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www.HartfordBusiness.com • November 26, 2018 • Hartford Business Journal 3 Newsmakers EDITORIAL Greg Bordonaro | Editor, ext. 139, gbordonaro@HartfordBusiness.com Gregory Seay | News Editor, ext. 144, gseay@HartfordBusiness.com Matt Pilon | News Editor, ext. 143, mpilon@HartfordBusiness.com Sean Teehan | Staff Writer, ext 145, steehan@hartfordbusiness.com Joe Cooper | Web Editor, ext. 127, jcooper@HartfordBusiness.com Stephanie Meagher | Research Director Heide Martin | Research Assistant Steve Laschever | Photographer BUSINESS Christopher Santilli | Publisher, ext. 124, csantilli@HartfordBusiness.com Donna Collins | Associate Publisher, ext. 121, dcollins@HartfordBusiness.com Lauren Stroud | Events & Project Manager, ext. 137, lstroud@HartfordBusiness.com Christina Zuraw | Events Coordinator, ext. 134, czuraw@hartfordbusiness.com Shannon Vincelette | HBJ Office and Events Coordinator, ext. 122, svincelette@hartfordbusiness.com David Hartley | Sr. Accounts Manager, ext. 130, dhartley@HartfordBusiness.com Kristen P. Nickerson | Sr. Accounts Manager, ext. 133, knickerson@HartfordBusiness.com Karen Spatafora | Accounts Manager, ext. 131, kspatafora@HartfordBusiness.com Raki Zwiebel | Credit and Collections Manager Valerie Clark | Accounting Assistant/Office Manager Jill Coran | Human Resources Manager PRODUCTION Christopher Wallace | Art Director, ext. 147, cwallace@HartfordBusiness.com Liz Saltzman | Creative Director, ext. 140, lsaltzman@HartfordBusiness.com Peter Stanton | CEO, pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com Joseph Zwiebel | President, ext. 132, jzwiebel@HartfordBusiness.com Mary Rogers | COO/CFO, mrogers@nebusinessmedia.com SUBSCRIPTIONS: Annual subscriptions are $84.95. To subscribe, visit HartfordBusiness.com, email hartfordbusiness@cambeywest.com, or call (845) 267-3008. ADVERTISING: For advertising information, please call (860) 236-9998.Please address all correspondence to: Hartford Business Journal, 15 Lewis Street, Suite 200, Hart ford CT 06103. NEWS DEPARTMENT: If you have a news item: Call us at (860) 236-9998, fax us at (860) 570-2493, or e-mail us at news@HartfordBusiness.com. Hartford Business Journal accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or materials and in general does not return them to the sender. Hartford Business Journal (ISSN 1083-5245) is published weekly, 49x per year - including two special issues in November and December — by new England Business Media, LLC, 15 Lewis Street, Suite 200, Hartford, CT 06103. Periodicals postage paid at Hartford, CT and at additional entry points. Tel: (860) 236-9998 • Fax (860) 570-2493 Copyright 2018. All rights reserved. Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Hartford Business Journal P.O. Box 330, Congers, NY 10920-9894 www.copyright.com HartfordBusiness.com (860) 236-9998 Michael Stotts | Managing Director, Hartford Stage By Sean Teehan M ichael Stotts first got hooked on theatre in high school. "Plays and musicals tell the stories of our humanity," said Stotts, who has led Hartford Stage as its managing director for more than a dozen years. Stotts will leave his post in January for a managing director position at Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, N.J. While leading Hartford Stage, Stotts engaged the business community through corporate sponsor events, in addition to promot- ing Hartford Stage as an economic driver for the city. He oversaw a multimillion-dollar renovation of the Church Street theater and implemented new programs aimed at wooing Millennials. And, of course, in 2014, Hartford Stage won the Tony Award for Best Musical for "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder." What have been your greatest accomplishments at Hartford Stage? I have been at Hartford Stage for over 12 years, working in collaboration with artistic directors Darko Tresnjak, and Michael Wilson before him. During this time we have produced numerous plays and musicals that have delighted (or challenged) our Greater Hartford audiences. Working on this body of work has been a highlight of my career. As for a greatest accomplishment, I would have to say that has been overseeing the expansion and renovations of our Church Street theatre. Both artists and audiences have raved about the flexibility, intimacy and comfort of our spaces. I am also proud of Hartford Stage's extensive education programs that have quadrupled in size (and impact) during my tenure. Financially, how is the theatre scene in Greater Hartford right now? While we have grown our subscriber base over the past seven years, tickets sales ebb and flow with the economic environment (a continuing challenge in Connecticut); politics (increasingly polarizing our audiences); and competition from other media. Overall, I have to say that Greater Hartford has a vibrant arts and culture scene, and theatre is a particular genre that does well here. We have smart, inquisitive audiences that not only want to be entertained, but also want to be challenged by the work. Hartford Stage's audience sizes go up and down, with big musicals and productions of Shakespeare doing extremely well at the box office. People today have an unprecedented amount of entertainment options. How have you tried to counteract competition? There is no question that over Hartford Stage's 55-year history, a lot has changed in our world and local community that has affected ticket sales. Whether it is increased entertainment op- tions, or lifestyle changes, we have had to adapt to new forms of competition. We have changed pricing and packaging strat- egies, added pre- and post-show events to help enhance the theatre-going experience, and have had to look at programming choices to ensure that some of the more thought-provoking works are counterbalanced with what might be charac- terized as more popular works. VERBATIM Taking the high road "You know it's something that I would support. I don't want the black market controlling marijuana distribution in our state. I think that's a lousy way to go. Canada, Massachusetts, others are doing it." Gov.-elect Ned Lamont expressing support for the legalization of recreational marijuana use following the start of legalized pot sales in Massachusetts. 860.871.1111 Toll Free: 800.741.6367 nemsi.com License #'s: E1-104939 • S1-302974 • P1-203519 • F1-10498 • SM1-192 • MC-1134 MECHANICAL • ELECTRICAL • PLUMBING • SHEET METAL • BUILDING AUTOMATION • FACILITIES SERVICES SERVICE SOLUTIONS…ONE SOURCE The company that builds and installs the critical systems in virtually every type of facility is the same company you can rely on to maintain them. For over 50 years, our clients have trusted us to deliver end-to-end facilities solutions, so they can focus on their core business. We are experts in: Facilities Services Preventive Maintenance Programs Onsite Operations & Maintenance Michael Stotts