By Scott Parent
More offstage drama visited the Majestic Theatre last week with the announcement that Tinamarie Ivey has resigned as the non-profit’s executive director, effective immediately. The theater has run through three chief executives in the last four years and as many board presidents in only the last 18 months. Finances, public relations, and business practices have been oft-cited reasons for all the upheavals.
Ivey was thought to bring some relative calm after the tumultuous tenure of Corey Pearlstein before her, but the non-profit’s board of directors has been its own story of shifting membership and leadership. In the last year, while the tumult seemed to have at least abated at the surface, little was done to repair the damage to community partnerships in the wake of Pearlstein’s tenure.
The Majestic building is owned by the City, and Majestic Theatre Management is a non-profit company that the City contracts with to run the building. One former Majestic board member has recently come on record saying the City should put out a request for proposals to shift the management to some other group. Other former board members and members of the arts administration community have also echoed this sentiment to The Advocate.
For Ivey’s part, The Advocate obtained an email she sent to area arts administrators notifying them of her resignation, which says in part, “The stewards of Majestic Theatre are fiscally and ethically responsible for the operation of the venue. As the executive director I take this responsibility very seriously. At this time, I have come to the conclusion that I must submit my resignation as of Sept. 2.”
It also continues, “As a cornerstone of downtown Corvallis, I wish the best for the Majestic. Many thanks for your continued support and commitment to the community. It has been a true pleasure working with you.”
The Advocate has made requests of the Majestic Theatre Management board of directors and its now former executive director for more details on the fiscal and ethical issues that apparently sent Ivey packing, but there has been no response thus far.
Do you have a story for The Advocate? Email editor@corvallisadvocate.com