Downtown Atlanta's Theatrical Outfit Announces Gretchen E. Butler as New Managing Director

Theatrical Outfit is proud to announce that Gretchen E. Butler has joined the staff as Managing Director.

Gretchen E. Butler is an arts administrator with over 20 years of nonprofit arts leadership. She holds a BA in Theatre from Randolph-Macon Woman's College and an MFA in Theatre Management from the Hilberry Theatre at Wayne State University. Gretchen worked as a freelance Stage Manager, Box Office Associate, and Arts Educator throughout Atlanta prior to joining the staff of Georgia Ensemble Theatre (GET) as their Production Manager. After 8 years with GET, Gretchen became the first Managing Director of Serenbe Playhouse. After 3 years there, she moved into the role of Director of Operations of the Serenbe Institute for Art, Culture and the Environment, parent company of the Playhouse.

Gretchen is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Omicron Delta Kappa, and Atlanta Woman's Club, where she chairs the Education Community Service Project. She serves on the Board of Trustees of Kingswood United Methodist Church and the Capital Campaign Committee of The Sunflower Initiative, which funds scholarships for students attending women's colleges.

Tom Key, Artistic Director of Theatrical Outfit, says of this exciting news: "Oh happy day! Every member of our staff and board is wearing a smile because Gretchen Butler has arrived at Theatrical Outfit to be our new Managing Director. With Gretchen, we are graced with a leader who is quick of mind, warm of heart and courageous of soul, just the kind of person to keep all the soul stirring we've got going on downtown in our theater stronger than ever!"

Theatrical Outfit continues its 2018-2019 Season of Beauty with the Atlanta premiere of The Royale, playwright Marco Ramirez's stylized, blazingly theatrical look at the high stakes, segregated world of boxing at the turn of the twentieth century, loosely based on the true story of the first black world heavyweight champion, Jack Johnson. Directed by frequent Theatrical Outfit collaborator Patdro Harris (Travelin' Black, Fly, and Simply Simone), The Royale runs October 10 - November 4 downtown at The Balzer Theater at Herren's.

ABOUT OUR VENUE: Theatrical Outfit's Season of Beauty plays at The Balzer Theater at Herren's at 84 Luckie Street NW, Atlanta, GA 30303. Theatrical Outfit utilizes a Loop Listening System, making The Balzer Theater at Herren's the first theater in the state of Georgia to incorporate this technology. Attendees with T-coil hearing aids may participate automatically, and others needing enhancement may obtain system-compatible headsets from our lobby Box Office.