Intiman Theatre hires former Pasadena Playhouse manager

Brian Colburn, managing director of the Pasadena Playhouse in California, has been hired as the new manager of Seattle's Tony Award-winning Intiman Theatre.

Colburn, who has worked at Pasadena Playhouse since 1997, will replace Intiman longtime former manager Laura Penn, who left earlier this year to head up the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers union.

"Brian was our unanimous choice across the board — by the staff, the search committee, our board of directors," said Intiman artistic director Bartlett Sher. "He has all the producing experience we need, and he's someone who can help us shift our fundraising posture and build our board into an even more effective body."

Colburn, reached by phone in Pasadena, said, "I've always had an admiration for the Seattle theater scene, I think everyone in the American theater does. And the work at Intiman is so innovative and terrific, I just want to help support it."

At age 35, Colburn is one of the younger managing directors of a large regional theater. A Whittier College graduate, he started working a decade ago at the nationally known Pasadena Playhouse — a historic theater that presents new works and classics — first as an assistant fundraiser.

After a series of administrative promotions, he became the theater's manager in 2004. He has also worked as an independent producer on theater projects in the Los Angeles area.

Colburn said he's aware Intiman has a sizable deficit; Intiman is engaged in a $5 million fundraising campaign and will release an updated financial report in September.

"I am impressed with how openly and responsibly [the theater] has dealt with its deficit in the last few years," Colburn said.

Colburn said his tenure at Pasadena Playhouse, which has endured its own funding crises in recent years, has prepared him for such challenges.

"I believe there's a great big moment right now for Intiman to seize, to propel itself and move forward," he noted, referring to the Broadway musical "The Light in the Piazza," and other recent Intiman projects. "I want to galvanize the energy and move the institution forward, so it is sustainable for the future."

Colburn said he has a four-year contract with Intiman, which has 9,500 subscribers and a current annual budget of $5.7 million.

He will start at Intiman in November, when he intends to move to Seattle with his educator wife, Jennifer De Ladurantey, and their 16-month-old son.

Misha Berson: mberson@seattletimes.com