Inaugural Distinguished Artistic Director/LaTanya Richardson & Samuel L. Jackson Performing Arts Ctr

The Department of Theatre & Performance in the Division of the Arts at Spelman College seeks a visionary Inaugural Distinguished Artistic Director to serve as the Artistic Director of the LaTanya Richardson & Samuel L. Jackson Performing Arts Center. They will also serve as Chair of the Department of Theatre & Performance, and lead its growing B.A program beginning January 2023. The Provost appoints the Inaugural Distinguished Artistic Director/Chair to a five-year term that is renewable and is subject to administrative review as outlined in the College's Faculty Handbook. The rank of the position is Senior Lecturer.
The Department of Theatre & Performance prepares the next generation of African American women and men from Spelman College and Morehouse College as thought leaders in theatre and performance by offering an interdisciplinary academic education at a premiere HBCU (Historically Black College and University). For more information about the program, visit https://www.spelman.edu/academics/majors-and-programs/theater-and-performance. Centered in an exemplary liberal arts College, The Department of Theatre & Performance offers the creative and inquisitive student an opportunity to explore theater and performance, writing, and design through experimentation and exploration. The department is preparing actors, writers, directors, and technicians to inhabit the worlds of the works of a range of contemporary, modern, and classical playwritings and original works at a level that prepares them for the top graduate schools and industry careers. Students are encouraged to experiment with performance modalities featuring text, film, songs, and site-specific installations to develop, create and share original stories. In addition, students engage with African American cultural forms, classic theater texts, international creative methodologies, contemporary performance practices, and critical analysis of social activism. There are seventy majors, five full-time faculty, including a technical director, and four part-time faculty.
The department is located in the Division of the Arts, which includes the departments of Art & Visual Culture, Dance Performance & Choreography, Music, the Digital Moving Image Salon, and the Arthur M. Blank Innovation Lab.

We welcome applications from outstanding candidates who have a strong, strategic vision for 21st-century theatre and performance and knowledge of emerging trends in the area of artistic direction, financial and budgeting, faculty development, curriculum development, and management of performance spaces.

The Inaugural Distinguished Artistic Director/Chair provides academic and artistic leadership for the Department's faculty, students, and staff. They advocate and articulate the vision of the Department within the Division of the Arts, the College, and the professional theatre and performance community. They are responsible for creating a season of innovative programs that will expand the traditional boundaries of theory and practice in theater and performance, develop relationships in graduate programs and in the community, and seek funding for the Department through grant writing.
The Department will have three new theater and performance spaces: the LaTanya Richardson & Samuel L. Jackson Performing Arts Center, a renovated space with a proscenium stage that will be completed in the summer of 2023; a turnkey black box space; and a performance space in the Center for Innovation in the Arts scheduled to open in fall 2024. Applicants with experience opening new facilities should indicate this in their CVs.
Primary responsibilities include: · Advocate and articulate the vision of the Department within the Division of the Arts, the
College, graduate programs, and the professional theatre community · Lead the B.A. program · Produce a three to four show season · Provide platforms for student-driven work · Shape the curriculum to create a spectrum of theatrical career opportunities for majors · Oversee faculty/staff hiring, development, and evaluation · Exercise fiscal oversight of annual budget and endowed funds · Teach one course a semester in area of expertise · Grant writing · Management of theatre and performance spaces · Identify high performing theatre and performance artists to visit as guests