Shubert GM to run Cinestudio
Lew Michaels is the new executive director of Cinestudio, the art-house theater at Trinity College in Hartford, it was announced on Monday.
Michaels was previously the general manager at Shubert Theater in New Haven. He said he will be the Shubert’s interim general manager part-time — “primarily answering some emails in the evening” — for the first few weeks he takes over at Cinestudio, until the Shubert hires his replacement.
Before his time with the Shubert, Michaels worked in theater operations and front-of-house management at Hartford Stage. In 2015, Michaels was awarded the Kennedy Center’s Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability Emerging Leaders award.
Michaels, who will assume his duties on Sept. 1, will be the third executive director in the history of the 51-year-old nonprofit cinema.
James Hanley and Peter Mcmorris, two of the theater’s co-founders, ran
it together from 1970 to 2020, when Hanley retired, leaving Mcmorris at the helm. Mcmorris will be the theater’s creative director until he retires in 2022.
In a news release, Michaels said “I look forward to building on the incredible foundation Peter and James have built and expanding our reach in the community by providing opportunities
for shared experiences and dialogue through film.”
John Michael Mason, chair of the board of directors of Cinestudio, said, “This theater has a rich history in New England and is known around the country as a unique, inclusive, premier art house cinema. Lew is committed to growing and reinforcing that legacy in honor of our founders.”
Cinestudio is open seven days a week, with one 7:30 p.m. screening daily, as well as matinees on weekends. It is the site of the annual Trinity Film Festival, a showcase of student films, as well as the annual Connecticut LGBTQ Film Festival, the monthly Queer Thursdays
film series and other annual festivals. cinestudio.org.