Greensboro’s Carolina Theatre, originally a vaudeville theater featuring silent films, has made the city vibrant for a long time.
“2027 will be our centennial of the theater,” says Executive Director Allie Arpajian ’18 MS, ’18 PBC. The Spartan double alumna is leading the beautiful theater into its 100th birthday year.
What drew her to UNCG and its School of Health and Human Sciences?
“I’d been living in Greensboro for nearly a decade. UNCG has a great recreation therapy master’s program – my concentration was therapeutic recreation and inclusive arts programming. At the same time I did a post-bacc certificate in nonprofit/public/ organizational leadership.”
The musical arts, teaching, and accessibility have long been her passions. Now, leading the “Showplace of the Carolinas” is a dream job. “My favorite thing is when I’m at an event and I just see people smiling and enjoying it.”
I feel like my mission on earth is to bring people together and just make joy.
— ALLIE ARPAJIAN ’18 MS, ’18 PBC
As a University of Delaware undergrad, she’d majored in opera. Arriving in the Gate City, she worked for Greensboro’s City Arts (now Creative Greensboro) for eight years, leading therapeutic drumming programs for individuals with illnesses or disabilities and facilitating the OPUS Concert Series and Music for a Sunday Evening in the Park.
Arpajian helped develop the music program at Greensboro’s Canterbury School. She credits her UNCG program with her unique impact at Proehlific Park, developing programs. “Then I was at the Winston-Salem Symphony, creating new programming for those with disabilities.”
After next leading The Young Musicians of Alamance, she led the High Point Arts Council, where she excelled at fundraising and building ties, especially with the city government.
Finances are key in arts leadership. A nonprofit, 86% of its revenue is self-earned – from ticket sales, reasonably-priced rentals, and concessions.
The Carolina Theatre is a shining jewel. When built, it was celebrated as the grandest venue between Washington, D.C., and Atlanta, she notes.
“We do 300 events a year, and they’re all different, from theater to dance to comedy to music to movies,” she says. “I’m in the millennial generation, and I feel like my generation and younger don’t know the theater as much.”
She’s working to spread the word: There’s something fun for everyone. She envisions her young daughter in the Community Theatre’s annual “Wizard of Oz” production on the stage. “I want to usher in the next generation.”
by Mike Harris ’93 MA
Photos by Sean Norona ’13
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