FranklinIs Connected

Studio Tenn Announces Change in Executive Leadership

Studio Tenn Announces Change in Executive Leadership

Company’s President and Managing Director Jake Speck Announces Plans to Join Theatre Company In Texas

Franklin, TN – Studio Tenn, an award winning and leading theatre company in the southeast, announced today Jake Speck will leave his position as Managing Director effective August 2017. Speck will assume the Executive Director position with A.D. Players, a professional theatre company in Houston, Texas. 

A driving force behind Studio Tenn, Speck, in partnership with Artistic Director Matt Logan, has led the company to new heights with his unique blend of performance experience and business acumen, influencing not only Studio Tenn, but the entire middle Tennessee community.

Following his success in the Broadway hit “Jersey Boys,” Speck joined Studio Tenn as the company’s first and only Managing Director shortly after the founding of the company by Philip Hall, Marguerite Hall and Matt Logan. 

Under Speck’s guidance and alongside Artistic Director Matt Logan, Studio Tenn has grown exponentially in just seven short years. Delivering world class theatre to the middle Tennessee community, Studio Tenn has served a regional audience of more than 100,000 patrons and has provided 16,000 students and underserved families the opportunity to experience live theatre through education and community outreach initiatives. Studio Tenn has also been listed three times as one of the top five highest attended performing arts organizations in middle Tennessee, and voted three times as the “Best Local Theatre Company” in the region by the readers of the Nashville Scene.

Studio Tenn also marked a milestone this year as the only local theatre company to be invited by Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) in its 34-year history to produce “Evita” for the opening of their long-standing HCA/TriStar Health Broadway Series.

“I am beyond grateful to the Studio Tenn Board, staff, donors and everyone in the Studio Tenn family for their astounding level of support,” Speck shares. “It’s difficult to walk away from something you helped build, but I feel it is precisely the experience of building Studio Tenn that has prepared me for my new assignment. Studio Tenn will always be a part of me and for that I am eternally grateful.”

Speck also commented on his collaboration with Matt Logan, describing him as one of the most brilliant artistic visionaries he has ever encountered and who will no doubt continue to raise the bar for middle Tennessee audiences.

Logan in return noted his experience with Speck, stating their partnership has been irreplaceable. “For years, it was just Jake and myself giving life to this dream, but now that this company has become a staple in the Tennessee arts landscape, the time for a new chapter has arrived,” he said. “He was and is my business partner, my co-star, and my brother. I will continue to carry on with the support of my incredible staff in the fashion that it was built and am certain that this company will continue to flourish and pay homage to Jake’s great legacy with Studio Tenn.”

Studio Tenn co-founder Marguerite Hall mentioned what is in store for the future of Studio Tenn. “Though there are big shoes to fill, Studio Tenn is thrilled with the amount of interest we’ve received in the Managing Director position. Because of the vision that Jake and Matt have created, the company’s most exciting days still lie ahead.”

Philip Hall, President of the Board of Directors and co-founder of Studio Tenn, also commented on Speck’s departure. “On behalf of the Board of Directors, I want to thank Jake for the personal sacrifices he has made and his tireless dedication in helping to make Studio Tenn what it is today. We will certainly miss Jake, his passion for theatre, his leadership, his tenacity, and his amazing talent on stage. He will always be considered part of the Studio Tenn family and we wish Jake, Emily and their children only the best.”

Studio Tenn will begin a nationwide search to fill the position of Managing Director. In the interim, Matt Logan and the Studio Tenn Board will continue to oversee the executive leadership of Studio Tenn.

* Jake Speck (photo courtesy of MA2LA)