The Theatre Development Fund (TDF) trustees have announced that former Manhattan Theatre Club general manager Victoria Bailey has been named executive director at TDF. Bailey assumes leadership of one of the world's leading performing arts service organizations on April 2, after completing 15 years at MTC.

In a prepared statement, TDF chairman John Breglio said Bailey has a "passion for TDF's mission that will ensure that we move forward to build on our roles of support and service to both the production of plays of merit and to ensuring access to these productions by the broadest possible audiences."

A Yale graduate and member of the adjunct faculty at Columbia University's School of the Arts, Bailey was involved in the production of some 200 plays at MTC and is a familiar player in the theatrical community. A TDF statement cites the fact that Bailey "oversaw all administrative operations for an $11 million annual budget [at MTC] and engaged in the very successful strategic planning process that helped MTC become one of the most successful producing organizations in the country."

The scope of Bailey's responsibilities will be even greater at TDF. Since it was established in 1968, the nonprofit's mission is based on the "conviction that the live theatrical arts afford a unique expression of the human condition that must be sustained and nurtured."

To this end, TDF identifies and supports "works of artistic merit" and facilitates theatre attendance by all sorts of audiences. In its 33rd year of operation, TDF has had a significant impact on the industry, selling some 55 million theatre seats through its popular TKTS discount ticket booth, and by subsidizing "over 700 plays, including 19 Tony Award winners and 23 Pulitzer prize honorees."

TDF has made theatre accessible to the deaf and hearing impaired through sign-interpreted and open-captioned performances. The organization also runs a 24-hour New York City arts hotline and a 75,000 item Costume Collection and is considered a lead player in the effort to bring young people to theatre.

—By Murdoch McBride