George Street Playhouse Announces Appointment of Kelly Ryman as Managing Director

(New Brunswick, NJ) -- The Board of Trustees of George Street Playhouse have announced the appointment of Kelly Ryman as Managing Director, effective immediately.  Ms. Ryman, Director of Marketing and Public Relations for the Playhouse since September, 2000, had been serving as Acting Managing Director since January 2013.

"I am thrilled that the Board of Trustees has chosen Kelly Ryman as our new Managing Director, said GSP Artistic Director David Saint.  "After working with Kelly for several years now as Marketing Director I feel she has the imagination, skill and commitment to be an extraordinary partner as GSP moves forward.  She also happens to be a remarkable person."

George Wolansky, Jr, President of the Playhouse's Board of Trustees added, "During her tenure as Acting Managing Director, we have been impressed with Kelly's leadership and vision, and she has amply demonstrated the skills and knowledge needed to progress our company's strategic objectives."

Director of Marketing and Public Relations at George Street Playhouse since September, 2000, Kelly Ryman has spearheaded promotional efforts resulting in the top ten-highest grossing productions in the Playhouse's history.  She is particularly proud to have been the Marketing Director for the world premiere productions of nine plays by Arthur Laurents as well as the world premieres of The Toxic Avenger and The Spitfire Grill – both of which moved from GSP to New York City and have been performed around the world.  Off-Broadway, Kelly was a member of the marketing team for The Toxic Avenger, which won the 2009 Outer Critics' Circle Award for Best New Musical.  In addition to her marketing activities, Ms. Ryman has made a priority of fostering positive relationships between the Playhouse and the community – both in the immediate New Brunswick area, and within the larger New Jersey Arts Community.  She has served as Chair of Jersey Arts Marketers for the Central New Jersey region, as well as Co-Chair of the Communications Committee for New Jersey's ArtsPlanNJ, and the marketing committee for the New Jersey Theatre Alliance.  She also serves on the Board of Directors of New Brunswick City Market, which promotes and New Brunswick's downtown "Special Improvement District" as well as serving on the Advisory Board for the New Brunswick Press Association.  Prior to her tenure at George Street Playhouse, Ms. Ryman served as Associate Director of Marketing at McCarter Theatre Center for the Performing Arts.  She was recognized in 2012 by ArtPride NJ with their Arts Leadership Award for her service to the theatre and arts communities.

Ms. Ryman is an alumna of Susquehanna University, from whom she received a Bachelor of Arts in Arts Administration and Theatre Arts, Summa cum laude.

Under the leadership of Artistic Director David Saint, George Street Playhouse has become a nationally recognized theatre, presenting an acclaimed mainstage season while providing an artistic home for established and emerging theatre artists. Founded in 1974, the Playhouse has been well represented by numerous productions both on and off-Broadway – recent productions include the Outer Critics' Circle Best Musical Award-winner The Toxic Avenger, the Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk and Drama League nominated production of The Spitfire Grill and the recent Broadway hit and Tony® and Pulitzer Prize winning play Proof by David Auburn, which was developed at GSP during the 1999 Next Stage Series of new plays. In addition to its mainstage season, GSP's Touring Theatre features four issue-oriented productions that are seen by more than 40,000 students annually. George Street Playhouse programming is made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.