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PEEKSKILL, N.Y. Lisa Reiss has been the new executive director for the Paramount Center for the Arts since Oct. 28 but is already looking to shake up the entertainment offerings.
Reiss is a veteran of the entertainment industry. She worked for 10 years in a talent management agency that represented artists such as Willie Nelson and Miles Davis before becoming the manager of the Ives Concert Park in Danbury.
She would later start a company called Pearl Productions in the 1990s that helped concerts find sponsorship funding. One of her clients was the Paramount.
I was responsible for shows such as America, Lewis Black and Gordon Lightfoot, some of the larger shows that have come to the Paramount were the ones I brought in as a consultant to the Paramount, Reiss said.
Reiss was operating an opera house in Clayton, N.Y. near the Canadian border when she was approached by the Paramounts board about taking over its executive position. She said she jumped at the opportunity.
I love this theater, Reiss said. Ive seen this theater when I first started all run by volunteers and with none of these renovations done. Now you fast forward 12 years and look at this place.
Reiss said she has been working to streamline the offerings at the Paramount to concentrate on high quality shows. The theater just added three new shows to the calendar that she said will appeal to broad audiences: comedian and Americas Got Talent personality Howie Mandel on March 29, Judy Collins on April 13 and a show with Suzanne Vega and Duncan Shiek on April 27.
I think those kind of recognizable names give people the opportunity if theyve been on the fence about coming back out to the Paramount, something exciting to see that they havent seen in this area or in Judys case have enjoyed before and is coming back,
Reiss also said she wanted to differentiate the Paramount from other nearby venues in the area such the Tarrytown Music Hall by booking different artists and shows. She was among those interviewed on the topic of New York venues in Tuesday's New York Times.
The new director said the theater will continue to screen live opera and ballet performances and first-run small budget films, which she said can also draw good crowds and add cultural options to the community.
All of the performances at the Paramount rely on the hard work of area volunteers, she stressed, and said she is constantly looking for new volunteers to help out.
Reiss said she is keeping an open mind about bringing artists from genres of music that were previously not considered by the Paramount, such as jam bands such as Dark Star Orchestra and youth-skewing mainstream rock groups like Band of Horses. She said people are welcome to recommend acts to her and the staff.
I want to be a mom that programs the shows that my daughters would buy a ticket for, Reiss said.
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