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Arts & Entertainment

Hylton Performing Arts Center Has New Leader

This September, Rick Davis will take on the role of executive director at George Mason University's Hylton Performing Arts Center, located at the Prince William County campus.

With the changing of the seasons comes great change for George Mason University’s .  This September, Rick Davis will replace Jean Kellogg as the theater’s executive director.

Davis has worked for Mason since 1991, and he had been the associate provost for undergraduate education and the co-artistic director for Mason’s professional theater company, the Theater of the First Amendment

He said he is excited to take on his new position at what he calls a “beautiful, capable, and ambitious building.” Having previously held a similar title at Mason’s in Fairfax, Davis describes his new position as “a fortunate confluence of interest and experience.”

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Bill Reeder, dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA), wanted a “seamless transition,” as Davis put it.  Having worked closely with Hylton’s program development and architectural planning teams, Davis is a good fit for the position.

The 2011-12 season is already planned for both the “Hylton Presents” series and the “Resident Arts Partners” series, which include theater, music and dance shows to accommodate a variety of interests.  Davis also mentioned new family-friendly events.

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The planning process for future seasons has already begun, and one of Davis’s first missions is to help fund-raising efforts for the theater.

“My primary goal is to help the Hylton Center fulfill its vision of integrating the arts into the region's social, economic and community fabric by making it as accessible, friendly, open and welcoming as it can possibly be,” said Davis.

In addition to his executive director position, Davis will continue to work with the Theater of the First Amendment and at the Fairfax campus’s theater department.

“I'm used to wearing several hats already and I think it will help me to keep the Hylton front-and-center in the university's thinking about the grand picture of what we call the arts at Mason,” Davis said.

“I have often called the Hylton ‘the most beautiful new theater on the East Coast,’” he said. “And I mean it.”

On the web: Hylton Performing Arts Center

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