Last Updated on July 25, 2022 4:13 pm
BOONE, NC – The Appalachian Theatre of the High Country is pleased to announce that veteranarts professional Suzanne Messenger Livesay has been named executive director of thevenerable landmark on King Street in downtown Boone, NC. She will begin her tenure on August1, 2022.
Board chair Keith Martin said that Livesay was the unanimous choice of both the search andexecutive committees of the theatre’s board of trustees, and praised vice chair Bill Pelto, wholed the national effort that yielded a local candidate for the position. Pelto said of the hiring,“Suzanne brings to us the verve of an educator, the expertise of a manager, and the instinct ofan artist. I look forward to seeing her energies dedicated to enhancing the quality of the arts herein the High Country.”
The Sugar Grove resident was formerly the vice president of education and communityengagement at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa, Florida, the sixth largestperforming arts center in the United States. In that capacity, Livesay supervised 31 full-time and50+ adjunct faculty and staff members while administering an annual $5,500,000 budget.Previously, she served as both the theatre and music chair for the Patel Conservatory, also inTampa, theatre/choral director and department chair at The First Academy in Orlando, and finearts coordinator and instructor at the Geneva Academy in Deland.
Since Suzanne and her husband, Gil, relocated their family to the High Country during thepandemic, she has been employed by the Watauga County Schools as a K-8 music educator atboth Bethel and Valle Crucis Schools. She told the App Theatre search committee that she fellin love with the High Country in the 1990s when she was a featured soloist at The Farm Housein Blowing Rock while pursuing her undergraduate musical theatre degree at Stetson Universityin Florida. Livesay also holds a Master of Education degree from Belhaven University in Jackson,Mississippi.
Thirty select community stakeholders interviewed Livesay during the extensive search process,which involved board trustees, theatre staff and volunteers, elected officials, and representativesof user groups who program events at the theatre.
L. Wright Tilley, executive director of the Boone and Watauga County Tourism DevelopmentAuthorities at Explore Boone, said, “Suzanne has the right personality and understands theimportance of the local community in the success of the theater. Being an educator, she is usedto getting feedback from multiple sources (administration, students, parents, etc.). The fact thatshe has already been living and working in our community for a couple of years will be veryhelpful.”
Boone Mayor Pro Tem and theatre volunteer Edie Tugman echoed those comments by saying,“Ms. Livesay is a lovely presenter: articulate, energetic and knowledgeable. She would be agood representative of the theatre in the business community as well as engaging with thegeneral public. It is amazing that one with the caliber of Ms. Livesay's experience is so readilyavailable.”
“Suzanne has the right background and personality for the job,” said David Jackson, presidentand CEO of the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce. “She is someone who can trumpet themission of the Appalachian Theatre well, while also thinking about how the organization can bea benefit to others in our community. The seeds are there for this to be a signature moment inthe theatre's history.”
In accepting the position, Livesay remarked, “I'm delighted to join an exceptional board andstaff to share my leadership, expertise, and appreciation for Boone's unique culture whilemolding the Appalachian Theatre of the High Country into a premiere destination for theperforming arts.
“The extensive theatre renovation and restoration took into account every facet of anoutstanding performance venue while honoring the historical integrity of the space,” saidLivesay. “It really is something to experience and behold.”
Speaking from the perspective of the App Theatre's user groups, Julie A. Richardson, BlueRidge Community Theatre board chair, was one of over a half-dozen local arts organizationswho met with Livesay during the candidate interview process.
“I'm impressed at how members of the Livesay family have jumped into our arts community sincearriving in the High Country a few years ago,” said Richardson. “Suzanne is a music teacher inthe Watauga Public Schools, and her daughter Micah has performed in shows at both App Stateand Lees-McRae College. With an extensive background in producing and directing theatreproductions, Suzanne knows firsthand the challenges that user groups face when mounting theirown plays and musicals; she will be an effective advocate for local performing artsorganizations.”
For information about the theatre, visit their website at www.apptheatre.org.