cool.
K.M.: So the thing I'm most proud of is that overall strengthening the organization on all metrics. The town of Putney and the businesses that are here feel our presence. The region feels our presence.
I also serve as the co-president of New England Arts Presenters, so the name "Next Stage" is known in the New England arts ecosystem. I serve on an economic board here in the region, and I was on the board of the Governor's Institutes of Vermont. So we've brought the name Next Stage into spaces that it [hadn't been] in.
And I'm proud of the growth and the impact we've had across the region and across the community, both from our village of Putney all the way through New England.
A.L.: So what's next at Next Stage?
K.M.: Well this is still, you know, relatively fresh for the board. I was hoping to give them a longer runway, but the search on the Colonial side took longer than I had anticipated. I gave the organization about six weeks' notice. It's never enough when you're losing an executive director.
In the short term, they've hired Maria Basescu, who was my predecessor. And so I've been sitting with Maria for the past weeks going over things: It's an organization that she knows very well: She knows a lot of the players, the building, the community. There have been significant changes, so we're getting her up to speed.
Maria is a very capable and competent leader. And so in the next several months, she is going to be steering the wheel as they search for the next E.D.
Programming is booked into May. Finances are strong. The systems that we operate under are strong. The organization is in capable hands.
A.L.: Excellent, Keith. I wish you all the best. At 45 you're in the prime of your career. Arts management is a great field and you seem to be nailing it. So thank you for all you do.
Annie Landenberger is an arts writer and columnist for The Commons. She also is one half of the musical duo Bard Owl, with partner T. Breeze Verdant.
This Arts item by Annie Landenberger was written for The Commons.