Carol Charles has been named to the newly formed role of community engagement manager at Syracuse Stage. As former managing director of the Community Folk Art Center and co-founder of the Kuumba Project, Charles is well known in the Syracuse University and local communities and beyond as a passionate arts advocate and educator. She began her position at Syracuse Stage on Aug. 25. Charles fills an important role at the theater, imperative for growth and fulfilling a renewed initiative to reach diverse audiences.
"It is of utmost importance that everyone feels welcome at Syracuse Stage
regardless of race, religion, sexuality, age or wealth," says Timothy Bond, producing artistic director. "Carol will be at the forefront of creating deep ties within the community. As many have come to know, the theater can become like a second home, and we are warmly extending that invitation to all."
"Art and artists provide a profound connection to our history, our present and our collective cultures," says Charles. "Connecting the community to these kindred experiences at the stage will be a challenge and a joy."
As community engagement manager, Charles is responsible for enhancing the Syracuse Stage presence and impact within the greater Central New York community, stimulating constructive dialogues, educating the public about the theater?s programming and mission, deepening current constituent experiences, and developing new constituents to expand the audience base.
From 2004-08, Charles served as managing director of the Community Folk Art Center (CFAC), a unit of the Department of African American Studies in SU's College of Arts and Sciences.
At CFAC, she collaborated on the development of the Kuumba Project, a pre-professional after-school arts education program in collaboration with the South Side Initiative (a collaboration of the Southside Community Coalition and SU).
Charles began her arts administration career in the development and marketing departments of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre and Dance Theatre of Harlem. She also served as assistant director of communications for the City of Syracuse during Mayor Tom Young's administration. Charles also worked to promote excellence in education through her work as a member of the Jamesville-DeWitt Board of Education and as a dance instructor at the Onondaga Dance Institute.
She is an active member of Parents Promoting Dance and serves on the national board for Imagining America and the board for Stone Canoe, SU's annual community-oriented arts journal, and was recently appointed to Onondaga County's Youth Board.
Charles holds a bachelor's degree in drama from SU and a master's degree in arts administration from New York University.
