Wesley Paulson | Theater Honcho

Wesley Paulson is a man of many talents. “I play a pretty mean handbell sometimes,” he says, with a laugh. And he has taught basic puppetry. But his true talent is financial management, which, since he joined as executive director almost two years ago, has helped keep Clear Space Theatre Company on sound footing. Launched in 2004, the theater used various venues around the beaches before moving to a venue in Rehoboth Beach in 2011—an expansion that forced a couple of years of belt-tightening. Enter Paulson. A former CFO for the United Methodist Church in Washington, D.C., and a former president of the Maryland College of Art and Design, he had the experience. “Finances are really his strength,” says co-founder and artistic director Doug Yetter. “That was something we lacked. I would be told, ‘We have $5,000 in the budget for this.’ And I’d think, ‘Yeah, but we don’t have the money in the bank.’” With some help from the Clear Space board and the Delaware Division of the Arts, the company, celebrating its 10th year, charted a course that should keep it healthy well into the future. Part of its success is being smart about choosing productions that have a good draw and shows it can afford to produce well, along with creating a season of performances—kids shows, edgy adult shows, classic musicals—for various audiences. Another part of the theater company’s success is its location on hip Baltimore Avenue, with its excellent restaurants, which makes for an easy dinner-and-a-show night all year-round. Paulson won’t take credit for everything, but he does believe good financial management makes a difference. “I love the arts. I also love numbers,” he says. “For me, being able to put the two together is pretty neat.”