Mountain Theatre and the managing director part ways

New national search will begin for replacement

The board of directors of The Crested Butte Mountain Theatre announced this week that Elizabeth Bond would no longer serve as managing director of the theatre.
Bond joined the Mountain Theatre in 2007 as managing director. The board acknowledges that she is widely admired in the community for her artistic vision.
According to a statement from the current theatre board, during Bond’s time as managing director, she worked with the board led by board member Larry Tanning and played a key role in CBMT’s first-ever capital fundraiser that resulted in the upgrade of the Mallardi Theatre to a more flexible and technically superior black-box performance space.

While not the only person to bring musical productions to the Mountain Theatre stage, Bond helped foster CBMT’s relationship with the Crested Butte Music Festival. She also brought in Alison Sutcliffe, a director from the Royal Shakespeare Company, for a production of As You Like It in 2009. A noted performer herself, Bond performed in a wide range of special CBMT productions and fundraising benefits.
The board wishes Bond well in her future endeavors. “Quite honestly, we look forward to seeing her on the stage of the Mallardi Cabaret,” said board president Bonnie Farnell.
Farnell said the board is currently analyzing its options in order to find the right artistic, technical and business mix for the CBMT and a new leader. “This will be a thorough and thoughtful analysis that will result in a nationally advertised search,” she said.
In the meantime, board members, participants and talented support staff will perform the functions of the theatre director.
“The board will work diligently to find the best possible leadership to take the Mountain Theatre into its fifth decade of continuous operations,” the board wrote.
“No one is happy with how the situation ultimately unfolded,” admitted Farnell. “We’ve been trying to find common ground for more than six months. As we all have said, Elizabeth is a great talent but we decided it was time to move on and we hope to see Elizabeth stay involved on the stage.”
Bond commented that she “plans to stay involved on the stage and I hope to be permitted to rent the Mallardi from the CBMT for my own production in 2012. It will be an amusing play about a famous would-be opera singer.”