The Stephenville Theatre Festival is Hiring an Artistic Director

The Stephenville Theatre Festival (STF) is a professional, nationally recognized, incorporated, not-for-profit theatre company that has been in existence for 46 years. The festival produces repertory theatre during the summer with a focus on musical theatre. STF welcomes passionate applicants who have a desire to build upon our successful theatre festival. Having thrived for 46 seasons, we are looking for an artistic leader with unique ideas and a love for theatre to join our team. Supported by our motivated board and staff, the AD will deliver a participative presence within the creative team and will work in collaboration with STF to to develop and execute our strategic direction and artistic initiatives.

The AD role combines remote work and onsite event production with the requirement for the AD to reside in the immediate Stephenville area during the months of May to August each year. Salary compensation is $50,000 to $65,000 per annum dependent on qualifications and experience. The Artistic Director reports to the STF Board of Directors. A more detailed work description is available at www.stephenvilletheatrefestival.com

Start Date: September 1, 2024.

Qualifications:

A Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent work experience;
4-5 years of leadership in a combination of the arts, theatrical management, stage management, direction, etc.;
Experience working with a not-for-profit organization and a board of directors;
Experience working in conjunction with local, provincial and/or federal governments;
Excellence in organizational management with a demonstrated ability to coach and empower others, manage and develop high-performance teams, set and achieve objectives;
Proven financial management and budgeting skills;
Strong marketing, public relations, and communication skills;
Must be able to use G-Suite (Gmail, Google Docs, Sheets and Drive) and be overall very computer literate and tech savvy;
Must have proven ability to write successful grant proposals and develop and maintain sponsor partnerships;
Strong wiritten and verbal communication skills, a persuasive and passionate communicator with excellent interpersonal skills;
Effective creative problem solver, ability to resolve conflict with diplomacy;
Knowledge of Newfoundland arts secotor is an asset.

This position involves overseeing all aspects of the artistic production of the organization, such as assessing and selecting the performances that will be shown, recruiting actors and performers, setting production schedules as well managing budgets.

Artistic Policy:

Ensures that all productions are consistent with the aims and policies of the Stephenville Theatre Festival;
Makes recommendations to the Board of Directors regarding long range policy for STF;
Fosters and encourages the continued growth and development of artistic excellence within the Theatre.

Artistic Production:

Creates the STF program, ie. selects the shows that will be displayed during the season;
Sets and oversees the schedule production for the season;
Recruits and casts by open audition, personnel for the season, directors, performers and actors, stage managers, technicians, designers, etc.
Participates as a working member of the creative team in the delivery of the annual productions;
Responsibile for theatrical development, reads and selects the scripts that are submitted to theatre.

Fiscal Management:

In conjunction with the General Manager, the Artistic Director is responsible for the financial and administrative oversight of the artistic and production aspects of the organization. This includes grant writing, financial stability, venue management and audience development;
Works with the General Manager on the development of annual budget projections for submission to the Board of Directors for approval;
Manages the theatre’s budget and dealing with funding bodies (charities, the government, sponsors, trusts, etc.)
Ensures the artistic areas of the budget are strictly adhered to and proactively managed.

Leadership and Management:

Actively engages and elevates community partners,volunteers, board members, and funders;
Drives STF’s strategic plan in delivering program excellence, through effective management of staff resources, financial resources and community resources;
Provides leadership through communication and cooperation among artistic personnel and between artistic personnel and staff.

Marketing:

Strengthens and supports all aspects of communications, marketing, and brand reputation;
Conveys through the General Manager to the Publicist, the essence and theme of the productions;
Provides appropriate background materials for the Publicist to prepare all necessary advertising and news releases required;
Assists the Publicist through the General Manager in developing the artistic elements of the marketing plan for productions.

Planning and New Business:

Creates, in collaboration with the board, a strategic plan that will continue to support arts in Stephenville and will drive the overall vision of the Stephenville Theatre Festival;
Builds local and regional partnerships that promote the mandate of STF and the success of local artists;
Enhances existing programs and supports the creation of new programs with the goal of promoting arts and culture in Stephenivlle.

Applicants are requested to submit a cover letter and resume via email to stfchair@gmail.com. Please include STF Artistic Director Application in the subject line of your message. The closing date for applications is 12:00 midnight, June 16, 2024. All applicants must be legally permitted to work in Canada.

The Stephenville Theatre Festival is committed to employment equity and diversity and encourages applications from all qualified candidates, including people of any sexual orientation, gender identity, indigenous peoples, visible minorities and racialized people; and, people with disabilities.

We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those considered for an interview will be contacted.