Signature Stories Issue 13 | Page 14

Sean’s Favorite Signature Memories SPOTLIGHT My first two seasons on the Board, when we featured Horton Foote and Tony Kushner, were special. Foote’s The Orphans’ Home Cycle was truly an immersive season-long experience, and Angels in America’s revival was an impressive production in the old performance space. As a newly minted New Yorker at that time, I learned a lot about theatre in those two seasons. SEAN PETERSON, BOARD MEMBER Sean Peterson has been part of the Signature Theatre family since joining the Board of Trustees in 2009. He currently serves as the Secretary on the Executive Committee, and also sits on the Audit Committee and Board Development Task Force. Sean is the Vice President of Government Affairs for American Express, where he is responsible for developing, communicating, and executing the company’s state legislative strategy, including direct advocacy of company positions with legislators and governors in twenty-five states. Prior to his work with American Express, he held a leading role at Freddie Mac, where he advanced public policy and business priorities. Sean’s experience in the public sector includes senior roles in the U.S. House of Representatives, serving as Staff Director/Chief of Staff for Representatives Floyd Flake and Gregory Meeks of New York. He was also Democratic Staff Director to the House Subcommittee on Domestic & Moving into The Pershing Square Signature Center was a major accomplishment for Signature. One week after I was elected to the Board, we broke ground on the Center. To watch the progress and anticipate its completion was both exciting and daunting at the same time. Exciting because it turned out to be such a beautiful addition to New York’s performing arts scene, and daunting because of the increased expectations to fill the space with new subscribers and theatregoers. Athol Fugard’s My Children! My Africa!, directed by fellow Board member Ruben Santiago-Hudson, and Edward Albee’s The Lady from Dubuque were homeruns during our first season in the Center. One of the things I’m most proud of his how Jim and the artistic team curate diverse programming. Whether it’s playwrights and directors of color/gender diversity, or inclusive subject matters, Signature has been at the forefront of diversity in New York theatre. Celebrating the inclusion of diverse voices in Residency Five is important in this regard. That we embrace this idea as an opportunity to add to the field of theatre, and back it up with the ticket initiative to help diversify our audiences, is one our most important contributions to the art form and the City. International Monetary Policy. Sean has been a past U.S. delegate to numerous annual meetings of the World Bank/IMF, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development. He holds a B.A. in Political Science from Howard University, and a J.D. degree from Georgetown University. Sean Peterson. “MY SIX YEARS ON THE BOARD HAVE BEEN FANTASTIC. IT’S BEEN A PRIVILEGE TO SEE THE COMPANY GROW INTO THIS AMAZING SPACE, AND TO GROW ITS MISSION. MORE IMPORTANTLY, HAS BEEN GAINING A GREATER PERSPECTIVE ON HOW THIS PLACE IS A FAMILY, AND HOW THIS FAMILY INCLUDES STAFF, ARTISTS, PATRONS, AND EVERYDAY THEATREGOERS ATTRACTED TO OUR TICKET INITIATIVE.” (top, left to right): Allie Gallerani and Stephen Tyrone Williams in Athol Fugard’s My Children My Africa!; Ismael Cruz Cordova in Regina Taylor’s stop. reset.; Bill Heck and Pamela Payton-Wright in Horton Foote’s The Orphans’ Home Cycle. (bottom, left to right): Tricia Pauluccio, Michael Hayden, Laila Robins, and Thomas Jay Ryan in Edward Albee’s The Lady from Dubuque; Zachary Quinto and Christian Borle in Tony Kushner’s Angels in America. 13 14