Bard on the Beach Announces New Managing Director

Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival announced on Tuesday (October 15) the appointment of Claire Sakaki as Bard’s new managing director.

Sakaki replaces John McCulloch, who stepped into the role from his position as Chair of the Board in an interim capacity one year ago.

She joins artistic director Christopher Gaze in joint leadership of Bard, effective December 30, 2013. Sakaki will be directly responsible for administration, production, operations, strategic planning and financial management of the organization.

Sakaki joins Bard from Soulpepper Theatre Company in Toronto, where she is currently producer and director of education. Prior to joining Soulpepper in 1999 she worked with the Toronto Dance Theatre, the Weston Playhouse (Vermont) and the Canadian Opera Company. She was also the founding producer and general manager of Theatrefront, a Toronto-based independent theatre company. Born and raised in Kamloops, Sakaki is a graduate of the Income Managers Program in Arts Administration and has an honours degree from Queen's University.

Bard on the Beach is Western Canada’s largest professional Shakespeare company and celebrates its 25th season in 2014. Four plays will be presented in repertory in the coming season (June 11 to September 20): Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Tempest, Cymbeline and Bill Cain’s Equivocation.

For more information about Bard on the Beach visit bardonthebeach.org/.