Leadership changes coming to the Garden Theatre

WINTER GARDEN It’s been almost 11 years since Alauna Friskics became part of the Garden Theatre family, but now she’s preparing to say goodbye. 

Friskics, the executive director at the theater, announced this week that she has recently accepted the position of executive director at the Orlando Fringe.

“The Garden Theatre has been part of my core identity for over a decade,” Friskics  said. “Choosing to leave an organization I built from the ground up is one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make.”

Friskics joined the Garden Theatre in April 2006 just prior to the theater’s renovations. Until applying for the job, she had never ventured into Winter Garden, she said. But once she did, she fell in love with its small-town charm.

“I drove out here one day to check it out and see what was going on,” Friskics said. “I just thought this was the sweetest community. And from the second I started (working at Garden Theatre), I was fully and wholly embraced by the community.”

As the theater underwent renovations, Friskics watched as the arts community in Winter Garden blossomed.

“The community was so hungry for arts; they were so ready for it,” she said.

Since its grand opening in 2008, the theater has grown into a $1.4 million operation.

“We’ve come a long way in the nine years we’ve been open,” Friskics said.

With such a passion and love for the Garden Theatre, Friskics never imagined leaving. But when the executive director position at Orlando Fringe opened up, it caught her attention.

“I wasn’t looking to leave (the Garden Theatre) at all,” she said. “But the more I explored it, I thought it would be a fun and different challenge for me and my career.”

When Friskics originally moved to Orlando, it was because of a one-time volunteer experience she had with the Orlando Fringe. She even helped coproduce the festival in 2002.

“I have a long history with Orlando Fringe, and a long love with the Fringe,” she said.

While she’s excited about the new opportunities with Orlando Fringe, her transition from her current position into the new one won’t happen overnight. She will make the transition over the next four-and-one-half months to ensure the Garden Theatre is in the best hands possible when she leaves.

“It’s very important to me that the person we find is the right fit not just for the organization but for the community,” Friskics said.

Contact Brittany Gaines at [email protected].