Mission Statement
The Muse Theatre is dedicated to producing visually engaging productions that provoke the imagination of our audience and making theatre accessible to our community by creating projects that encourage an environment of artistic exchange.

History
Playwright Erika Pérez Gamboa and director Francine Chemnick recognized the San Diego regional theatre community was not addressing the need to produce San Diego playwrights as part of a season. The Muse Theatre was established in the summer of 1999 to begin developing new works through workshops, staged readings and festivals with the eventual goal of fully staged productions. With the support of Fritz Ahern,the first public reading of plays-in-progress was held at the historical Culy Warehouse in the Gaslamp District. Three components grew out of the first year’s focus in the development of new works and enhancing community awareness in the process of playwriting and theatre collaboration.

The Muse Staged Reading Series
The play reading series provides the playwright the opportunity to work with a director and actors on developing work that culminates in a public reading. This also enhances community awareness in the process of playwriting and theatre collaboration. All plays are works-in-progress at various stages of development and the audience gives feedback to the writer in a discussion format after the reading.

The Muse Symposiums
In conjunction with the San Diego Playwrights Festival, a symposium was held discussing the fate of theatre in San Diego. The discussion on opening night helped to begin eliminating the barrier between the audience and the theatre community. It also gave a voice to the smaller theatre companies in San Diego to share their experiences and challenges. Theatre critic Charlene Baldridge covered the event in an article. Out of this event, a newly formed group of small theatre companies has sprung, with the hope of soon pooling artistic and material resources.

Productions
The debut event in August stemmed from a playwriting workshop that included six writers, two actors and Francine Chemnick as presiding director that culminated in a public reading featuring scenes from the plays-in-progress. Through question and answer discussions after each piece, the audience was very receptive in giving feedback. This formed the desire to begin developing new works through workshops, staged readings and festivals with the eventual goal of fully staged productions.

Staff Bios
Francine Chemnick, Artistic Director
Native San Diegan and graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles in Theatre. Awarded graduate fellowship at UCLA, in Theater Directing. Artistic Director of the Boston Baked Theatre in Boston.

Directing credits include Carol, a Christmas Story, The Member of the Wedding, Priceless (an original collaboration between SDSU and Hoover High School), Down, Sinker, Prelude to a Kiss, The Mutilated, Light Sensitive, Story Theatre, and various musical fairy tales for children’s theater in Boston.

Rick Mittleider, Managing Director
Owner of Arena Design, An Entertainment Production Company. Lighting Designer for Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Tour.

Lighting Design credits include San Diego Hospice Fundraiser, El Cortez, Tony Bennett on Broadway, Various venues from opera to film and top regional theatres.

Studied at The Art Institute of Seattle

Robert Mealing, Media Director
Freelance Designer, Photographer and Webmaster.

Past design work includes Designer/Publisher "The Blend" coffeehouse magazine; New Media Manager for McGraw-Hill EPG, Carlsbad; play publicity for local theaters including Diversionary Theater and The Fritz Theater.

Graduate of La Jolla Academy of Advertising Arts