Photo Courtesy of Deborah Bertling

A year ago, The Granada Theatre Board welcomed local arts supporter Deborah Marks Bertling to the board. Backstage Stories recently caught up with Bertling to get an insider view of her first year on the Board.

“I’ll always remember my first board meeting because it was right after the theater’s big flood,” said Bertling. “I was fascinated by how many systems were in place to deal with the problem and how effectively it was handled. The way the board and staff worked together helped mitigate a difficult situation.”

That first impression of the board continued throughout the year.

“We’re a very efficient and congenial group,” she said. “For me, this was a year of learning and growing.”

Bertling joined the board’s Governance Committee and played an integral role in updating the bylaws and overseeing the board’s governance.

 

Community Arts Supporter

Bertling is no stranger to serving on art organization boards. She is the current Chair of the Community Arts Music Association of Santa Barbara (CAMA), one of the eight resident companies of The Granada Theatre. CAMA is dedicated to bringing the world’s best classical music artists and orchestras to Santa Barbara.

Bertling, a musician herself, is the Board President of the Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation, which helps provide financial assistance to students of the performing arts and to support music educational outreach organizations in the Santa Barbara community.

The Pennsylvania native moved to Santa Barbara in the 1990s and performed with Opera Santa Barbara, one of the Granada Theatre’s resident companies, from 1995 to 2016, gracing the stage of The Granada many times during her career.

Reflecting on the Year

When Bertling joined the Granada Board, her goal was to revive community awareness of the theater and attract more people to see a performance.

Coming onto the board during the theater’s Centennial year made this even easier to achieve, as one of the theater’s goals of the celebratory year was to expand the scope of the programming and provide affordable shows designed to introduce more people to the grand space.

“We had more than 1000 people come to The Granada who had never been here before. That was really gratifying to see,” she said.

According to Bertling, the Board is eager to continue producing its own events, believing the Centennial special events demonstrated their value to the community.

“We may not be able to offer as many low-cost events, but things like our family movie night in PJs is great for the community,” she said. “The Granada shouldn’t just be about big-ticket performances, but also about a place where people can come for affordable fun.”

Bertling herself is most excited about the upcoming Chineke! Orchestra concert in April.

“They’re one of the leaders in diversity in orchestras. They spread goodwill and good music around the globe,” she said. “The [Chineke! Orchestra] doesn’t tour much and was slated to come to The Granada in 2020.  It’s taken us five years to get a date to get them back.”

With the first year of her three-year term under her belt, Bertling is looking forward to welcoming new board members in 2025 and continuing to help build The Granada as a community gathering space for all Santa Barbara residents.