Jamison Driskill is honored to be given the opportunity to serve the Santa Fe Playhouse as the Managing Director at such an exciting time for the organization. He previously served as Development Director for the Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts (LHUCA) in his hometown of Lubbock, Texas, where he worked closely with the Executive Director and the Board of Directors to cultivate and engage new and current donors, including corporations, businesses, and individuals.
During his 18-month tenure, Jamison redeveloped the Annual LHUCA Membership Program, including the launch of an exclusive Membership Discount Program, resulting in a significant increase in participation and revenue. He also developed, launched, and oversaw a major $4.5 million capital campaign in support of the renovation of an historic warehouse and expansion of the LHUCA Campus, leaving the organization less than $500,000 shy of the fundraising goal. Prior to this, Jamison served as Lead Administrator for Recruiting for the J.T. & Margaret Talkington College of Visual & Performing Arts. He holds an MFA in arts administration from the School of Theatre and Dance at Texas Tech University, an MBA from Texas State University, and a BA in theatre and dance from the University of Texas at Austin. Jamison has also served as the Business Manager for the Texas State University Development Foundation where he worked closely with investment consultants, foundation executives, and a board of directors to manage over $95 million in endowments for university scholarships and academic programs.
Jamison is also a professional actor, director, and teacher for stage, television, and film. His television credits include an appearance on NBC’s Friday Night Lights as a struggling freshman quarterback. Stage acting credits include Prince Edward, the Black Prince of Wales, in the American professional premiere of Shakespeare’s (debatably) Edward III at The Bank Street Theatre in New York City’s Greenwich Village; Timothy in TOSOS II’s production of Doric Wilson’s Street Theatre about the Stonewall Riots in 1969; and Florizel in The Winter’s Tale at the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga Canyon, California. He directed a production of Aimee Gonzalez’s Larius Likler at the Hyde Park Theater in Austin, Texas, for the annual Frontera Fest in 2007 which was recognized as “Best of the Fest.” Jamison also worked for several years as a private acting coach in Los Angeles specializing in audition preparation, helping actors land television roles, commercials, and feature films. He has studied acting at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco and spent a wonderful year working on scenes from Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot with the late Joseph Chaikin in his ongoing workshop in New York City.