David E. Shane comes to Theatre Commons LA from the Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York. (photo courtesy of Theatre Commons LA)

Theatre Commons LA, a community-powered nonprofit created in service of the entire Los Angeles theater ecosystem, has appointed David E. Shane as the organization’s first executive director. Shane is charged with creating and executing a robust suite of services for Los Angeles’ nonprofit theater community.

“What makes Los Angeles and Theatre in LA so unique is that it is deeply woven into the fabric of our communities – from neighborhood theaters and artists’ collectives to our larger institutions,” TCLA Steering Committee member and Center Theatre Group Artistic Director Snehal Desai said. “It is also in a pivotal moment, the structures that have traditionally supported theater are changing and with that moment comes an extraordinary opportunity to imagine what’s next. We need leaders stepping forward with new ideas, new models and new ways of connecting with audiences. The hope is that Theatre Commons LA under David Shane’s leadership will do exactly that, give us the opportunity to build on our community’s incredible foundation, to learn from one another and to create a more connected, resilient and ambitious future for theater in this city.”

From 2019-24, Shane was director of program services at the Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York, where he set the strategic vision and goals for programs serving more than 450 nonprofit theaters in New York.

“There are very few individuals who have held a leadership position in a service organization to the theater industry, much less one who has done it at the scale of New York’s nonprofit theatre ecosystem, coordinating support across hundreds of independent companies. David Shane has,” Desai added. “And after a thorough nationwide search, he is the right leader to be TCLA’s first executive director.”

In August 2021, 12 Los Angeles theater leaders, representing a cross-section of the Los Angeles community, voluntarily convened as a steering committee to conduct the rigorous process of conceiving, negotiating and establishing objectives for a new theater service organization.

“I see service organizations as essential connective tissue in today’s theater ecosystem, and I am prepared to position Theatre Commons LA as both mirror and catalyst ¬– responding to the field’s current needs while actively fostering the conditions for a more vibrant, equitable and sustainable future.”

Shane will develop and implement a diversified fundraising strategy while building the core infrastructure needed to ensure TCLA’s long-term financial sustainability, collaborating closely with institutional funders to bring government and private resources to Los Angeles’ nonprofit theater community. TCLA will begin introducing new programs and services.

For information, visit theatrecommonsla.org.