Paul Pierce is an American theatrical director, producer, actor, playwright, historic preservationist and non-profit arts consultant.

A graduate of the University of Georgia in Drama and Theatre, he has served numerous regional theaters, touring organizations, stock companies and children’s theatres as actor, director and manager.

He was associate director of the nation’s most active touring theatre, Repertory Theatre of America, producing artistic director of the Harbor Playhouse in Corpus Christi, Texas and managing director of the Wayside Theatre in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.

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In 1988, he returned to his native Georgia and became producing artistic director of the State Theatre of Georgia, the Springer Opera House, one of America’s National Historic Landmark treasures. He served in this post for thirty-five years and oversaw three major capital campaigns totaling $35 million.

 

During this period, the Springer conducted a complete foundation-to-roof historic preservation of the 1871 theatre, installed modern theatrical systems, constructed a new 300-seat second-space theatre for children’s programming and new works and built nine studio classrooms for the Springer Theatre Academy.

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During Pierce’s tenure, attendance grew from 10,000 admissions a year to over 112,000. The Springer Theatre Academy was founded in 1996 with a “Life Skills Through Stage Skills” teaching philosophy, using theatre discipline and collaborative values to help young people become confident, kind and generous leaders. Academy registrations now exceed 1,000 students per year and the program has become a model for theatre training for youth throughout the nation.

Besides his artistic successes, he is known for his audience-building and fundraising acumen, having built an endowment at the Springer of $10 million. Pierce is also a playwright and a developer of new works for the stage.

As an arts consultant, he advises and trains non-profit boards and staff in fundraising, capital campaigns, construction projects, crisis management, audience building, strategic planning, program development, visioning and dynamic operations. In 2013, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal awarded Pierce the Governor’s Award for the Arts for his lifetime of service to the arts in Georgia.