Looking Forward: A Special Message from Dominique Cantwell

Dear Friends, 

It is with profound gratitude for having had the opportunity to serve our vibrant creative community for over a decade that I now share the exciting news of my transition to an emeritus role when we reopen this fall. Bainbridge Performing Arts is at its strongest point, the staff in the finest form, and finances as stable as they have ever been. A dawn of fresh creativity, exciting challenges, and mounting opportunity are upon us. 

In my thirteen years here, BPA has grown by leaps and bounds. Artistic excellence has flourished, the theatre school has expanded, our commitment to diversity has been galvanized, programs diversified and blossomed during the pandemic, the dream of constructing the Buxton Center has become a reality, subscribers are returning with enthusiasm, and access is afforded to every member of our community through the Open Doors program - of which I am especially proud. With BPA leading the way, municipal funding for the arts has been restored, the island’s non-profit sector has become a collaborative rather than competitive space, and community performance has become a badge of honor. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to continue to support this momentum in my new emeritus capacity.

The standards of inclusion, generosity, and service by which BPA has come to be known will be similarly emblematic of the next generation of stewards. I’m pleased to announce that these values are being placed in good hands:

Elizabeth Allum, BPA’s present Director of Education, will succeed me as Executive Director this fall. She has earned the respect, trust, and admiration of everyone she has encountered during her tenure here and her background in both theater and administration will ensure a virtually seamless transition into a new era of excellence. If you haven’t met her yet, I can’t wait to introduce you!

On behalf of my family - including my children who have found the most loving home at BPA - thank you for an experience that has changed the course of our lives, given us a new lens through which to see the world, and introduced us to a cadre of friends and family the likes of whom have no equal. While my own focus will shift to include membership on the Scripps College Board of Trustees, more teaching, and more non-profit leadership coaching, my heart remains forever pledged to the work, the mission, and the promise of BPA. 

With love,

Dominique Cantwell