Avra Search Partners · 3 weeks ago
Artistic Director | Renaissance Theaterworks
Milwaukee, WI
Full-time
Onsite
Director/ExecutiveRenaissance Theaterworks (RTW) is Milwaukee’s only professional theater company dedicated to gender equity, seeking a visionary new Artistic Director to lead its next era of artistry and community connection. The Artistic Director will guide RTW’s creative vision, programming, and partnerships while ensuring alignment with the company’s mission to elevate women's voices in theater.
Staffing & Recruiting
Hiring Manager
Chartise Clark
Responsibilities
Curate and guide a season of bold, moving productions that center women’s voices and foster dialogue
Advance the Br!NK New Play Festival as a signature incubator for emerging women-identifying playwrights in the Midwest, ensuring continuity at a time when opportunities are becoming more limited
Balance new work with contemporary and classic plays that inspire and connect audiences
Serve as the public face of RTW’s artistic identity; build partnerships with artists, funders, community organizations, and audiences
Expand outreach efforts to engage diverse communities across Milwaukee and beyond
Partner with the Managing Director to align artistic and operational goals
Mentor and uplift emerging artists, directors, and designers
Support a culture of inclusion, collaboration, and artistic risk-taking
Lead with authenticity and conviction, inspiring trust through a genuine connection to RTW’s mission and values
Collaborate with the Board and staff on strategic planning and fundraising strategy
Partner with the Managing Director to engage in donor cultivation and stewardship, deepening relationships that advance RTW’s artistic and community mission
Ensure programming decisions are aligned with fiscal health and long-term sustainability
Harmonize operational discipline with artistic imagination, ensuring both innovation and creativity thrive
Qualification
Required
Significant artistic leadership experience in professional or educational theater, or other performing arts settings
Experience curating seasons and directing or producing work for diverse audiences
Demonstrated success collaborating with playwrights, actors, and designers, fostering new work, and offering fresh interpretations of established plays
Background in performing arts leadership, with experience managing the financial, operational, and fundraising aspects of a mid-sized company
Experience partnering with Board members to cultivate donor, foundation, and community support
Proven commitment to gender equity, accessibility, and inclusive storytelling in artistic programming
History of championing underrepresented voices and practices that expand representation onstage and off
Knowledge of or openness to the unique dynamics of Milwaukee's theater community, with the ability to connect local audiences to national conversations
Established national networks that can elevate RTW's profile and partnerships
Capacity to balance creative ambition with sustainability and strategic growth
The Artistic Director must reside in the greater Milwaukee area to ensure consistent presence and connection with the community
Candidates who are not currently based in Wisconsin must be willing to relocate
Preferred
Experience in nonprofit theater leadership is strongly preferred, but candidates with experience in related performing arts settings are welcome
Benefits
Relocation support will be available, scaled to the selected candidate’s distance and individual circumstances.
A comprehensive benefits package.
Company
Avra Search Partners
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2-10 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Early StageCompany data provided by crunchbase