Jewish Theatre of the South's Mira Hirsch Receives WABE's Prestigious “Lexus Leader of the Arts” Award
Mira Hirsch, founder and artistic director of Jewish Theatre of the South, was named the March 2007 Lexus Leader of the Arts for Public Broadcasting Atlanta. Previous Lexus Leaders include the Atlanta Symphony's Yoel Levi, SunTrust's Raymond King and Theatre of the Stars' Chris Manos.
Lexus Leaders of the Arts, a monthly series of vignettes, recognizes Atlanta's cultural leaders, and is a presentation of Public Broadcasting Atlanta and the Atlanta area Lexus dealers, Hennessy Lexus, Nalley Lexus, and Lexus of South Atlanta. Biographical tributes to recipients of the Lexus Leaders of the Arts award are seen on PBA 30 and heard on WABE-FM 90.1.
The Lexus Leader of the Arts program began in 1998. Past recipients of the award have ranged from musicians, dancers, theater professionals, arts educators, volunteers in the arts community, visual artists, museum directors, and outreach professionals.
Milton Clipper, President and CEO of Public Broadcasting Atlanta, comments, “Atlanta has a rich, diverse, and growing arts community. It is the result of key people with extraordinary vision and an unwavering devotion to their profession. Our partnership with Lexus allows us to pay tribute to these deserving individuals on an ongoing basis.”
Bill Nigut, Southeast Regional Director of the Anti-Defamation League, and former President and CEO of Metro Atlanta Arts and Culture Coalition says, “Jewish Theatre of the South has become one of the most important theaters in the Southeast thanks to Mira Hirsch's unwavering vision and hard work. Mira has consistently produced extraordinary plays and musicals that win critical acclaim and achieve commercial success. One reason for her success is that Mira always produces plays that adhere to the clear mission she has carved out for the theatre. As a result, Jewish Theatre of the South has achieved what most smaller theaters aspire to be: It is a true gathering place for a community of people who want to be entertained, engaged in dialogue and inspired by the work they see.”
As founder of Jewish Theatre of the South, Mira Hirsch established the theater's mission to produce world and regional premieres, as well as seldom-produced plays, which contain both Jewish cultural content and universal themes. As Artistic Director, she has produced over forty productions during the theater's twelve-year history and has developed and facilitated the theater's outreach programs – Project Impact Theatre, and The Senior Ensemble.
After earning her B.A. in theatre from the University of Denver, Ms. Hirsch returned to her home city of Atlanta where she worked as an actor, teacher and arts administrator. She served as the Academy Theatre's PR and Marketing Director before working as a freelance arts publicist for a number of Atlanta's performing arts groups.
Ms. Hirsch was the recipient of the 1998-99 MJCCA Staff Leadership Award. She presently serves as President of the Association for Jewish Theatre, an international organization dedicated to the development and production of plays of Jewish interest, and on the Advisory Board of the Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund. Recently, she returned to the stage as an actor, in the Jewish Theatre of the South/True Colors Theatre Company world premiere co-production of Brass Birds Don't Sing and in Theatrical Outfit's production of The Immigrant, last spring. She lives in Atlanta with her husband, Keith, and children Sophie (7) and Nate (6).
For more information, call Lora Sommer, Publicity Coordinator, Jewish Theatre of the South at 770-395-2603.