New England Presenters

The Boards of Directors of

New England Presenters

Arts Presenters of Northern New England

are pleased to announce:

Our members have offered a unanimous YES! vote to unite our organizations into one strong, diverse consortium, focused on supporting arts presenters throughout New England.

Thank you to all consortia members who voted and who expressed support for this exciting step forward!

What does this merger mean for members and for the organization?

The boards of directors have merged, with several members of each electing to continue their tenures on the unified board. Recruitment and nominations for open positions are underway -- you'll hear more about this soon -- with an election slate to be announced at our annual meeting on October 4. (See Save the Date below!)
Finances have merged, and will be managed by current Treasurer Vicky Pittman.
Memberships have merged. Current members of both organizations will continue to be members of the merged consortium. We have extended our membership period and will invite you to renew later this fall. Membership and event management will continue using NEP's website & member database powered by Wild Apricot. APNNE members were integrated into this system in late spring. Your log-in remains the same.
APNNE and NEP have merged. Because NEP is incorporated and holds 501c3 status as a tax-exempt non-profit, the merged organization will continue, legally, as New England Presenters, Inc. for the foreseeable future. Visitors to the APNNE website will be directed to the NEP website, and emails will forward to nepresenters@gmail.com.
Bylaws will be revised and presented for membership approval. The fact that the organization will continue legally as NEP will allow leadership to consider and revise bylaws in a thoughtful and deliberate way with participation from members.
We continue to be a member-supported and member-focused organization. NEP and APNNE have been working closely together since last year, with shared planning of meetings and events, and a united vision for the future. Apart from some standard shifts in leadership, you will not see a lot of immediate change in the way the merged organization functions.

Member participation and support is necessary to ensure that we can realize the goal of a strengthened, revitalized space to learn, grow, and support one another and the performing arts presenting needs of the region.

ABOUT NEP

Founded in 1981, New England Presenters (NEP) is a non-profit, regional consortium of over 80 organizations consisting of performing arts presenters from public and private colleges and universities, preparatory schools, municipal arts agencies and community based organizations of all sizes.

NEP serves its membership by facilitating block booking of tours by performing artists that reduce fees to individual presenters; commissioning new works in dance, music and mixed art forms that tour the New England region; supporting special projects by artists, sometimes in collaboration with other regional presenting groups and, providing professional development opportunities for presenters to exchange management and artistic ideas.

NEP maintains liaison with the Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP), the National Association of Performing Arts Managers and Agents (NAPAMA), the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA), the Arts Presenters of Northern New England (APNNE), and the six state arts agencies.

NEP FACTS

NEP members serve a combined audience base of 18 million in urban and rural areas
Member organizations spend more than $7 million annually in fees paid to performing artists
Organizations can save 20%-40% when participating in block booking
NEP returns to the performing arts a substantial portion of its annual budget through special projects and the commission of new works.

CURRENT OFFICERS OF NEP

As of July 1, 2022

Hanna Oravec, President

Hanna has recently joined Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA where she serves as the Producer for the Boston Conservatory. In this role, she works with students, faculty, and guest artists on performance across the Theater, Dance, and Music Divisions. Prior to joining BoCo, she was the Assistant Director for Programs at Wesleyan University’s Center for the Arts in Middletown, CT from 2011-2022. Hanna has served on the board of New England Presenters since 2017, first as treasurer and currently as president. She is an alum of APAP’s Emerging Leaders Institute and National Arts Strategies’ Executive Program in Arts and Culture Strategy. She holds a master’s in Non Profit Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania, and a BFA in Theater/Stage Management from Penn State University.

Marissa Hutton, Vice President

Marissa is the Senior Director of Operations for FirstWorks in Providence, RI. Prior to that, she served as Executive Director of the Dorset Theatre Festival, in Dorset, VT. She has an extensive career in live event production, having worked with organizations such as the Park Avenue Armory, Irish Repertory Theatre, Monica Bill Barnes Dance Co., Valencia Production Partners, and Bike New York. She has worked on live network television events for Condé Nast Entertainment, Hulu, Netflix, and CW. Marissa spent four years at the International Festival of Arts & Ideas in New Haven, CT as Special Programs Curator. As an avid dance practitioner, Marissa has taught and performed nationally and internationally.

Rachel Roccoberton, Treasurer

Throughout her career, Rachel has danced many parts including administrative assistant at a burgeoning community arts center, ballet/jazz/modern teacher for children and adults in under-served communities, community theater choreographer and director, coordinator of children’s performing arts programs, puppet choreographer, show producer, program developer, technician and stage manager, fundraiser, volunteer fairy, and passionate performing arts advocate. Utilizing these experiences to produce events that draw people together, capturing the imagination, and creating empathy for shared experiences, her work elevates those who are not always considered “dancers” and stories that are not always seen in movement. It is her fervent belief that the arts can change people and communities by drawing us closer together through shared experiences.

Ali Kenner Brodsky, Secretary

Ali is a choreographer, performer, educator, curator, producer, collaborator and mother. She is the artistic director of ali kenner brodsky & co. and creates dance-theater works that often utilize live music and striking visual art. She is on the adjunct dance faculty at Roger Williams University, is the co-founder of Motion State Arts, and a dance advisor to the Zeiterion Theater in New Bedford, MA. A Rhode Native, Kenner Brodsky resides in Dartmouth, MA with her husband, children and four chickens.

Shoshona Currier, Member at Large

Shoshona brings nearly twenty years of experience in the contemporary performance field to her new role as Director of the Bates Dance Festival. She is the previous Director of Performing Arts for the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. In her five years with that department she was integral in the development and integration of dance and theater into Chicago’s civic programming. Prior to her role at DCASE, Ms. Currier served in Producer positions at Dance New Amsterdam and Performance Space 122 in New York City. Shoshona holds degrees from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and the New School University and was a member of the inaugural class of the Institute for Curatorial Practice in Performance at Wesleyan University.

Malakhi RL Eason II, Member at Large

Malakhi serves as Director of Programming and Community Impact, where he is responsible for the artistic vision of the Festival and the interplay between programming and the community at large, including educational programs. In his first year and a half tenure at IFAI, Eason spearheaded the programming of the first-ever hybrid Festival on the New Haven Green and the expansion of community engagement and artistic programming beyond June to year-round. In addition to recently co-leading sessions with Quiala at Michigan’s Presenters Network and APAP delegates on “Curating with Consciousness,” Eason is a sought-after international speaker and has been invited to represent IFAI at global convenings on the arts in Tel Aviv, Havana, Toronto, and Montreal.

Originally from Boston, Eason brings more than 15 years of arts administration experience to IFAI. Eason was most recently Programming Manager at Omaha Performing Arts. He curated the expansive Jazz on the Green Series, ranging from intimate cabaret performances to outdoor concerts featuring artists like Ladama, Big Sam’s Funky Nation, Kim Waters, Sammy Miller, the Congregation, and Marcos y Sabor. Eason was formerly a background singer touring artists while living in Los Angeles, CA.

A graduate of the University of Bridgeport in Bridgeport, CT, Eason earned a Master of Arts in Leadership from Grace University and is working on a Doctorate in Interdisciplinary Leadership from Creighton University; Eason has also served in many positions that convey his passion for service and youth mentorship; he encourages young people to find their passions. Eason is an active member of numerous organizations, including the Lincoln, NE, Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc; Lambda Pi Eta (National Honors Society); and the NAACP.

Karen Henderson, Member at Large

Karen is the Programming Manager at the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth College. She came to Dartmouth in 2008 and before that she was the Program Coordinator for the Musical Theater Writing Program at NYU’s Tish School of the Arts. Karen has worked at such renown theater institutions as Brooklyn Academy of Music, Lincoln Center Theater, Playwrights Horizons, Manhattan Theater Club and Second Stage in various backstage and administrative positions. She received her undergraduate degree from SUNY Purchase and brings over 30 years of curatorial and arts administration experience to Dartmouth’s team of dedicated arts professionals!

Holly Jones, Member at Large

Holly is a field based arts worker, advocate, and consultant who is passionate about arts accessibility, equitable curatorial practices, and trust-based philanthropy. Ms. Jones currently serves in joint leadership of The Clive & Valerie Barnes Foundation where her work is dedicated to the encouragement and recognition of outstanding emerging artists. Previously, Holly served as Associate Producer and Director of Artist Services at The Yard where she oversaw tremendous programmatic growth and professionalized operations. Recently, Holly has contracted with the New England Foundation for the Arts, CityStep, and The Croft where she will serve as Interim Executive Director for the 2021 season. Ms. Jones is pursuing her masters in nonprofit leadership at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy & Practice (anticipated December ‘21) and graduated with a B.F.A. in Dance from Marymount Manhattan College. Holly continues to perform, teach, and choreograph throughout New England and New York.

Emma Teto, Member at Large

Emma is the Executive Director of the Lakeport Opera House in Laconia, New Hampshire. She has an extensive career in sales, marketing and strategic partnerships being employed by Microsoft, Oracle and other Fortune 500 companies. Emma volunteers in her local community, school and youth sports league boards where she lead Cultural Enrichment programs for students and Fundraising Chair. She is passionate about driving profitable growth, networking and connecting people with opportunities.