Lyric Theatre director resigns to pursue 'other opportunities'

Lyric Theatre and Cultural Arts Center executive director Rasheedah El-Amin has resigned, effective Feb. 27.

"The Lyric is a great place and it has grown so much," El-Amin said Thursday afternoon. "My resignation isn't indicative of anything negative. It's just pursuing other opportunities."

El-Amin declined to say what those other opportunities are, demurring "I want to keep the focus on the Lyric."

El-Amin is the second director of the Lyric, which reopened in 2010 after decades of being shuttered and years of legal wrangling. She first came to the center as its cultural arts coordinator in 2011 and then became its interim director in 2013 following the resignation of director Yetta Young.

El-Amin took over the post permanently last January, and was widely credited with increasing bookings and community engagement at the fledgling facility.

"She's done a great job getting the Lyric where it is," board chair Abdul Muhammad said Thursday afternoon. "Rasheedah came in at a time when we were struggling, and we have seen tremendous growth in the last couple years. Whoever succeeds her will be well-positioned for success."

Muhammad said the board expects to name an interim director by the time El-Amin leaves at the end of next week. He did not say whether the search for a new director will be national, regional or local, but did say he believes the new director needs to "have a vision for how to use the theater to get more events in there."

This story was originally published February 19, 2015 at 5:21 PM with the headline "Lyric Theatre director resigns to pursue 'other opportunities'."