The five leaders who built Lamb's Players Theatre into one of Coronado's most recognized cultural institutions will step down at the end of 2026, handing the Orange Avenue stage to a new three-person team.

Artistic director Robert Smyth, who directed 175 of the theatre's 385 productions, announced the transition alongside associate artistic directors Deborah Gilmour Smyth and Kerry Meads, production team director Nate Peirson and art director Christian Tuner. Together, the group has guided the nonprofit professional theatre for more than four decades.

"I had been thinking for a while that I have a lot of friends who are artistic directors, and a lot of them are my age. I started to notice that someone was starting to come up from their boards … [and say] 'you know it's time for you to go' and I thought I don't want anybody doing that for me. I want to decide when I go," Smyth told the Coronado Eagle & Journal in a story published Monday, Aug. 24.

Smyth said the idea first took shape during COVID. After discussing it with his colleagues, the team agreed to leave together rather than in stages.

The decision was unanimous. Meads, who wrote 21 original scripts for the annual Festival of Christmas, said the five see themselves as something like a chosen family and that departing together felt right. She said the theatre's mission stays the same under new leadership.

A Coronado landmark since 1993

Lamb's Players was incorporated in Minnesota in 1971, grew out of Steve Terrell's drama class at Bethel College in St. Paul and relocated to San Diego in 1972. The company operated out of a Quonset hut in El Cajon and then a space in National City before discovering the long-disused performance hall inside Coronado's 1917 Spreckels Building in 1993. A $3 million capital campaign restored the intimate European amphitheater-style space at 1142 Orange Ave., where no seat is more than seven rows from the stage.

Gilmour Smyth, who performed in 175 productions and won an Emmy roughly two years ago for a short-film role, told the Eagle & Journal that the transition feels unprecedented. She said the team has spent three-quarters of their lives at the theatre and is discovering day by day what comes next.

All five departing leaders will hold emeritus status and may return for future projects. Smyth said none of them view the move as retirement.

New leadership

Colleen Kollar Smith, who previously worked with Lamb's Players for about 10 years, will take over as artistic director. Jennifer Bradford joins as chief philanthropy and administration officer and Mike Bradford as chief financial and operations officer.

Kollar Smith, a San Diego native, holds a drama degree from UC Irvine and a master's in nonprofit leadership from the University of San Diego. She has received multiple Craig Noel Awards from the San Diego Critics Circle and once broke a Guinness World Record with "100 Hours of Stories," a crowd-funding event she created at Lamb's. Most recently she served as inaugural executive director of UC San Diego's Campus Performance and Events Office, according to a UC San Diego profile.

Smyth told the Eagle & Journal that Kollar Smith was at the top of his list of potential successors, though he initially doubted she would be available because she held a senior position elsewhere.

What's ahead

The theatre's current production, "American Rhythm: 100 Years of Amazing Music," has been extended through Sunday, Oct. 4. The annual Festival of Christmas runs Friday, Nov. 20 through Sunday, Dec. 27, marking the final season under the founding team. The first production under new leadership will be "Godspell," opening Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2027.

Lamb's Players Theatre is at 1142 Orange Ave. Tickets and information are available at lambsplayers.org.