Arts Orange County – Staff
Richard Stein, Executive Director, (rstein@artsoc.org – Extension 17)Prior to his appointment at Arts Orange County in August, 2008, Rick transformed the Laguna Playhouse in Laguna Beach into a major resident professional theatre over the course of 17 years as its Executive Director, growing it from an annual budget of $700,000 to $7 million, and producing more than 100 plays, including two national touring productions. There he also directed many notable productions, including several premieres. Rick came to Orange County in 1987 to serve as Managing Director of the Grove Shakespeare Festival in Garden Grove following a five year stint as Director of Lincoln Theater at the University of Hartford (Connecticut). He holds degrees from Columbia and Syracuse Universities and returned to Columbia for post-graduate study on a National Endowment for the Humanities summer fellowship. Rick was sent to Korea on a cultural exchange by the International Theatre Institute-US, has served on the executive committee of the League of Resident Theatres, and is a contributing writer to AMERICAN THEATRE magazine. He’s a past Chair of the John Wayne Airport Arts Commission, past President of the Association of Fund Raising Professionals-Orange County Chapter, and past co-Chair (twice) of National Philanthropy Day-Orange County. He serves on the board of California Arts Advocates, a statewide organization promoting the interests of the arts community. He has been a guest lecturer at University of California, Irvine and California State University, Fullerton, and was a commencement keynote speaker at the Laguna College of Art and Design. He has served as a panelist or site visitor for the New England Foundation for the Arts, California Arts Council, Western States Arts Federation, and the Connecticut Commission on the Arts, for which he also produced its State Arts Awards. Although his career has largely been in the theatre, Rick’s first post after finishing graduate school was as Executive Director of a local arts agency, Oswego County Council on the Arts, located in Fulton, New York.
Pat Wayne, Deputy Director, (pwayne@artsoc.org - Extension 12)Pat has served with Arts Orange County since 2005. She holds a Masters degree in Performing Arts Administration as well as a multiple subject teaching credential. She has served as Manager of Community Programs for the Orange County Performing Arts Center, Deputy Director of the Columbus Arts Council (Ohio), Managing Director of MoMing Dance Center (Chicago) and Managing Director of Merrimack Regional Theatre (Boston). Her work in arts education includes curriculum design, after-school arts programs, training of teachers and artists, design of arts residencies, and coach of school district arts plans. Pat guides the programs of Arts OC including Imagination Celebration and the Creative Edge - a partnership with the California Alliance for Arts Education to build local alliances in each community that can advocate for arts education and support districts as they implement their arts plans.
Sharyn Case, Project Coordinator, (scase@artsoc.org – Extension 10)
A noted actor and director in Orange County theatre circles for more than 20 years, Sharyn Case brings a great deal of knowledge of the music and theatre scene in the County. She attended Chapman College and California State University at Long Beach, majoring in Theatre Arts and Opera. Sharyn has served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Huntington Beach Playhouse and Rude Guerrilla Theater Company. She has also sat on the Advisory Board for Coastline Community College, and for 17 years ran her own training and consulting business.
Kristina Colby, Program Coordinator, (kcolby@artsoc.org – Extension 14)
Kristina Colby has been with Arts OC since 2010. An Orange County native, she is excited and passionate to give back to her community through the presentation of free, public art programs. She concurrently works with the Orange County Great Park's new arts complex and has previously worked with Orange County Museum of Art, LA County Arts Commission, Neuberger Museum of Art, and Purchase College. In her free time, she enjoys yarning with her yarn club, “Stitchocracy,” attending music festivals, and thrifting. Kristina holds a BA in Visual Arts Management from State University of New York at Purchase.
