OUR MISSION

The Centre Theater’s mission is to reinvigorate the artistic landscape in Norristown. With a decided focus on community relationships, representation, and accessibility, The Centre Theater will work with arts organizations in the region, to provide an artistic home for the tapestry of arts and culture in Norristown. As a producing body, The Centre Theater will tap into the heart and inner core of extraordinary stories that explore the various intersections of our human experiences, providing intimate reimagining of these great works. Within this mission, we will celebrate the works of our theatrical past, our present, and we will serve as a creative space for the development of future voices in our theatrical landscape. Our goal is to reestablish ourselves as the jewel and artistic center of Norristown’s Arts Hill District.

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A BUILDING WITH A RICH HISTORY

Centre Theater has been serving the greater Norristown area as the anchor of Norristown Arts Hill since 1996. The facility is controlled by The Greater Norristown Society for the Arts.

Originally constructed as an Odd Fellows Hall in 1850, the building is steeped in Norristown history, and played host to America's Satirist Mark Twain when he gave a lecture in 1871.

In 2020, Centre Theater created a partnership with Elmwood Park Zoo, inviting the Zoo to take over operations and programming in the space. Two years later, Montgomery County's first dedicated museum of African American history was completed as the Charles L. Blockson Exhibition made its new home on the theater's 3rd floor.

Now with a completely renovated 4th-floor theater and under the keen purview of Artistic Director Amina Robinson, Centre Theater is poised to begin a triumphant second act to establish itself once again as the cultural locus of the community.



 
THEATER LEADERSHIP
AL ZONE
AL ZONE

AL ZONE
CEO & Executive Director

Taking over as Elmwood Park Zoo's CEO and Executive Director in 2012, Al Zone's leadership fomented a period of unparalleled growth at the nigh-century-old institution, overseeing a nearly 700% increase in attendance and a radical transformation of the Zoo grounds. Bringing this same leadership expertise and passion for Norristown institution's to Centre Theater, Mr. Zone has already transformed the theater's 3rd floor into the Charles L. Blockson Exhibition, with plans to revitalize the entire building quickly coming to fruition.
JENNIFER CONTI
JENNIFER CONTI

JENNIFER CONTI
Development Director

Working as the Development Director at Elmwood Park Zoo for over a decade, Jennifer Conti brings a wealth of fundraising experience and enthusiams and engagement in local theater to her role as the lead development officer at Centre Theater


 

Board of Directors
OSCAR VANCE
OSCAR VANCE

OSCAR VANCE
Treasurer

Oscar Vance, a former Chief County Detective with the Montgomery County District Attorney’s office, is the founder of Vance Community Partners — a non-profit dedicated to serving military veterans, police officers, first responders and their families through music and the arts
STAN HUSKEY
STAN HUSKEY

STAN HUSKEY
President

Stan Huskey is the president of CuttingBoard Consulting, a social media management and public affairs consulting firm, and parent company of A Moveable Feast, an online restaurant, bar and food industry newsletter. He is president of the Montgomery County Citizens Advisory Council, treasurer of the board Centre Theater in Norristown and a member of the Norristown Chamber of Commerce.
ERIC DONOVAN
ERIC DONOVAN

ERIC DONOVAN
Secretary

Lifelong Montgomery County resident and 20-year veteran of Elmwood Park Zoo, Eric Donovan attended La Salle University and earned a bachelor degree in Mass Communication, Journalism and Writing, with a minor in Film Studies and Philosophy. Leading the charge on Elmwood Park Zoo's 2018 accreditation as a Certified Autism Centre, Eric Donovan brings with him a track record of leadership and a passion for transforming Norristown cultural institutions into beacons of accessibility.
JOSHUA CHUNG
JOSHUA CHUNG

JOSHUA CHUNG
Board Member

Mr. Chung came to the United States from Seoul, South Korea in 1978 and grew up in Norristown, graduating from Eisenhower Junior High and Norristown Area High School. He finished his tertiary education from the George Washington University and Temple University Law School and served Montgomery County as an Assistant Public Defender before opening his private practice. He is admitted to Third and Fifth Circuit of the United States Appeals Court and has been practicing locally here in Norristown. His counseling and public services include international advisor/representative of Donseo University and the Metropolitan City of Inchun, South Korea. He has also served as general counsel and board member for ethnic minority groups in the greater Philadelphia area. He is now serving the community as a board member of Centre Theater.


 

Partners & Sponsors
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