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Beryl Jolly, Executive Director of the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, discusses their capital campaign to restore their historic theater, retire old debt, and establish operating reserves. She says their cash reserve will allow the Mahaiwe to invest more directly in the artist, in the theater, and in the community.
Beryl Jolly has been the director of the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center since the rebirth of the century-old theater as a dynamic Great Barrington cultural destination in the spring of 2005.
The Mahaiwe’s extensive historical restoration was completed in 2006 and the theater is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Mahaiwe has become a flagship venue in Berkshire County, presenting world-class music, dance, theater, and family events, as well as “Live in HD” broadcasts from the Metropolitan Opera and London’s National Theatre and classic movies on a year-round basis.
Ms. Jolly leads a small, stellar team to create the presentation schedule of over 150 events per year. The theater operates on an annual budget of $1.7 million and the organization successfully completed a $2.2 million restricted campaign goal to eliminate the theater’s debt and establish a cash reserve in 2015.
Prior to joining the Mahaiwe, Ms. Jolly served as the Director of Individual Giving and Development at BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music), as a General Management Associate at the Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival and worked in several Broadway offices including the League of American Theaters and Producers.
