Amy Sullivan

Amy Sullivan returns as Executive Director to the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center where she first launched her career as a professional actress some 25 years ago. A graduate of the acclaimed Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater where she studied with the late Sanford Meisner, she holds a B.A. in English and Theater from Upsala College and an M.F.A in Arts Administration from the Yale School of Drama.

Ms. Sullivan first came to the O’Neill as the invited guest of Master teaching artist Rudi Shelley of the Bristol Old Vic and O’Neill founder George C. White. She has performed on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and in Regional theaters around the country in such works as Medea; Aria da Capo; La Ronde; The Dresser; Mourning Becomes Electra; and The Importance of Being Earnest. Ms. Sullivan’s film credits include Sergio Leone’s Once Upon A Time in America. On television she was seen in a recurring role on the popular afternoon soap opera General Hospital.

Prior to attending the Yale School of Drama, Ms. Sullivan apprenticed for Broadway producer Robert Whitehead and subsequently served as production assistant for Elliot Martin on both the Broadway and LA productions of Glengarry Glen Ross.

In the early 1990’s, Ms. Sullivan chose to focus her skills on arts fundraising, returning to the O’Neill as Director of Development where she launched Eugene O’Neill’s New London as a joint collaboration with the Connecticut Department of Tourism and the Connecticut Humanities Council. She went on to serve as a leading arts fundraiser at Connecticut College where she spearheaded the funding campaign for the Tansill Black Box Theater.

Ms. Sullivan was recruited to run the Campaign for the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts where she served as Vice President of Institutional Advancement for five years, successfully leading a $9 million campaign for campus expansion and endowment. On the announcement of her resignation, she was awarded a special citation from the Office of the Governor for her efforts in furthering the arts in Connecticut and was praised by U.S. Congressman Rob Simmons on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives for her achievements.

Amy Sullivan has served as a panelist for the Connecticut Commission on the Arts and on the board of Young Audiences of Connecticut. She currently serves on the board of directors of the Florence Academy of Art and is a guest teaching artist in the theater department at the Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, CT. She is a frequent speaker on the subject of philanthropy and the arts; and is a member in good standing of the Actors Equity Association.

Photo: A. Vincent Scarano