VERTIGO THEATRE is seeking a creative, and energetic individual to serve as its next Artistic Director.

About the Role

Reporting to the Board of Directors, and working in partnership with the Executive Director, the Artistic Director will be responsible for developing and implementing the strategic direction for all artistic programs including the BD&P Mystery Theatre Series. The Artistic Director will be a leader in the Calgary arts community with a strong desire to engage with theatres and artists across Canada and Internationally. The ideal candidate will have a drive to build public and private sector support to deliver on strategic artistic priorities and embrace collaboration with the Vertigo Theatre team to maximize earned and contributed revenue.

As the artistic leader of Vertigo Theatre, the Artistic Director will play an active role as a thought-partner in planning for the organization’s overall advancement. Supporting and partnering with artists, staff, board and volunteers, the Artistic Director will operationalize the strategic plan while building a thriving, creative and
diverse culture serving artists and the Calgary community.

The Artistic Director will conceptualize and implement a plan to continue to grow Vertigo’s artistic objectives while leading and motivating a highly effective artistic team in devising and realizing successful artistic strategies.

This is an exciting and unique opportunity for an artistic professional who can bring together their vision, experience, and passion for theatre in Calgary. The Artistic Director must have an interest in the genre of mystery theatre, will want to invest themselves in the success and growth of Vertigo Theatre and will find personal fulfillment in being part of the future.

Artistic Director Roles and Responsibilities

Reporting to Vertigo Theatre’s Board of Directors Director, the Artistic Director is Vertigo Theatre’s guiding artistic visionary and co-equal partner with the Executive Director and is responsible for:

Artistic Leadership

• Plan and curate an exciting season of productions, creatively balancing artistic excellence with financial and operational realities.
• Possess knowledge of new play development and curate deep relationships with playwrights creating original work.
• Lead new play development, commissions, and supporting playwrights engaged by Vertigo Theatre.
• Lead all elements of the successful presentation of Vertigo’s annual productions, special artistic events, collaborations, and co-productions.
• Connect to PACT and the national theatre network, enthusiastically taking a leadership role in discussions within the field.
• Serve as an artist within Vertigo’s season (e.g., as a director, playwright, actor, designer, dramaturge, or other creative presence).
• Oversee all casting and production-related activities for Vertigo’s annual season.
• Identify, assign, and manage all guest directors for Vertigo productions.
• Take an active role in production meetings and provide guidance and expertise for problem solving through the production process.
• Conceive of new, sustainable structures for building internal strengths to support artistic operations.
• Be active in Calgary’s thriving theatre scene as a welcoming colleague, collaborating with other theatres in the community, across Canada and Internationally.

Management and Administration

• Conduct the affairs of Vertigo in a highly collaborative and communicative manner, always showing deep appreciation to artists, staff, and stakeholders.
• Inspire staff in all departments to do their best work and support their professional development as individuals and as leaders within the theatre community.
• Provide proactive leadership and management to artistic staff and maintain a productive working environment (to include hiring, evaluations, and salary recommendations).
• Participate in all Board meetings and be a collaborative partner with the Executive Director in working with Vertigo’s volunteer Board of Directors.
• Coordinate and conduct annual performance reviews for direct report staff members which include measurable results..
• Develop and actively monitor budgets and be accountable for its outcome in partnership with the Executive Director and production heads.
• Work with appropriate staff to determine the season production calendar.
• Actively participate in fundraising.
• Participate and be a leader in all strategic planning processes.

Community Building

• Demonstrate a personal commitment to Vertigo’s values by promoting diversity among participants and stakeholders and creating an environment where the good of the community is held in the highest regard.
• Create strong relationships and foster reciprocal community engagement between Vertigo and other theatres, arts organizations, nonprofits, schools, and community organizations within Calgary and beyond.
• Champion efforts and lead by example in areas of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and community engagement.
• Assist the marketing department to develop and implement marketing ideas for season productions.
• Serve as an enthusiastic ambassador for Vertigo in interviews, conferences, and other public relations opportunities.
• Foster good relations with other cultural organizations by participating in meetings and joint activities when appropriate.
• Participate in and attend all major fundraising and patron events.
• Network with other theatres and search for the most exciting professional artists locally, regionally, and nationally.

Mentorship & Training

• Support and provide creative inspiration for Vertigo’s Production and Artistic Department to be a
  local leader for the stage and beyond.
• Serve as a sounding board for all departments to ensure that Vertigo’s Agency Program are fully
  integrated with all artistic activities.
• Ensure that Vertigo is offering programs and initiatives that prioritize accessibility for the entire
  community.

Traits and Characteristics

Proactive, dynamic, independent, self-motivated, detail and people-oriented, the Artistic Director will have exceptional artistic, social and verbal communication skills and value frequent interaction and collaboration with others. The Artistic Director will be an experienced and entrepreneurial professional with the vision to actively pursue Vertigo Theatre’s goals with creativity and determination and will have a high degree of personal accountability – with a commitment to exceeding expectations. This individual will balance tasks and projects with a sense of urgency and possess superlative interpersonal and communication skills that articulate compelling verbal and written messages for support. A self-sufficient and self-managed professional with a highly organized approach, the Artistic Director will have the ability to achieve
organizational objectives with artists, staff, board members, volunteers, donors, and prospective supporters. This individual will bring an affinity for Vertigo’s mission and vision and a passion to positively impact the organization’s long-term success.

Other key Traits and Characteristics of the role include:

• Leadership – Organizing and influencing people to believe in a vision while creating a sense of purpose and direction.
• Teamwork and Interpersonal Skills – Cooperating with others to meet objectives and the ability to effectively communicate to build rapport while relating to many different people
• Decision Making & Resiliency – Analyzing all aspects of a situation to make consistently sound and timely decisions with the ability to quickly recover from adversity.
• External Stakeholder Focus – The dexterity to anticipate, meet, and exceed stakeholder needs and expectations.
• Creativity & Innovation – Creating innovative approaches, programming, process, technologies and/or systems to achieve the desired result.
• Flexibility, Time and Priority Management – The acuity to prioritize and complete tasks to deliver desired outcomes within allotted time frames while readily modifying, responding and adapting to change with minimal resistance.
• Employee Development/Coaching – Facilitating, supporting and contributing to the professional growth of others.

Qualifications and Experience

A bachelor’s degree or higher education level is an asset. Qualified candidates will have at least 7 years of progressive experience at a leadership level with increasing responsibility in an artistic leadership role, in theatre, performing arts, education, or the non-profit sector. Superior written/verbal communication skills and experience collaborating with high-level, respected volunteers are required. Candidates must possess expertise in and willingness to mentor and develop team members to create a high performing team.

Compensation

An annual salary, of $90,000 – $100,000 commensurate with experience, the opportunity to participate in bonus opportunities based on annual organizational success, with four weeks of paid vacation and extended Health and Dental plans after three months.

Application Instructions

The Vertigo Theatre Artistic Director Search is led by Martin Bragg of Martin Bragg & Associates. To apply in confidence please email your letter of interest and resume in Word or PDF format to Martin Bragg & Associates at vertigotheatre@mbassociates.ca. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply and will receive an acknowledgement of their application. No phone calls please.

The review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled.

Vertigo Theatre and Martin Bragg & Associates are committed to an open and transparent hiring process and encourages applications from our diverse community. We welcome all applications from women and gender nonconforming people, people of color, indigenous peoples, people with disabilities, people of all sexual orientations, and all others who may contribute to the further diversification of Vertigo Theatre. The Board of Directors, management, and staff of Vertigo Theatre, in recognition of local, national, and international initiatives, both within and outside of the theatre community, remain focused on reviewing and evaluating Vertigo’s policies, activities, resources and measures of success, to ensure they create, support, and maintain an engaging and inclusive environment for all. Vertigo Theatre acknowledges the 35//50 Initiative and are analyzing their processes and developing a plan of action.

Vertigo Theatre would like to acknowledge that we are gathered on the traditional territories of the Blackfoot Confederacy (Siksika, Kainai, Piikani), the Tsuut’ina, the Îyâxe Nakoda Nations, as well as the Métis Nation of Alberta (Region 3).