Artistic Director Search

Walterdale Theatre is currently celebrating its sixty-third (63rd) season of exciting, provocative and high-calibre theatre. Every year, our teams of dedicated and enthusiastic volunteers join together to create full seasons of plays ranging from the classical to the freshly-written; our community includes life-long theatre hobbyists, young emerging artists; and those just curious about the dazzling world of theatre. Walterdale Theatre is a converted historic fire hall right in the middle of Old Strathcona, with an up-to-date and flexible stage and technical system on par with many of the professional theatres in Edmonton. Information about our current and past seasons can be found at www.walterdaletheatre.com

Walterdale Theatre Associates is looking for an Artistic Director (AD) to provide artistic leadership for our 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.

The AD is responsible for:

• Formulating and releasing the season submission call, reviewing submissions and compiling a season with a cohesive theme that can help support promotional material including press releases, poster designs and general communications.
• Proposing your seasons to the Board of Directors. Which usually includes 5 full-length productions and a New Work Festival (recent years have led to increased creativity & flexibility in programming).
• Working with Production Managers and the Directors of Production to build artistic teams, including: selecting Directors for each play and Chairs for any Festivals or ongoing projects.
• Ongoing support of the season’s Directors and artistic teams through attending production meetings, auditions, check-ins with the Director and artistic team; attending rehearsals and end of show debrief.
• Guiding artistic choices and direction with the theatre association. This may include specific goals and objectives that the AD feels would benefit our members and Walterdale Theatre as a member of the greater Edmonton Artistic Community (i.e., joining our Equity Committee).
• Being the liaison between Directors and the Board of Directors.
• Attend monthly Board of Directors meetings.
• Submitting monthly and annual reports to the Board of Directors.
• Representing Walterdale to the general public through media interviews, email requests and messages in member newsletters.

The Artistic Director also typically directs one show per season; however, in the event that the applicant is a Designer, Actor or other theatre artist, this contribution can be amended.

Artistic Directors generally serve a two-year term at Walterdale. Like all artistic positions in the company, the AD is a volunteer position.

Anyone may apply for the position of Artistic Director; however, the best candidate will have experience as a director or theatre artist outside of Walterdale and/or a history with Walterdale itself (i.e., working on Walterdale productions in various capacities). A familiarity with Walterdale’s recent or extended history would be an asset.

Applicants need to submit the following information:

• A cover letter, explaining why you wish to be Artistic Director.
• A copy of your theatrical résumé.
• A proposal for the 2022-2023 Walterdale season, listing possible plays and describing why each play would be suitable for Walterdale and how the season as a whole will serve Walterdale and its audiences (Please note: this would be your ‘dream season’ as you would build the actual season from submissions through our submission process. We encourage you to look at recent and current seasons to avoid any duplication, as well as look at our space so that you can select shows that would work well in it. This proposal should also include a vision for the From Cradle to Stage New Work Festival and any other artistic programming you would want to champion).
• Your contact information (best email and best phone number are essential).

Applications may be emailed to the theatre’s Administrator, Cassie Duval, at walterph@telus.net.

You could also mail or drop off your application to the theatre at:

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR SEARCH
℅ Cassie Duval, Administrator
Walterdale Theatre
10322 83 AVE NW
Edmonton, AB T6E 5C3

The deadline for applications is May 6, 2022.

The applications will be studied by a search committee from Walterdale’s Board of Directors. Short-listed candidates will be interviewed in May, and the selection will be made by the end of May 2022.

If you have any questions or suggestions about the Artistic Director search, please email our President, Sally Hunt, at president@walterdaletheatre.com