When the historic, not-for-profit Rosendale Theatre reopened to the public after the pandemic shutdown in August 2021, a reshuffling of roles was also announced: Executive director Ann Citron decided to refocus her energies on organizing live theatrical offerings at the cinema, handing the administrative baton to longtime board member Carrie Wykoff. Wykoff had been a volunteer since 2010, when the Rosendale Theatre Collective first came together to purchase the former casino, dancehall and vaudeville venue from the Cacchio family, who had operated it as a moviehouse since 1949.
Wykoff, an events planner and promoter by profession, brought many strengths to the executive director position. This past summer, she decided to accept another position: working with the Community Tech Team at Radio Kingston. The Rosendale Theatre board revised the job title to managing director and began advertising the position in August.
Now the Rosendale Theatre has a new public face: Gardiner resident Rob Leitner, a musician, former real estate agent and green energy consultant who has served as director of special events and corporate outreach at Unison Arts in New Paltz since 2018. Leitner started work at the Theatre on November 1. “I’m tickled to be here,” says the new managing director. “It’s a hard job. I’m amazed at how many balls you have to juggle at once. But we have a great staff and great volunteers.”
Leitner grew up in Larchmont and Mount Kisco, got his BA in Economics at Connecticut College in New London and embarked on a career in business and marketing. He spent 15 years as a commercial real estate broker and leasing agent in New York City, honing negotiating and managerial skills that he later put to use raising capital for a backpack company and a green energy concern as part of what he calls a “gradual departure from real estate.”
For fun, Leitner played guitar, sang and wrote songs, often collaborating with his then-wife, a New Paltz native who first introduced him to the area. He still performs regularly with her as a duo called Me and My Ex, and with other local musicians in the band the Nathans. “Real estate stopped appealing to me,” he says of his professional transition in recent years. “It didn’t tap into my creative side – my love of the arts.”
Leitner first got involved with Unison as a volunteer in 2017, when Alex Baer was executive director. He was hired as the arts center’s special events director a year later. Much of his work there involved corporate fundraising, finding sponsors for events, as well as acting as an emcee. “Rob’s served our community well. He was always a warm and inviting host at our performing arts events; we miss him in that role. But I think he’s a good fit for the Rosendale Theatre and its own community,” says current Unison executive director Faheem Haider.
As managing director at the Rosendale Theatre, Leitner will have ample opportunities to turn on the charm with both audiences and potential supporters. “I have a passion for the arts in community,” he says. “I’m gregarious; I like people. I like how the arts afford the opportunity to meet so many varied kinds of people. I really enjoy interaction with patrons and the public. I even enjoy public speaking – meeting and greeting as the face or representative of an organization.”
This natural extroversion comes into play at not-for-profits when directors and development officers (often the same person) need to pitch fundraising appeals, whether to government funding agencies, private foundations or well-heeled individuals, a/k/a “major donors.” The sometimes-terrifying climax of such campaigns, known in the trade as the “ask,” doesn’t faze Leitner one bit, given his business background as a negotiator. “I’m very comfortable making the ask. I think I have a way of doing it that doesn’t annoy people. I’m good at enrolling people in a common mission. I see myself as a partner to the community that loves the Rosendale Theatre.”
While state grants have been dominant components of the Theatre’s past funding – especially for high-ticket building renovations – it’s crucial to the financial health of any not-for-profit to identify and cultivate a stable of major donors for ongoing support. That’s one area where Leitner’s strengths can come into play. “We’d like to see our individual giving mechanisms become more efficient. There’s lots of room to improve,” he says. “I would like to have a more vigorous legacy gifting program. That’s a really great way for someone to leave a donation to a cause or organization they really love.”
While anyone can easily become a member or otherwise make a contribution to the Rosendale Theatre via its website, Leitner urges potential supporters at any level to contact him directly at rob@rosendaletheatre.org. “Even if it’s ten bucks, I want to meet everybody,” he says. If you can donate enough to enable the Theatre to purchase an item from its wish list, such as a printer or track lighting, he’s especially eager to hear from you.
He’s also keenly aware of the organization’s ongoing reliance on volunteers. There’s currently a recruitment drive for new board members – particularly those who can contribute such skills as grantwriting, legal expertise and corporate research. (Having friends and business associates with deep pockets is always a valuable resource, of course.) The Theatre is in need of volunteer producers for events and film series who are willing to put in the hours needed to make such things happen. “We get lots of wonderful ideas and suggestions,” Leitner notes. “But there’s only so much bandwidth that staff can afford to augment existing programming.”
The new director’s vision for future programming is “more of the same and more of the new,” mostly following the board’s guidance in terms of what audiences want from a local arthouse cinema. Screenings will continue to constitute an eclectic mix of recent releases, foreign and independent films, including documentaries. Popular ongoing themed series such as Classic Films, Silent Films, Music Fans and Creature Features will be maintained. Programs of short films – Oscar-winners, classic cartoons, touring festival fare – will continue to happen every few months.
Live theatrical productions, music and dance events, cabaret, variety shows and open-mic nights already pack the schedule for the Rosendale Theatre stage year-round, but Leitner promises a “new live music series” in the months to come. (He’s currently courting Mark Morganstern, longtime impresario of the Rosendale Café, to do the programming, though that’s not yet a done deal.) More lectures, author events, panel discussions and question-and-answer sessions are also on the drawing board.
Some infrastructure improvements are on the wish list to bolster the space’s capacity as a live entertainment venue: “We envision new lighting so we can better present live theatre and music,” Leitner says. Some of that activity will involve serving as hosts for outside presenters who want to rent the facility, which means additional income streams of the sort that help keep a not-for-profit venue afloat.
All in all, there’s plenty going on or in the works to keep the Rosendale Theatre’s new managing director busy, and Rob Leitner already has his sleeves rolled up. “The health of society depends on how we nurture culture,” he says. “I recognize how valuable this theatre is to this community, and I’m really honored to take this on.”
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