Gulfshore Playhouse Founder Kristen Coury Selected for Leadership Collier Class of 2020

Kristen Coury, Founder and Producing Artistic Director of Gulfshore Playhouse, has been selected to participate in the Leadership Collier Class of 2020. Established by The Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce, the program was designed to educate local business leaders about the societal and economic challenges facing the community today.

The program entails a two-year commitment beginning with a year of continued education sessions that explore local government, education, agriculture, economic development, arts, and more. Coury will then spend the following year serving as a session chair for the Class of 2021.

"I'm thrilled by this opportunity to participate in hands-on experiences with some of our area's most established organizations," Said Coury. "Gulfshore Playhouse is at a pivotal moment with its Next Stage Capital Campaign. Through my participation in Leadership Collier, I will not only gain new perspectives, but also expand awareness of Gulfshore Playhouse and the many ways in which we serve."

As the Founder and Producing Artistic Director of Gulfshore Playhouse, Coury's leadership has cultivated the not-for-profit to grow, debt-free, to an annual budget of $4.6 million in just 15 years. Gulfshore Playhouse is now undertaking a Capital Campaign to support the construction of a state-of-the-Art Theatre and Education Center on a three-acre parcel at the corner of First Avenue South and Goodlette-Frank Road, which will extend the core of downtown Naples to the east of Fifth Avenue.

In addition, Coury has directed nearly 40 Gulfshore Playhouse productions to date. This upcoming season, Gulfshore Playhouse will proudly put on six new exciting shows, including Bedlam's "Saint Joan"; a fresh retelling of the beloved classic, the heartwarming family holiday tale "It's a Wonderful Life: A Life Radio Play"; "Native Gardens," one of the hottest plays in the country; "The Lady Demands Satisfaction," a hilarious new farce; "The Lion in Winter," a family drama with a sprinkle of politics on the side; and "The Niceties," a searing contemporary drama. Coury will direct "Native Gardens" and "The Lion in Winter."

In addition to its upcoming season, Gulfshore Playhouse offers transformative theatre education programs and community outreach collaborations which serve Southwest Florida through a wide variety of opportunities for children, teens, and adults, providing people from our diverse community accessibility to the art of theatre.

Gulfshore Playhouse is passionately committed to enriching the cultural landscape of the region by producing professional theatre to the highest artistic standards and providing unique educational opportunities to diverse groups of people in a spirit of service, adventure and excitement. The work of Gulfshore Playhouse is inspired by a belief in the magic of theatre to expand the imagination, challenge the senses, provoke discussion, and revitalize in audiences an understanding of their common humanity. This belief drives the care with which Gulfshore Playhouse treats its artists, audiences, students, staff, and members of the greater community.

For more information about Gulfshore Playhouse, visit www.gulfshoreplayhouse.org or call 239-261-PLAY (7529).