The new leadership model at Theatreworks is complete.
After a national search the professional regional theater company announced Matt Giles will fill the role of general director, a new position the organization announced in April, along with its appointment of Max Shulman as the new artistic director.
“I have made theater in large cities and smaller cities, and anyone I spoke to about the role talked about the communal feel of Colorado Springs,” Giles said. “I like making theater where you see the patrons at the grocery store the next day. In those companies you have more opportunity to make a real impact.”
Giles joins the company at an auspicious time, as Theatreworks is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The new season opens Thursday with the 1966 Tony Award-winning musical “Cabaret.” It runs through Oct. 12 at Ent Center for the Arts.
Giles comes with more than 15 years of leadership experience in professional theater, including his most recent position as general manager of the award-winning Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis, the country’s largest theater for young people. Before that he worked as associate producing director at Seattle Rep, where he helped launch Public Works Seattle, a nationally-recognized community engagement program.
“Matt’s appointment brings us an accomplished, nationally recognized leader with a proven record of organizational growth, artistic innovation and community engagement,” said Ent Center for the Arts Executive Director David Siegel in a press release. “He not only brings a wealth of experience but also a clear passion for the transformative role theater plays in civic life.”
The new leadership structure will be co-helmed by Shulman and Giles. The general director will oversee strategic operations, business development and community partnerships, while the artistic director will be devoted to the company’s creative vision.
“It puts Theatreworks into a more standard, recognizable and manageable organizational structure,” Shulman said. “This structure is of huge benefit to the theater and the community of patrons and artists. It extends the bandwidth of the theater extensively.”
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