leadership & staff
tiffani gavin, executive director
Tiffani Gavin brings more than 25 years of experience in theater administration and producing to her new position as Executive Director of the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center. After beginning her career in general management at The Public Theater in NY and as a company manager at Blue Man Group, she went on to hold leadership positions in both nonprofit and commercial theater organizations, including Clear Channel Entertainment and the American Repertory Theater. She's been the Manager of the Marquis Theatre on Broadway and has managed productions such as the National Tour of The Phantom of the Opera. As an Executive Producer for Clear Channel Entertainment and later as the General Manager/VP of Production at Martian Entertainment she commissioned and developed new work by emerging artists across the U.S. and internationally.
While producing at Clear Channel, her broad portfolio included Broadway and off-Broadway productions as well as national tours. Among them were Ragtime (National Tour), The Producers (Broadway, National Tour), Hairspray (Broadway, National Tour), Sweet Charity (2005 Broadway Revival), Gumboots (National Tour, European Tour), Squeezebox (Off-Broadway), and Contact (National Tour). She was also the Sr. Director of Professional and International Licensing for Theatrical Rights Worldwide where she acquired and licensed secondary performing rights for musicals such as Monty Python’s Spamalot and The Color Purple. Tiffani is a native of East Norriton, PA, and has a B.A. from Brown University in both Sociology as well as in Modern Culture and Media with a focus in Mass Media and Cultural Representation.
tom viertel, board chairman
Tom Viertel and his partners have produced and managed a wide range of productions for the past 32 years, including, among others, the original Broadway productions of The Parisian Woman with Uma Thurman, The Producers, Hairspray, Young Frankenstein, Smokey Joe’s Café, Angels in America, Penn & Teller, The Weir, The Encounter, and Swing. Their notable revivals include Gypsy with Patti LuPone, The Norman Conquests, A Little Night Music with Catherine Zeta Jones and Angela Lansbury and later Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch, John Doyle’s groundbreaking productions of Sweeney Todd with Patti LuPone and Michael Cerveris and Company with Raul Esparza, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum with Nathan Lane and later Whoopi Goldberg, Damn Yankees, and the first-ever Broadway revivals
of The Sound of Music and Little Shop of Horrors. Notable off-Broadway premieres include Driving Miss Daisy, Frankie & Johnny in the Clair de Lune, The Cocktail Hour, Love Letters, Oleanna, Jeffrey, Marvin’s Room, and Stomp.
They’ve mounted many national tours and productions in London, Australia, Canada, Europe, and throughout Asia. This season they are co-producing The Band’s Visit and Angels in America on Broadway, both of which won 2018 Tony Awards, and Young Frankenstein in the West End. Their productions have received dozens of awards, including 2 Pulitzer Prizes, 4 Grammy Awards, and 2 Olivier Awards for Best Musical. Their 8 Tony Awards include all 4 “Best” categories – play, musical, revival of a play, and revival of a musical. They also own and operate the acclaimed Broadway-themed nightclub/cabaret Feinstein’s/54 Below.
Mr. Viertel is the Executive Director of the Commercial Theater Institute, a joint venture of the Broadway League and TDF.
A graduate of Harvard University, Mr. Viertel is a member of the Board of Governors, Government Relations, and Professional Development Committees of the Broadway League and a Trustee of the Equity-League Pension Funds.
george c. white, founder
George White’s career includes not only his 37 years as Founder and Chairman of the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, but also numerous activities and accomplishments in theater throughout the world. The son of Nelson and Aida White, George was raised in Waterford, Connecticut, and was graduated from Yale with a BA from Yale University and an MFA from the Yale School of Drama.
In addition to his responsibilities at the O’Neill, George served as Co-Chairman of the Theater Management Program at the Yale School of Drama, and regularly directed plays in such venues as the Actors Theater, the Guthrie Theater, the Hartman Theater, the Annenberg Center, and the Hedgerow Theater. He was the Founding Chairman of
the Sundance Institute, served as a member of the Tony Awards Nominating Committee, and served on the following boards: National Arts Council, Metropolitan Opera Guild, Arts and Business Council, New Dramatists, Center for Inter-American Relations, International Theater Institute, Connecticut Commission on the Arts, and American Soviet Theater Initiative, Camargo Foundation, and Save Venice.
George’s contributions to theater extend beyond the borders of the United States. Beginning in 1972, he has spearheaded cultural exchange efforts in such countries as Australia, Peoples Republic of China, Russia, and Brazil. In 1984 he directed a production of Eugene O’Neill’s Anna Christie in Beijing, and in 1987 he directed Meredith Wilson’s The Music Man in that same city. He continues to lecture throughout the world on behalf of the U.S. Information Agency. His international accomplishments have been recognized in being awarded the Royal Swedish Order of the Polar Star from King Carl Gustaf, and the French Republic’s Chevalier des Artes et des Lettres. Of particular note are the numerous theatrical exchanges that George initiated in Russia, since the Cold War days of the early 1980s. He was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame in 2013.
board of trustees
OFFICERS
Chair
Thomas Viertel
Vice Chair
Ruth Hendel
Treasurer
Stephen Hendel
Secretary
Linda Mariani
TRUSTEES
Jeff Aiosa
Leslee Asch
Jim Calhoun
Pat Calhoun
Roger S. Christiansen
Ron Cowen
Armand A. Della Monica
Colman Domingo
Michael Douglas
Lily Fan
Lynn R. Fusco
Alva Greenberg
Carolyn Greenspan
Riccardo Hernández
Genia Kaplan Quinn
Tom Kitt
Rita Pietropinto-Kitt
Herb Kohler, Jr.
Daniel Lipman
Soraya Nadia McDonald
David Preka
Ellen Quinn
Michael Rauh
Scott Richards
Madeline Sayet
Bernie Schilberg
Beth Schilberg
Sally Speer
Betsy White, Founding Trustee
George C. White, Founder
EX-OFFICIO
Rob Brule - First Selectman, Town of Waterford
David Jaffe
Dorita Lieberman
Traci Santos - Chairman, Recreation & Parks Commission, Town of Waterford
administrative staff
EXECUTIVE OFFICE
Executive Director: Tiffani Gavin
General Manager: Randall Adkison
Production Manager: Tate Burmeister (x494)
Line Producer: Jorge Lopez Rivera
BUSINESS OFFICE
Business Management Associate: Wilson Plonk (x308)
EXTERNAL RELATIONS
Director of External Relations: Rob Mooney (x213)
Communications & Marketing Manager: Rachel Phillips
Manager of Individual Giving & Special Events: Mike Beasley
Development Associate: Dustin Luangkhot
Marketing Associate: Kelsey Houlihan (x274)
Media Associate: Emi-Lei Styers Zysk
PRODUCING OFFICE
Arts Engagement Strategist: Patrese D. McClain
LITERARY OFFICE
Literary Manager: Helena Pennington
Artistic Associate: Rebecca Rovezzi
NATIONAL THEATER INSTITUTE
Artistic Director: Rachel Jett (x219)
Admissions & Recruitment Manager: Ciara Hamilton (x284)
Program Coordinator: Olivia Bishop-Penn (x226)
Administrative Assistant: Laura Padilla (x286)
Apprentices: Elise Martin, Andrew Martinez, Siena McMahon, Y'Vonne Rose (x223/x225)
CAMPUS OPERATIONS
Facilities Manager: Wayne Lipphardt (x278)
Facilities Assistants: Steven Gerovitz, Effa Pecoraro, Anthony Brown (x278)
IT Coordinator: Shaun Anderson (x222)
Head of Housekeeping: Stephanie Sutera (x278)
Housekeeper: William Speer (x278)
Security Guard: Anthony Price
Head Chef: Harvey Jones (x214)
Assistant Chef: Rory Haff (x214)
Line Cook: Jericho Lee
Kitchen Assistants: Damian Knight, Alexis Plolinsky, Kia Brown (x214)
ARTISTIC
Artistic Director, National Puppetry Conference: Pam Arciero
Artistic Director, National Music Theater Conference: Alexander Gemignani
Artistic Director, National Playwrights Conference: Wendy C. Goldberg
Artistic Director, National Theater Institute: Rachel Jett (x219)
Director, National Critics Institute: Chris Jones
Artistic Director, Cabaret and Performance Conference: John McDaniel
Director of Education, Young Playwrights Festival: Sophia Chapadjiev