CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OHIO: Dobama Theatre has announced that managing director Julie Friedman will depart the company at the end of the 2018-19 season. Friedman, who has been with the company for 12 years, is leaving to pursue an opportunity to live and work abroad. The theatre’s executive committee will conduct a national search for Friedman’s replacement.
“My journey with Dobama has been challenging and rewarding,” said Friedman in a statement. “I have been involved with the theatre during a time of great growth, including the construction of and move into our Lee Road venue, becoming the region’s first AEA Small Professional Theatre, and the doubling of our operating budget over the past five seasons. I have had the privilege of working with talented and passionate colleagues, both the Dobama staff and board as well as with many artists and craftspeople during my tenure. I am thankful to our audiences and donors for their ongoing support.”
Said board president Marcel Duhamel in a statement, “Julie has been integral to the ongoing advancements made and accolades earned by Dobama in the theatre’s Lee Road history and she will be missed. We are grateful for her steadfast, principled and dedicated leadership and look forward to the guidance she will be able to offer her successor before leaving us for new adventures.”
Friedman joined Dobama in 2003 as the financial manager. She later held the position of associate managing director, and was promoted to managing director in 2013. In this role, she oversees the company’s business and operations, including development, personnel, and board relations. She holds a BA in theatre arts from the University of Oregon and an MFA in dramaturgy and theatre criticism from Brooklyn College CUNY.
