FST managing director elected officer of nationwide regional theater group

Rebecca Hopkins, managing director of Florida Studio Theatre, has been elected vice president of the New York City-based League of Resident Theatres.

With 81 members in 30 states and Washington, D.C., LORT is the largest professional theater association in the United States. The group is dedicated to promoting regional theaters and allows them to act collectively in a variety of matters, including labor relations.

Following the elections, which were announced earlier in June, La Jolla Playhouse Managing Director Debby Buchholz is president of LORT's board, while Signature Theatre Managing Director Maggie Boland and Hopkins are both vice presidents.

Alley Theatre General Manager Brandon Kahn is now secretary of the board while Indiana Repertory Theatre Managing Director Suzanne Sweeney is treasurer.

FST is a rarity among regional theaters in the U.S. in having demonstrating great resilience during and after the pandemic. The theater recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. 

As managing director for FST, Hopkins is its chief operations officer with responsibility for the theater's business office, development, marketing, box office, budgeting, front of house and restaurant. 

Since her arrival at FST in 1998, Hopkins has spearheaded the development of the theater's cabaret productions, serving as lead developer for such hit shows as "Up On The Roof," "Reel Music," "The '70s: More Than a Decade" and others.

Hopkins has also been the driving force behind FST's growth in improvisation. She is the founder and producer of FST Improv, and the Sarasota Improv Festival, which draws comedy troupes from all over the world. It will be held this year on July 11-13. 

A former president of the National New Play Network, Hopkins was the 2012 recipient of the Arts & Cultural Alliance's Cultural Champion
Award. In 2016, she was given the Luminaire Award, honoring excellence in creativity, philanthropy, advocacy and other qualities that propel the growth of the arts in Sarasota.

Hopkins is married to Richard Hopkins, CEO and producing artistic director of FST. Under the couple's stewardship, FST has become the largest subscription theater in the state of Florida and among the largest in the country.

Through its five-theater downtown campus, FST serves more than 230,000 live attendees each year through its mainstage, cabaret, cutting-edge Stage III, Children’s Theatre, FST School, new play development and FST Improv programs.

In December, FST plans to break ground on its new $57 million Arts Plaza, which includes parking, artist residences, two new cabaret spaces and a new mainstage theater. The plaza will be built in phases, with completion expected in mid-2028.