Santora has been with Northlight Theatre for four years.
A search committee of Northlight board members has been created to conduct a national search to fill the managing director position. Santora will depart at the end of January.
"Over the last four years Phil has contributed much to the growth of this theatre," stated BJ Jones, artistic director of Northlight. "As managing director he has solidified our administrative structure while focusing on our developmental efforts. His professionalism and generous spirit will be greatly missed, and I join the entire staff in wishing him all the best in the Bay Area. We will continue our relationship with him as a valued colleague in the national theatre community."
Santora will be replacing longtime managing director Randy Adams, who left TheatreWorks in May to pursue producing opportunities in New York.
During Santora's tenure at Northlight, partnering with Jones, the company has co-produced shows with theatres such as the Arizona Theatre Company and Geva Theatre, staged several world premieres including Studs Terkel's The Good War and the Jeff Award-award winning A Marvelous Party: The Noel Coward Celebration, initiated the Interplay Reading Series for new works and set box-office records with the 2005 production of Pride and Prejudice. In that time, Santora has helped the theatre to stabilize its donor base, grow its board of directors and found a corporate giving program. Before working at Northlight, Santora, 41, was managing director of Georgia Shakespeare Festival for seven years. Prior to joining GSF, Santora served as development director of the Great Lakes Theater Festival in Cleveland, OH, as well as at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, NJ. In addition, he held multiple positions at the Yale Repertory Theatre and worked on the Broadway opening of the musical Black and Blue. Santora holds an M.F.A. in theatre administration from the Yale School of Drama and a B.A. in drama from Duke University. He was named the "Best Arts Administrator" by Atlanta Magazine in 2000 and was the recipient of the 1998 Atlanta Arts and Business Council's Abby Award for Arts Administration. Santora is a member of the executive committee of the League of Chicago Theatres.
Northlight is a LORT C theatre with nearly 8,000 subscribers and a $3 million annual budget. Known for its track record of new work, Northlight garnered 12 Jeff nominations and won four Jeff Awards for the original revue, commissioned by Northlight, A Marvelous Party: The Noel Coward Celebration, now playing at the Laguna Playhouse.
Northlight also produced the world premieres of Jason Robert Brown's Last Five Years and Richard Dresser's Rounding Third, which both played Off-Broadway. This season Northlight has commissioned Craig Wright, a producer and writer for ABC's "Brothers and Sisters," to write Lady, which will have its world premiere at Northlight in January 2007.
In its 32-year history, the organization has mounted over 150 productions, including over 32 world premieres, and garnered 132 Joseph Jefferson Award nominations and 22 Awards.
For more information about Northlight and its 32nd season, visit www.northlight.org.
