The Orpheum Welcomes Jennifer McGrath as New VP of Education

The Orpheum Theatre Group has announced the hiring of a new Vice President of Education, Jennifer McGrath. McGrath comes to the Orpheum from American Ballet Theatre, where she serves as stage manager. She will begin her new role with the Orpheum Theatre Group in the fall of 2017.

The Orpheum Theatre Group conducted a national search for this important position. They received over 80 applications from interested arts practitioners around the country. With the recent opening of the Halloran Centre for Performing Arts and Education, the organization, its facilities and this position present a unique opportunity for an educator who wants to make a significant social impact through arts education.

"Jennifer brings tremendous knowledge from her past positions at two of this nation's foremost non-profit arts organizations, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and American Ballet Theatre. We look forward to her using that knowledge, along with her tremendous creativity, to make the Orpheum Theatre Group a model for arts education in America," said Brett Batterson, President & CEO of the Orpheum Theatre Group.

McGrath's professional experience comprises of directing, stage management, teaching, event planning, and producing. In alignment with the Orpheum Theatre Group's mission, she strongly believes in the power of the arts to educate, inspire, create change, and rehabilitate and is dedicated to encouraging others to find their artistic voices.

Some of McGrath's notable accomplishments include:

Directing NYU'S 2011 Summer High School Drama Program, working with students from across the country in three different training methodologies at the Tisch School of the Arts.

Stage managing the United Nations 2015 Sustainable Goals Summit & Historic Visit of the Pope to the General Assembly.

Directing "OBAMATRY: A Spoken Word Remix on the 44th President of the United States" and "Death Boogie" that went on to headline SPKRBOX in 2014 - the first ever Hip Hop Theater Festival in Trondheim and Oslo, Norway. In addition, "Death Boogie" won numerous awards at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2012.

She has done guest work at NYU's Playwrights Horizons Theater School and the LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts.

Jennifer has been a long-tenured volunteer with the New York based organization, SAY, a non-profit that uses the arts to improve confidence and communication skills in children who stutter.

McGrath holds a BFA in drama from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.

The mission of the Orpheum Theatre Group is to enhance the communities we serve by utilizing the performing arts to entertain, educate, and enlighten while preserving the historic Orpheum Theatre and the Halloran Centre for Performing Arts & Education. For more information, visit www.orpheum-memphis.com.

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