Sarah Chapin, the new executive director of Adventure Theater MTC. Photo courtesy of ATTMC.
Melynda Burdette Wintrol, Executive Director, Transition to Executive Committee of the ATTMC Board of Directors
GLEN ECHO, MD – MTC Adventure Theater (ATMTC), which educates and inspires new generations of artists and theater audiences through exceptional theatrical experiences, announces a leadership transition. Melynda Burdette Wintrol, Executive Director, has accepted an invitation from the Adventure Theater MTC Board of Directors to become a member of its Executive Committee. ATMTC will return to a dual leadership structure, now led by Kurt Boehm, artistic director, and Sarah Chapin, new executive director, formerly of Signature Theater.
Board member Melynda Burdette Wintrol says, “It has been an absolute pleasure to lead this organization toward recovery and reinvigoration. My greatest legacy is bringing this incredible team together and Sarah is the icing on the cake! The skills, energy and passion she brings to the role of Executive Director are palpable. I look forward to working alongside him and Kurt in my new role on the Board's Executive Committee.
“We are passing the baton to an incredibly innovative, talented and forward-thinking artist and business partner, Sarah Chapin,” says Artistic Director Kurt Boehm. “Having worked with Sarah in several capacities over the years, I am delighted with Sarah’s appointment as our new Managing Director. The future remains in stable and capable hands.
Mitchell Herman, chairman of the board, agrees. “I am thrilled and proud of the transition involving Sarah and Melynda. The new leadership will ensure both continuity and strength for our prosperous future.
Adventure has reestablished work practices that deeply align with our mission, vision, and core values of equity, engagement, innovation, growth, and wonder. We recognize that educating and inspiring future generations begins with our internal practices and promoting our own education and growth with a focus on our most valuable resources, our people.
New Executive Director Sarah Chapin says, “I couldn’t be more excited to collaborate with the fantastic artists and administrators at Adventure Theater MTC. With the support of Kurt, Melynda, and the Board of Directors, I look forward to continuing to build on the incredible momentum they have generated this season and further engaging the community in supporting our mission.
Signature Theater Executive Director Maggie Boland extends her best wishes to the future leaders. “We are very pleased that Adventure Theater MTC will benefit from Sarah's enthusiasm for creating theater and her commitment to bringing the benefits of the performing arts to our community, as we did during her tenure at Signature. We wish Sarah and her colleagues at Adventure nothing but success.
This new and existing management team continues to work to restore Adventure's reputation as a popular destination for families in the Washington, DC area, with performances based on literary works as a premier training destination for musical theater students and future professionals.
To learn more, visit www.adventuretheatre-mtc.org. All performances will take place at the Adventure Theater MTC, 7300 MacArthur Blvd, Glen Echo, MD, 20812, in historic Glen Echo Park.
ABOUT MTC ADVENTURE THEATER
ATMTC cultivates new generations of artists and audiences by creating memorable theater productions and providing young people with the highest quality musical theater training. ATMTC serves students of all levels and families from diverse communities, approximately 35,000 people per year.
ABOUT MELYNDA BURDETTE WINTROL (COUNCIL MEMBER)
Melynda Burdette Wintrol is grateful to have served Adventure Theater MTC as Executive Director since January 2023, after serving as Director of Education before her departure in 2018. She is very excited to continue serving ATMTC as Member of the Board of Directors. Melynda has been a singer and musical theater performer, teaching artist, vocal coach, and arts administrator for over 20 years and currently serves as producing director at Maryland Ensemble Theater. A native of Frederick, Maryland, Melynda is a graduate of The Catholic University of America's Benjamin T. Rome School of Music and holds a Bachelor of Music in Musical Theater. Melynda went on to earn her Master of Science in Nonprofit and Association Management. During her studies at CUA, Melynda, a classically trained mezzo-soprano, was selected to represent the school in Italy and give a private papal audience for Pope John Paul II. Melynda studied with Cathie Porter-Borden, Dr. Janette Ogg, Maureen Codelka, and N. Thomas Pedersen. As a teaching artist, Melynda has worked with Adventure Theater MTC, Drama Learning Center, Columbia Center for Theatrical Arts, Dance Unlimited/Performing Arts Factory, and Urbana Dance. Melynda has performed Off-Broadway, on tour and in regional theaters across the country. A member of three Helen Hayes nominated ensembles, Melynda has performed with Signature Theater, Studio Theater, Olney Theater Center, American Family Theater, Washington Savoyards, Maryland Ensemble Theater, Shawnee Playhouse, Prather Entertainment Group, the Venus Theater, the Tony Award-winning Pallas Theater. Collective, Riverside Dinner Theater and Toby's Dinner Theater.
ABOUT KURT BOEHM (ART DIRECTOR)
Boehm joins Adventure Theater MTC after two decades of experience as an award-winning director, choreographer, teacher, and actor based right here in Washington, DC. He is proud to have enjoyed a long relationship with ATMTC having worked under former Artistic Director Michael Bobbitt. . Since 2008, you have seen his work in productions such as Good Night Moon, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Ella Enchanted, The Snowy Day, Spot's Birthday Party, Harold and the Purple Crayon, among others. Boehm joins our team as he currently serves as Resident Casting Director and Director of Guest Services at the Keegan Theater in Dupont Circle. He has extensive experience as a teaching artist, centering his career as an educator, and looks forward to passing on the mission of ATTMC to the next generation of theater makers. While at the DMV, he has worked as an educator at the Catholic University of America, Montgomery College Summer Dinner Theater, George Mason University, Toby's Dinner Theater, Columbia Center for Theatrical Arts, Kids In Dramatic Study , at Centennial High School, at Alice Deal Middle School. , and ATMTC. Boehm has also directed and choreographed for Keegan Theatre, Imagination Stage, Mac-Haydn Theater in New York, Washington Savoyards, Toby's Dinner Theater and ATMTC. As a Helen Hayes nominated actor, his work has spanned the Alliance Theater in Atlanta, Broad Stage in Los Angeles, ArtsEmerson in Boston, and at home at the DMV. You've seen his work on our stages at the Kennedy Center, Arena Stage, Ford's Theater, Shakespeare Theater Company, Signature Theater, Olney Theater Center, Imagination Stage, Keegan Theater, Toby's Dinner Theater and the Monumental Theater Company. Boehm received his Bachelor of Music degree from The Catholic University of America and is a proud member of the Actors' Equity Association. Boehm will center his work at ATTMC around our core values of equity, engagement, innovation, growth and wonder.
ABOUT SARAH CHAPIN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Sarah Chapin is excited and honored to join Adventure Theater MTC as Executive Director. Introduced to theater in a class at her local community center, she can personally attest to the lasting impact of arts education. A native of the DMV, she began her professional theater career as a teenager in DC, appearing in productions at the Keegan Theater and the Studio Theater. She graduated from Yale University with a degree in theater studies and spent her early years out of school performing professionally on stages around the world. Since 2011, she has performed with The Keegan Theater, Studio Theater, Signature Theater, Virginia Stage Company, The Church (Upstate Productions, NY), The Axelrod Performing Arts Center (NJ), HERE Arts (NY), Symphony Space ( NY), The York Theater (NY) and at the ASCAP Workshop in Los Angeles. She studied abroad at the Moscow Art Theater School and performed over fifty concerts while touring Japan with Harmony Japan. Disney on Classic. When not on stage, Sarah has maintained a connection to education through her work preparing New York teenagers for academic success, her work with the Broadway Artists Alliance in New York and as part of the All first summer theater camp “Play-Rah-Kah”. to Keegan. She joined Signature Theater in 2022 as a member of the development team, building new relationships and even stronger ties with the DMV theater community. She is a two-time Helen Hayes Award nominee and is excited to continue working in the theater community that raised her. Sarah is eager to expand access to theater to all students, so that every child who walks through Adventure Theater's doors feels valued, engaged and inspired.
