One of Us

When it was time to reenter the work force, she did so as president of the Literacy Network, a national nonprofit dedicated to literacy issues. “Because of the election, I wanted to do something closer to the ground, in health care or education or the environment,” Mitchell says of her decision to take the job. “You have to be a wonk to have much impact on health care. And in the environmental movement, people seem to be mad all the time. That didn’t suit me personally.” Literacy is an issue she is passionate about, so when the Literacy Network came calling, she answered yes.

Mitchell admits that her personal life has taken a back seat to her demanding career. At sixty, she remains single. “I’m a lady with cats,” she says. But she has no regrets. “There are so many wonderful things in my life that I do have. I don’t think of what I don’t have. Why would I?”

Mitchell still loves going up north and even built a house next to her grandparents’ cabin. “[The house] is insulated so a girl can go in the winter,” she says. “I actually like winter. I guess it’s my Viking genes. I like weather. In California, we had climate. It’s very tedious.”

Mitchell did not plan her current return to Minnesota. The firm hired by the Ordway to conduct the search for a successor to David Galligan, who resigned as president in 2006, was familiar with her. She was contacted and encouraged to apply. “Talented people are well known in the field,” says Sarah Harris, vice chair of the Ordway board and head of the search committee, who admits she was impressed with Mitchell from the first interview. “She fires on all cylinders, which is very exciting,” says Harris. “She also brings a unique combination of skills: Expertise in the performing arts. She’s a dynamic presenter—she can get people excited about the Ordway’s mission. And she has excellent management skills.”

“The partners liked her right away,” says Sharon Carlson, interim executive director of The Schubert Club, who participated in the interview process. “She has a pleasant, spirited personality and a real sense of humor. And she really listens, which is a wonderful quality. With her Minnesota roots, she had a different flavor. She fits in very well. She’s one of us.”

Mitchell is excited about the challenges presented by the Ordway. “I like puzzles, making all the pieces fit,” she says of the competition for space between the Ordway and its primary tenants. “You can’t schedule a toothpick between Labor Day and Memorial Day,” she says. “But we’ve had to become a producing organization to generate enough income to keep the lights on. That’s meant sacrificing our tenants.”

As Mitchell moves forward, one of her top priorities is to focus on a more philanthropic model for the organization. “We need to make that part of our mission more clear. The public perception, with all our Broadway shows, is that we’re a for-profit enterprise. We need to correct that and get better at making our case for funding.”

Barely two months after she arrived, Mitchell’s job changed significantly with the formation of The Arts Partnership, a hard-won agreement between the Ordway, SPCO, Minnesota Opera, and The Schubert Club to work together rather than fight each other, which has happened all too often in the past. “It’s an overarching agreement among the partners for a mutually arrived at schedule, a long-term agreement on the rental rate structure, and a formal agreement to enter into joint fundraising,” Mitchell says. “Predictability and planning are key.”

“The partnership gives everyone a role in the decision-making,” says Harris. “It truly allows the Ordway to focus on becoming a performing arts center, rather than having to spend energy being a landlord.”

The plan was largely in place before Mitchell was hired, but she celebrates the effect it already has had. “The process of reaching the agreement has changed the relationship between the partners more than the agreement itself,” Mitchell says. “The relationships have changed both in tone and in substance.”

Smith credits Mitchell with many of those positive changes. “She knows the business and she has no baggage of the past, of who did what to whom in the unhappy history of the Ordway, or the financial issues involved,” says Smith. “The impression you have of her is fun, bright, accessible, and as smart as she can be.”

Jon Limbacher, vice president and chief operating officer of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, concurs: “When you work with Patricia, you come away with the impression that she is a great collaborator, that she is going to be a good partner. She oozes competency.”

Mitchell takes all the praise with a self-deprecating grain of salt. “I’ve only been here six weeks,” she says. “I haven’t had time to piss people off yet.” And yet, she has already put together a wish list for the Ordway's future development. “I would love to be able to find a way to expand programming, find a balance between producing and presenting so that we can work collegially with more organizations not in residence. But I don’t want to lose our family focus with planet Ordway. And the Ordway has been the number one cultural destination for Minneapolis and St. Paul schools for ten years running. I’d like to continue that.”

Further enumerating her wish list, she says, “I would love to see more festivals, such as a jazz festival with a headliner in the main theater, something more cutting edge in the McKnight, and a free concert in the park. We could do that with world music as well. And I would love to showcase more dance.”

Her vision and enthusiasm are proving infectious. “We gain tremendously from her presence,” Smith says. “She is going to be a great asset to the community.”

Reach William Randall Beard at randybeard@hotmail.com.