Arts Festival Chief Quitting Amid Rancor

The first executive director of the Festival of Arts, hired a year ago as an innovator but eventually vilified as too ambitious, quietly announced his resignation this weekend as the signature event of Laguna Beach wrapped up its 70th season.

Steven Brezzo broke the news Saturday to his closest supporters at a black-tie gala held every Labor Day weekend as a fund-raiser, closing yet another tumultuous chapter in the festival’s history.

Brezzo, whose last day will be Oct. 15, said he never got a fair shot to prove that even some of his boldest ideas might work. He said he grew frustrated and exhausted trying to balance the demands of a fractious board of directors and an art community he believes is too reluctant to change.

The final straw, he said, was last week’s forum aimed at ironing out differences. Instead, it turned into an ugly shouting match.

“I thought that was just so representative of what this experience has been like for me,” Brezzo said Sunday. “It was so vitriolic and mean and so unproductive. And it’s not something I want to be involved in.”

Board member Bob Dietrich, a staunch supporter, said Brezzo was asked to reconsider his decision.

“We needed someone like him around, and we’re sorry to see him go,” Dietrich said.

In a sign of how much the situation has deteriorated, board members who were critical of Brezzo did not know about his resignation until reporters told them about it Sunday. Still, they said, they couldn’t be more delighted. And for some, it didn’t come soon enough.

Dave Young, a nonagenarian who has served on the board for five decades, holds Brezzo responsible for the rancor. He is looking forward to picking up where the festival left off before he came on board.

“This is the nicest news I’ve heard in a long time,” Young said.

“What did he do?” Young asked rhetorically. “He hasn’t done a damn thing since he’s been here except get himself and others in trouble. He wanted to make it big business, and some of the board members still do. But it’s never been that way, and it’s not supposed to be.”

Brezzo’s one-year tenure got off to a bad start.

He arrived in Laguna Beach after resigning from the San Diego Museum of Art, where he had come under fire for his spending habits and some of the exhibitions he arranged. At the time, the ink was barely dry on a new 40-year lease between the festival board and the Laguna Beach City Council, and a $7-million face-lift of the compound was underway.

Some board members and other critics questioned whether there was a need for an executive director, saying the festival had gotten along fine for 69 years without one. They scoffed at Brezzo’s $175,000 annual salary.

Once this summer’s festival began, Brezzo found himself in the cross hairs for allowing actress Jane Seymour to have an art exhibition on the festival grounds without the required approval of a committee of artists, and for replacing Ruby’s Diner as the festival’s concessionaire with more expensive fare from Zov’s Bistro.

The most divisive proposal was licensing the festival’s Pageant of the Masters so that communities outside Laguna Beach could stage similar productions. The pageant reenacts art masterpieces with live models, called tableaux vivants, and serves as the festival centerpiece.

After an announcement in early July that a possible deal with an international talent agency was being pursued, a flood of dissent overwhelmed the board. Critics feared it was a boondoggle that would erode the lure of Laguna, which relies on the festival and pageant to draw 250,000 visitors every summer. The licensing proposal sparked a broader debate about whether the festival could find new ways to make money without losing its homespun charm. The issue also polarized a board that was still recovering from a divisive recall election in 2000 that had ousted several members who tried to move the festival to San Clemente.

“Certainly, the licensing issue was the lightning rod,” said Anita Mangels, a public affairs consultant who is running for one of the three open seats on the board. “It was widely condemned among artists and members, as well as pageant volunteers.”

Brezzo’s departure comes as six candidates prepare to vie for the three board seats in the fall elections. A decision on whether a new executive director will be hired will most likely be up to the newly constituted board.

Current board members do not expect Brezzo’s resignation to affect plans to expand and modernize the festival grounds and buildings.

About $1.5 million has already been spent to improve the storm drain system, a retaining wall and the sound and lighting systems.