Houston's Theatre Under The Stars Seeking New Artistic Director

By: Feb. 14, 2017
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Felicia Finley and castmates in the
2016-17 TUTS presentation of
HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS
WITHOUT REALLY TRYING.
Photo credit courtesy of Theatre Under the Stars

The Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) Board of Directors announced today a national search to select a permanent Artistic Director.

The official launch of the search comes nearly one year after Sheldon Epps joined the TUTS family as Artistic Advisor. Under his guidance the company has deepened its commitment to artistic excellence, diversity, and creative integrity.

In June of 2016, Epps suggested a bold move replacing half of the 2016-17 Season with a new slate of culturally and artistically diverse shows. During the first half of the season, TUTS has continued to elevate its artistic excellence and programmatic range with recent productions of IN THE HEIGHTS, HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING, and INTO THE WOODS.

On behalf of the Board of Directors, Chair Amy Pierce says, "As we look forward to celebrating our upcoming 50th anniversary, we are thrilled to officially launch the search for a role that is so vital to all aspects of the organization. We are incredibly grateful to have been blessed with the genius of Sheldon Epps to guide us through the transition; relying on the strong foundation he has built to propel us into the future."

Above: TUTS draws a crowd at Miller
Outdoor Theatre with its free summer
musical, an annual tradition.
Photo by Leroy Gibbins

Sheldon Epps says, "I am so very proud of the work that we have done together and all that we have accomplished in a very short amount of time that has led to a remarkable season at TUTS. I am happy to continue with TUTS in my current capacity at least until that anniversary date, and have been pleased to supervise the planning for the upcoming season. All of this has been greatly rewarding. It was always my intention to spend a limited amount of time at the theatre, to make a strong impact, and then to leave it in the hands of new leaders who are able to commit to a sustained and long term life with the theatre. I am thrilled that one step has been taken in that direction with the wise decision to bring Hillary Hart on as Executive Director. I am even happier that the current healthy artistic state of the art at TUTS will bring many strong candidates forward for the AD position in the very near future."

Hillary Hart says, "We are immensely grateful to Sheldon for his leadership during the last year. TUTS and the greater Houston community have benefited from his conscientious and palpably impactful influence on our programming; firmly establishing the foundation for what will be an incredible future for TUTS. We are positioned to engage artists and artistic visionaries of the highest caliber as we continue our work to meaningfully deepen the relationship of TUTS in the region and nationally."

The search is being conducted by AlbertHall&Associates, a full-service consulting and executive recruiting firm that specializes in the non-profit arts sector. They also handled the search for newly appointed Executive Director, Hillary Hart.

Inquiries and potential candidates should direct all communication to tuts-search@alberthallassociates.com.

Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) is world-class musical theatre company based in Houston, TX which, since its inception in 1968, has focused on education, community engagement, and delivering first-rate theatre experiences. For more information about TUTS or its 2017-18 season, please visit TUTS.com.



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