Theatre Projects, a firm largely known for space and technology design on Broadway and around the world, has announced new members of its strategic planning team.
Gena Buhler has been promoted to associate principal. Over recent months, Molly Braverman and Ashley Keen joined as senior consultants. Other members of the strategic planning team include Hazel Clover, David Staples and Allan Xenius Grige.
As a whole, the strategic planning team collaborates with venue owners to perform studies and needs-assessments. They also work on master and business planning, site analyses, programming reviews and more. The associate principal position is new. Buhler will direct the operational and conceptual scope of the team and influence company-wide reimagining.
With an international team of designers and planners that has collaborated on more than 1,800 venues in over 80 countries, Theatre Projects is currently involved with the renovation and lift at Broadway’s Palace Theatre, as well as the new TSX Broadway exterior stage construction attached to that location.
Previously, Theatre Projects was involved with the renovation projects at the American Airlines and New Amsterdam Theatres. At the American Airlines, the firm participated in the initial feasibility study — a crucial step preceding the actual renovation to determine what is possible — and then worked alongside The New 42nd Street, Inc. on the venue’s historic restoration.
“Our design team crafted the unique and theatrical interior for the auditorium, and we mapped flexible equipment systems and infrastructure to allow the theater to efficiently operate as a commercial Broadway venue,” said Chris Smith, the firm’s marketing and content manager.
At the New Amsterdam, the firm worked on venue programming, concept design and theater planning, as well as performance equipment design and specification. “The greatest challenge was equipping the space with advanced theater technology that integrated seamlessly into the classic design, without interfering with sightlines or finishes,” Smith shared.
“Attentively understanding how venues live and breathe leads us to ask the right questions in the right way. This is critical during the planning and design process,” Buhler said in a statement. “From firsthand experience, our planning team understands what it means to overcome challenges and to succeed in spaces, whether large or small. As recent venue managers and executives, environmental sustainability stewards, artistic programmers and community collaborators, we focus on engaging with our clients in meaningful and experience-centric ways, acting — as many clients have put it — as ‘their people’ at the planning table.”
“We work at the early stages of the renovation, expansion or new construction planning processes and beyond, engaging with partners through operational support, management coaching, staff training, artistic programming and more,” Buhler added.
In addition to strategic planning, Theatre Projects’ services include strategy and operations; planning and design; equipment and technology; acoustics and more.
Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the timing of Braverman’s onboarding.
