Tom Parrish

Executive Director

Tom Parrish joined Geva Theatre Center this March following five seasons as Executive Director of Merrimack Repertory Theatre (MRT) in Lowell, Massachusetts. In 2007, he was named one of the Lowell Sun’s “25 Most Fascinating People,” and in 2010, he was designated one of the Merrimack Valley’s “40 Under 40.” In Greater Lowell, he was involved with the Young Professionals of Greater Lowell, the Downtown Lowell Business Committee, served on the Boards of the Cultural Organization of Lowell and Greater Lowell Chamber of Commerce, and has served as a panelist for the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts. He is also actively involved with the League of Resident Theatres, the management association of America’s top-tier professional regional theatres. Prior to joining MRT, Mr. Parrish served as Associate Managing Director and General Manager of San Diego Repertory Theatre, where he received an NAACP Theatre Award for Best Producer, managed a variety of education and outreach initiatives, and produced the theatre’s annual Kuumba Fest Celebration, the largest African American cultural festival of its kind on the West Coast. While in San Diego, he was involved with the San Diego Regional Arts and Culture Coalition, the Arts and Culture Committee of the Downtown Partnership, and the Emerging Leaders of San Diego Arts & Culture and served on the publicly elected Centre City Advisory Committee. In 2006, he was named to San Diego Metropolitan Magazine’s “40 Under 40.” Born in Buffalo, with much of his family still living in Western New York, Mr. Parrish also has worked in various capacities at Arena Stage, Dallas Theater Center, The Cleveland Play House, Meadow Brook Theatre, Dobama Theater and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. He received both a M.B.A. and M.A. in Arts Administration from Southern Methodist University, a B.A. in Theatre Arts and Economics from Case Western Reserve University, and attended the National Theater Institute at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. Mr. Parrish looks forward to making Rochester his home in the coming months and to becoming an active member of the community. He lives in the Corn Hill neighborhood of Rochester.