Jefferson Performing Arts Society begins management of Jefferson Performing Arts Center
Jefferson Performing Arts Society, the 45-year-old nonprofit performing arts institution dedicated to presenting musical theater, plays, ballet, orchestral concerts and youth programs, will take assumes management of the Jefferson Performing Arts Center at 6400 Airline Drive in Metairie, effective July 1, 2022.
The Jefferson Parish Council approved the RFP submitted by the Jefferson Performing Arts Society in March 2022 and approved the contract at the June 29, 2022 council meeting.
“As Director of JPAC, we look forward to partnering with the parish and significantly improving the goals of reducing operating costs, improving the quality and level of service to the public, and expanding the variety of offerings on the site,” said Steven Dwyer, Chairman of the JPAS Board of Directors.
One of the main objectives of JPAS will be to increase access for community use of the facility. “Through our strong ties to the parish community, we will expand access to use CCPM to a wide range of artists and community groups,” Dwyer said.
JPAS has over four decades of experience providing effective customer service specific to performing arts venues throughout Jefferson Parish. This unparalleled expertise will be applied to all JPAC offerings under JPAS management.
“JPAC is a world-class venue that has yet to approach its potential as a leading destination for artists and audiences in the cultural life and identity of the Parish and Southern Gulf. JPAS will bring its nearly five decades of experience activating venues to transform Beyond JPAS’ own productions, our staff are networked regionally, nationally and internationally with producers, promoters and non-profit artists profit and commercial and will aggressively seek to increase the quality and diversity of programming and the public profile of this great site,” added Dwyer.
JPAS will proactively continue to use the site for corporate events and product launches, community events, and attendance at regional festivals – areas that have gone virtually untapped since the site opened.
In January 2020, JPAS added the position of Executive Director and appointed Timothy Thomas Simmons, former executive director of the New Orleans Opera and the Naples Opera, to this post. Simmons, who will serve as JPAC’s Managing Director, said, “We have an excellent leadership team in place to manage JPAC’s growing presence in the community, including Tony Micocci who has over a decade of experience in management of performing arts centers with greater capacity than JPAC. , producing tours and festivals, publishing in the field, and most recently directing and teaching in the University of New Orleans Arts Management Program; Amy Duvoisin who has a long history of marketing, community relations and tourism development history, both in the media and more recently with several iconic institutions in the region, including the French Market and the Louisiana Children’s Museum; Eric Porter who has extensive experience managing locations and production in major locations in Jefferson Parish and greater New Orleans, is known and respected throughout the industry and will be a vital part of care and operations JPAC and its relationships with its incoming event presenters and the general public; and Joshua Frederick, who has worked with JPAS since 2014, will be each customer’s first point of contact to ensure they have the best experience possible. We all look forward to working with the parish and surrounding communities to take CCPM to the next level!”
