Jefferson Performing Arts Society Begins Management Of Jefferson Performing Arts Center

Jefferson Performing Arts Society, the 45-year-old non-profit performing arts institution dedicated to presenting musical theatre, dramas, ballet, orchestral concerts, and youth programming, will be taking on the management of the Jefferson Performing Arts Center at 6400 Airline Drive in Metairie, effective July 1, 2022.

Jefferson Parish Council approved the RFP submitted by Jefferson Performing Arts Society in March 2022 and approved the contract during the June 29, 2022, council meeting.

"As manager of JPAC, we look forward to partnering with the Parish and significantly improving on the objectives to reduce operating costs, improve the quality and level of service to the public, and expand the variety of offerings made available in the venue," stated Steven Dwyer, JPAS Board President.

One of the key goals of JPAS will be increased community use access of the facility. "With our deep ties to the Parish community, we will expand access to JPAC use to a wide range of community artists and groups," stated Dwyer.

JPAS has over four decades of experience in providing effective customer service specific to performing arts venues throughout Jefferson Parish. This unrivaled expertise will be applied to all JPAC offerings under JPAS' management.

"JPAC is a world-class venue that has not yet approached its potential as a leading artist and audience destination in the cultural life and identity of the Parish and the Gulf South. JPAS will bring its nearly five decades of experience in activating venues to turn this around. Beyond JPAS' own productions, our staff are networked regionally, nationally, and internationally with both nonprofit and commercial producers, promoters, and artists and will be energetically seeking to increase the quality and diversity of programming and the public profile of this great venue," added Dwyer.

JPAS will proactively pursue use of the venue for corporate events and product launches, community events, and participation in regional festivals - areas virtually untapped since the venue opened.

In January 2020, JPAS added the position of Executive Director and named Timothy Todd Simmons, former Executive Director of the New Orleans Opera and Opera Naples, to this position. Simmons, who will be General Manager of JPAC, commented, "We have a great leadership team in place for managing JPAC's expanding presence in the community, including Tony Micocci who has more than a decade of experience running performing arts centers with greater capacity than JPAC, producing tours and festivals, publishing in the field, and most recently leading and teaching in the University of New Orleans Graduate Arts Management Program; Amy Duvoisin who has a long history of marketing, community relations, and tourism development history, both within media and most recently with several iconic area institutions including the French Market and the Louisiana Children's Museum; Eric Porter who has a wealth of experience in venue and production management in leading venues throughout Jefferson Parish and greater New Orleans, is known and respected throughout the industry and will be a vital part of the care and operations of JPAC and relationships with its incoming event presenters and the general public; and Joshua Frederick who has been with JPAS since 2014 will be each patron's first point of contact to make sure they have the best experience possible. We are all looking forward to working with the Parish and surrounding communities to take JPAC to the next level!"