Cornerstone Theater Company Appoints Sunder Ganglani as Artistic Director
Tom O’Connor Consulting Group (TOCG) is pleased to announce that Sunder Ganglani has been appointed Artistic Director by Cornerstone Theater Company (Megan Wanlass, Managing Director) in Pasadena, California, following our extensive national search.
Sundar joins Managing Director Megan Wanlass in a leadership structure that includes Cornerstone’s Ensemble in an intentional shared decision-making model, albeit not in all areas of responsibility.
Shared from the company’s statement, “On behalf of the Search Community, composed of Cornerstone Board, staff, ensemble, and community members, we are proud and excited to welcome Sunder to the company”, says Board member, Mark Valdez. “ As only the third Artistic Director in our 37-year history, this represents a milestone moment for us, and we couldn’t be happier to enter this new era with this wonderful human.”
“I was thrilled when Cornerstone Theater Company invited us to partner with them on this important search,” said Cynthia Fuhrman, who led the TOCG team on this search. “Cornerstone is a storied company, filling a unique place in the landscape of the American theatre with their authentic commitment to collaboration and community. Supporting them on this journey to find only their third artistic leadership in their history, and to be invited into deep conversation with open and adventurous minds was a joy. I can’t wait to see what Sunder and the Cornerstone company create together.”
About Cornerstone Theater Company
Cornerstone is a non-profit leader in community engaged theater. The plays are staged in traditional and non-traditional performance spaces, but always in a location significant and accessible to the collaborating communities: factories, schools, community centers, service organizations, or adjacent to sacred land. Cornerstone strives to include people, in the audience and in the plays, who have never been on stage or may have never seen theater; the plays celebrate many voices.
Cornerstone’s history directly shapes who it is and how it works in the community today. Founded in 1986 as a traveling ensemble working nationwide, primarily in rural communities, the company performed in different towns and states with each production. Since 1992, Cornerstone has been based in Los Angeles, focusing largely on urban collaborations. However, it still continues to travel to many different regions throughout the state of California and beyond. A philosophy of radical audience renewal, adding new communities on every production while maintaining relationships with previous collaborators, is central to CTC’s organizational strategy. The company cooperates artistically in a diverse range of underserved areas, from rural California communities like Lost Hills and Holtville, to urban neighborhoods like Pacoima, the Los Angeles Arts District, Watts and East Salinas.
About Tom O’Connor Consulting Group
Tom O’Connor Consulting Group (TOCG) is a NYC-based consultancy that supports arts institutions and leaders with two integrated services: organizational strategy and executive search. Consulting specialties including marketing, strategy, assessment, and organizational development. Founded in 2015, TOCG is a fully remote company with team members spanning the country and the globe.
Select clients have included Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), Carnegie Hall, Cincinnati Opera, Huntington Theatre Company, Lincoln Center Theater, The Metropolitan Opera, Next Chapter Podcasts, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, SPACE on Ryder Farm, Woolly Mammoth Theatre, and more.
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