COCA Announces Jennifer Wintzer As Artistic Director Of Theatre

COCA-Center of Creative Arts announces that Jennifer Wintzer will join its leadership team as Artistic Director of Theatre.

In this position, Wintzer will provide artistic and educational direction of theatre and voice programming as well as guide partnerships and collaborations with other St. Louis theatre companies and organizations. She will also supervise all operational aspects of COCA's new state-of-the-art Berges Theatre, to be completed in early 2020 as part of COCA's $45 million Create Our Future Campaign. Create Our Future is a multi-year fundraising effort for the capital renovation and expansion of COCA's historic building in University City and to fund its endowment and reserves.

Wintzer comes to COCA from the Shakespeare Festival St. Louis, where she is the Associate Artistic Director. Her previous roles with the Festival include Interim Producing Director and Director of Community Engagement and Education.

"Jennifer's engagement in the local and National Theatre communities and her depth of experience in theatre education, directing and producing, as well as arts administration, make her a wonderful fit for COCA and our evolving theatre program," said Kelly Pollock, COCA Executive Director. "I'm thrilled to welcome her to our team."

Prior to moving to St. Louis, Wintzer spent over a decade in New York City working as an arts administrator and educator with Lincoln Center Theater, Second Stage Theatre, MCC Theater and as a resident company member of the Chekhov Theatre Ensemble. Wintzer was awarded the Stages of Learning Master Teaching Artist 2006 Award and the Young Audiences of New York's Teaching Artist of the Year Award in 2013.

She is a graduate of the NAS/UPenn Executive Program in Arts and Cultural Strategy, holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from The Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University and an Advanced Training Certificate in Arts Education from Marymount Manhattan College/The Actor's Fund. Wintzer is a proud member of the Actor's Equity Association and a RAC CAT Institute Fellow. She begins April 24, 2019.