Katherine Ramsberger, President & CEO, Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts

Invest: spoke with Katherine Ramsberger, president and CEO of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, about its numerous educational arts and wellness programs, why technology is so important to the theater experience, and the center’s new venue, which provides “the opportunity to present new types of content, and to invite new kinds of audiences to the center.”

What were the center’s biggest successes over the last year?

We expanded the center by adding a whole new venue, Judson’s Live, a 140-seat intimate music room that gives us the opportunity to present new types of performers and welcome new kinds of audiences to the center. It has been very successful since opening in February. We’ve also been focusing on our master plan and further development of our 9-acre campus, including ten additional gathering spaces. Getting that plan advanced will be a great focus for our team, and we hope to get moving on that for next year. Additionally, our five-year strategic plan has us building our team and bringing in additional expertise. We’ve already added an arts and wellness director, Alana Jackson, who is one of two in her role in the country and expanding programs.

What are some of the key initiatives and programs Dr. Phillips Center offers to engage with the local community and promote arts education?

Regarding arts education, anybody who enters the building can experience something that changes their life a little bit. They have an experience with a new community of people around them, or they learn something or find joy in something. When people come here, they leave inspired. We have so many different programs – our goal is to reach people from 2 to 102 years old. We have a lot for the little guys. We also have a program called Disney Musicals in Schools. We are in 15 Title 1 elementary schools right now, working with their community – the teachers, the administrators, the students, the parents – who are all learning how to produce a play. Then, they all come to the arts center to showcase their hard work. It’s a great eye-opening experience.

We also have a jazz program for 6th graders, great programs for high-school students, and sold-out camps in the summertime. Our educational programs bring in professional artists and teachers who work in the industry, so it is nice, as students are learning directly from the pros. We are always doing master classes, which are touring works for adults and kids to learn different things about comedy, makeup & wig making, dance, and production. We are constantly trying to find new opportunities for our community to experience the performing arts.

Wellness through art is also important to us. Recently, we had stroke survivors and their caregivers here for STROKESTRA, a music therapy program our team is revisioning to reach more patients. We are also developing programs we want to implement all year-round for autism and Alzheimer’s patients, so that is a new trend. There is education, and then there is engagement. That is how we connect to the community. 

How does the Dr. Phillips Center approach diversity, equity, and inclusion in its programming, staffing, and audience engagement?

When we started in 2003, we asked ourselves if it would be possible to change an industry. These buildings are really big monuments, but they come across as intimidating. We wanted to build a building that was comfortable and had a purpose. Our vision at the center is “arts for every life,” so we live in diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

We are revisiting how to survey our artists and guests. We want them to enjoy being at the center, so we have to apply a level of care to our customers. Asking for feedback allows us to put things into action, which is our team’s priority. 

In what ways does Dr. Phillips Center contribute to the cultural and economic development of the surrounding area?

We just conducted a significant economic impact study where we learned that the arts center generates $190 million annually. Furthermore, over 4,000 people come here on a busy night when all venues are activated! They travel, park, and dine while they are here watching a show that delivers a nightly economic boost to our downtown Orlando community. We employ over 300 full-time and part-time people, and we have been expanding with our new buildings, which bring in construction workers and roughly 2,100 direct and indirect jobs. The Arts Center is an economic driver for the community. 

What role does technology play in enhancing the audience experience or expanding the reach of its performances and events?

Accessibility and technology are essential in enhancing our guests’ experience. We want to make sure everyone has a chance to hear our programming because there are many hearing challenges. We offer assistive listening devices for most shows, including Broadway—and American Sign Language Interpretation, and we are a designated Certified Autism Center. While technology supports the guest experience, it also helped us build a perfectly rated acoustic hall—Steinmetz Hall. It has a perfect sound rating, achieved with the assistance of technology. Our sound systems are top-of-the-line and help us offer a vast and immersive experience for all our guests.

We are also at the forefront of bringing in emerging technology and were the first in the Southeast United States to utilize the Evolv Express security system, which keeps our guests in and keeps them safe.

What do you hope the legacy of the Dr. Phillips Center will be?

This project has engendered pride in our region. It has been recognized as the best in class worldwide, and the community can be proud of what we have built together. We have over 19,000 donors, so the funding came from multiple places, and it is a venue built by many. Watching it being built and come alive took a lot of time, but it feels like a community accomplishment, which is a great win. We want the Arts Center to be integrated into people’s lives, so rather than being a one-day experience, it’s a place people can enjoy over and over again, with so many different types of programs–that it turns into a celebration.