As the founder of Theater League, Mark Edelman has fascinating stories about the theater industry and a unique perspective that few experience.
Edelman is the guest on the July 14 episode of “Getting to Know Jew,” The Chronicle’s conversational podcast, available at kcjc.com/podcast and wherever you listen to podcasts.
“Jews are and have been in the performing arts and comedy and music for as long as there have been Jews,” he said, “and I'm kind of following a cultural footpath."
Courtesy of UMKC
The University of Missouri-Kansas City launched a new graduate-level arts management certificate program, named for Theater League founder and President Mark Edelman, at a May 24 campus event.
The new certificate program is funded by a $1 million grant from the Theater League Inc., donated in Edelman’s honor.
The UMKC Conservatory and the Henry W. Bloch School of Management have partnered to offer the program, designed to help students align their artistry, passion and vision to create career opportunities in the arts.
The goal of the Edelman Graduate Certificate in Performing Arts Management is to help artists understand the arts industry as a whole and how they can work to create and to lead arts programs that align with their own passions and desires as artists. Students enrolled in the Edelman Performing Arts Management Certificate will take classes in managing nonprofit organizations and leading teams through the Bloch School, then enter internships with local arts nonprofits through the UMKC Conservatory. These courses and internship opportunities will help students prepare for careers in arts administration.
Speakers at the event were Edelman; Dana Knapp, President of Arts KC; Bloch School Dean Brian Klaas; and Conservatory Interim Dean Andrew Granade.
“There is a real need for box office, marketing, development and leadership skills to help our local performing arts organizations grow and thrive,” Edelman said. “Through this Graduate Certificate program, the Conservatory and Bloch School will join forces to develop the skilled future leaders who can lead our performing arts community for decades to come.”
The Edelman family has a long history of involvement and support for UMKC. The UMKC Alumni Association honored the Edelman Family with the Class of 2020 Legacy Award. The family’s involvement with the university spans seven decades, beginning with Doris Tager Edelman, a Jewish refugee who fled Nazi Germany. Her husband, William, earned a psychology degree from the university in 1954 while supporting the family as a practicing physician. She instilled the value of education into her three sons, Mark, Alan and Ron, who have established an endowed scholarship in her name designed to support college educations for refugees like her.
Mark Edelman founded the Theater League, Inc., a not-for-profit community-based performing arts organization that has presented the best of Broadway to Kansas City audiences for 42 years. He built the Quality Hill Playhouse and produced 12th Street Jump, a syndicated public radio show hosted on KCUR-FM for several years.
Mark recalled his first foray into theater production came during his law school years.
“My first presentation in Kansas City—while I was still in law school—involved a student activities-funded presentation of an off-Broadway show called ’Lemmings.’ After the show, the cast came to my apartment at 44th and Walnut, where my neighbors joined me in welcoming them. Three of the actors there were Chevy Chase, John Belushi and Christopher Guest. The following year, they were all on or writing SNL.”
