Garden Theatre names new chief organizational officer

WINTER GARDEN, Fla. – Months after announcing its new partnership with Victory Productions, Garden Theatre has named its chief organizational officer.

Keith Davenport will lead the theater, located at 160 W Plant St., and step into the role immediately to ensure it achieves “annual and long-term goals for artistic excellence, financial sustainability and community engagement,” according to officials.

Davenport, 53, has been actively involved in community theater since childhood and the Garden Theatre specifically as a patron and donor for 11 years. Before this position, he served as chair of the theater’s programming and partnerships committee.

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“When a unique creative opportunity such as this comes along, it’s just hard not to pursue it,” Davenport said. “That’s how I feel about Garden Theatre, which is an important local institution that I have loved and supported for years. The theater has come such a long way in recent months and I’m looking forward to playing an active role in continuing to ensure that Central Florida has a theater where performers and audiences want to be.”

The theater also ushered in six new board members on June 1, including Rich Taylor, chair; David Baldree, vice chair; Todd Wheeler, treasurer; and David Romano, secretary.

This comes after Garden Theatre announced a new partnership with Victory Productions, a local entertainment company, in December 2022 after a public fight between the board and its employees put live shows on a six-month hiatus.

“(We) made the decision to leverage the near-term programming gaps and temporarily shift our operational focus to the organizational health of the Theatre,” the Garden Theatre Board of Directors said in a Facebook post back in August 2022. “The Board and Staff will spend this time conducting an in-depth review of our organizational structure and operations.”

To learn more about the Garden Theatre and check out the current season, visit its website.

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