
Kansas City native and former Kansas Jayhawk brings 30 years of experience to support the contemporary arts organization as it searches for new leadership and plans for the future
Kansas City, MO, January 2, 2025: Charlotte Street has engaged Lane Czaplinski to be its Interim Executive Director as it transitions from the formative leadership of outgoing director Amy Kligman over the last nine years. Czaplinski will work with the board of directors to provide artistic, operational, and financial support functions for Charlotte Street in a role that includes bolstering fundraising, strategic planning evaluation, organizational visioning, and helping draft the next phase of leadership.
“I love organizations like Charlotte Street that champion local artists as well as unique voices from other parts of the world,” said Czaplinski. “It shows how an organization can invest in its local scene while fostering creative exchange at the same time.”
“As a board, we are grateful for the opportunity to engage Lane in this interim director position,” said Charlotte Street Board President José Faus. “We look forward to working together to strengthen and expand the inclusive role that Amy fostered in her tenure at Charlotte Street. Lane’s administrative experience and skills, his advocacy and engagement in the performing arts, and his deep connections to the area will serve the organization well.”
Czaplinski grew up in Kansas City, Kansas and graduated from the University of Kansas where he was the co-captain of the 1991-92 men’s basketball team under coach Roy Williams. A few years later, he began his arts administration career at the Lied Center in Lawrence, apprenticing under the nationally recognized leadership of former director Jacqueline Z. Davis. Czaplinski notes the following projects as highlights during his five-year stint: Still/Here by Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance, Jazz Train by choreographer Donald Byrd, Le Belle et Le Bette by composer Philip Glass and choreographer Susan Marshall, and The Nova Convention: Revisited, which was a performance tribute to William Burroughs featuring Patti Smith, Michael Stipe, Blondie, Philip Glass, Laurie Anderson, Ed Sanders, John Giorgio and Mr. Burroughs himself.
“I’m excited by the prospect of using the knowledge and experience I’ve acquired over the last 30 years as a creative producer to the benefit of an awesome organization in my hometown like Charlotte Street,” said Czaplinski.
Primarily focused on working with the performing arts, Czaplinski’s career includes stops at the prestigious Brooklyn Academy of Music (1999-2002); On the Boards in Seattle (2002-2017), which was called “one of America’s best theaters for contemporary performance” by the New York Times during his tenure; and most recently at the Wexner Center for the Arts at Ohio State University (2017-2023).
Czaplinski cites the following as primary career accomplishments: realizing boundary-pushing programming by artists from around the world; producing dozens of new projects with numerous emerging and established artists; achieving success in all aspects of arts administration, including fundraising, fiscal management and strategic planning; and experimenting with initiatives to make organizations more inclusive, accessible and dynamic. For example, in 2004, Czaplinski started an online platform for contemporary performance called OntheBoards.tv that at one point boasted over 150 university subscribers globally, who integrated the specially produced performance videos on the site into their teaching.
In 2024, Czaplinski established C-ZAP MOVING CO. to offer consulting services for performing artists and organizations, including planning, programming and producing, and executive support. More information can be found at c-zap.com
Selected Press
“In a Former Life, This Artistic Director Climbed the Ranks of a Basketball Powerhouse” – KNKX Public Radio
“What Lane Czaplinski Brought to On the Boards” – The Stranger
“There’s nothing bland about Studio Suppers at OtB” – The Seattle Times
“Recording Staged Works for All the World to See” – The New York Times
For interview requests, contact Amanda Middaugh, Development + Marketing Director, at [email protected] or 816-994-7734.
ABOUT CHARLOTTE STREET
Charlotte Street centers Kansas City’s most forward-thinking visual artists, writers, and performers—acting as the primary incubator, provocateur, and connector for the region’s contemporary arts community, and its leading advocate on the national stage. Since 1997, Charlotte Street has distributed over $2.5 million in awards and grants to artists and their innovative projects, and connected individual artists to each other and to the greater Kansas City community. For more information about Charlotte Street, its awards, programs, and initiatives, visit www.charlottestreet.org.
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View the press release as a PDF here.