Entertaining Ambitious Ideas

The Orange County Performing Arts Center’s most pressing priority on the eve of its 10th anniversary is finding a leader to succeed Tom Tomlinson, who in July resigned suddenly as its president under circumstances that have yet to be fully explained.

Center Chairman Mark Johnson says the challenge is not to fill the spot quickly but to find the right person. He envisions “literally a worldwide search” that could take a year or more.

“The type of individual we are looking for, there are probably few of them in the world,” Johnson said during a recent interview. “A man or woman with a unique skills set: a dynamic, up-front, out-there, gregarious, social person who will be an inspirational and charismatic leader of the center--not a person who is going to micro-manage and be submerged in daily operations.”

The daily detail work, he said, will be left to four vice presidents who will head departments under a management reorganization underway.

A sports fan might say this sounds like a job for Tommy Lasorda. While a smiling Johnson said he won’t be calling the ebullient former baseball manager, he does think the search should go beyond the center’s past recruiting ground in the arts-management world. The best candidate, he said, might come from a background in business, nonprofit organizations, government or academia.

Johnson demurred when asked whether his vision for a new president could be taken as criticism of Tomlinson.

“I won’t speak at all to the circumstances of Tom Tomlinson,” he said, asserting that he promised Tomlinson not to discuss his departure. (Tomlinson’s only comment this week was: “The center certainly had a successful first 10 years, and I enjoyed being a part of that, and I wish them well in their next 10 years.”)

“But,” Johnson continued, “I will speak to the circumstances of the arrival of our new leader. [Candidates] are going to run a gantlet” of interviews with “a lot of board members, a lot of staff people, even major donors.

“I’m not going to have anybody come back two or three years down the road [saying], ‘You never asked us; we don’t like this person.’ It’s a world-class, plum position and opportunity to lead this center visibly and, hopefully, charismatically, for another decade. The only way they can do that is if they have the overwhelming support of the community.”

As the center heads into its second decade, programming director (and interim president) Judith O’Dea Morr says its mission statement remains unchanged. Opera, ballet, classical music and touring Broadway productions will be the core offerings.

The center has also worked in jazz concerts and rare pop music shows when what Morr calls its “constricted” schedule permits.

In the coming 10 years, Morr and Johnson agree, the center needs to carry on its educational outreach programs in the face of dwindling arts programs in the public schools. Educational decline is a prospect that troubles them both. However, Morr said, “We’re not about to replace the schools.”

In what would be a strong sign of the center’s impact, they look forward to one day--perhaps in the coming decade--presenting a prominent musician or dancer who hails from Southern California and who can point to evenings spent in the audience at the center as a formative experience.

Morr and Johnson both think the center’s next decade should bring more institutional self-analysis and more effective self-expression as to what the center’s role is as this community’s most prominent champion of the performing arts.

“One of the effects of being so successful so quickly is that an organization doesn’t have time to be reflective as it matures; it’s just sort of an instant adult,” Johnson said. “I hope in the second 10 years we can reflect more on our success and become more articulate and communicative about what we are doing for the community in the long run.”

More Coverage

* THINKING BIG: Founding chairman outlines criteria for center expansion. A14

* GOLDEN TOUCH: Private donors doing job, but new contributors sought. A15

* CRITICAL POINTS: Amid missteps were big strides, writes Chris Pasles. F1

* BEHIND SCENES: “Hall monitor” Connie Arrigo ably fills the bill. F1