Announcing CTC's New Managing Director

MINNEAPOLIS—April 2, 2024 Children’s Theatre Company (CTC) has named Jill A. Anderson to be its new Managing Director. Anderson will assume the post on July 22, 2024. She succeeds Kimberly Motes, who departed in October 2023 to become Executive Director of Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. CTC Board Member Steven J. Thompson has served as Interim Managing Director since Motes’ departure.

Jill A. Anderson has served as Managing Director of Syracuse Stage since 2016.

“I am thrilled to join the staff, board, and artists of Children’s Theatre Company, and to partner with Rick Dildine in leading this remarkable organization,” said Anderson. “I’ve long held CTC in the utmost regard, and am humbled by the opportunity to return to a community I love—and a theatre where I first worked more than 20 years ago—to build upon CTC’s strong foundation with such a dedicated and talented team.”

Anderson has been responsible for Syracuse Stage’s $8 million operating budget and has had oversight of fundraising, marketing, and operational matters within the organization. Under Anderson’s leadership, Syracuse Stage has achieved operating surpluses in seven consecutive years, maintained full employment throughout the COVID pandemic, and has seen two of its world premiere productions open on Broadway.

The company has also launched major expansions of its community engagement and educational programming and was recognized with the Onondaga Historical Association’s Medal and Interfaith Works’ Racial Justice Award.

“Jill is one of the most distinguished executives in the American theatre,” says incoming Artistic Director Rick Dildine, “and I am delighted that she will be joining me this summer to embark on a new adventure at Children’s Theatre Company. I look forward to working closely with Jill as we collaborate with the amazing board and staff to build a vibrant future for CTC.”

Prior to joining Syracuse Stage, Anderson spent a decade as general manager at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT. During her tenure, the O’Neill completed a $7 million capital campaign and campus expansion, doubled its operating budget, and was honored with the National Medal of Arts and a Regional Theatre Tony Award. Under the O’Neill’s aegis, Anderson also developed the Baltic Playwrights Conference, an annual international new play development retreat held in Hiiumaa, Estonia.

Previously, Anderson spent five years in the production office at Washington, D.C.’s Arena Stage, after working as a stage manager in Minnesota, New Mexico, and Massachusetts. In addition, Anderson is an instructor in the theater management program of the Syracuse University Department of Drama, building on her work with high school and college students elsewhere, including at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival.

“After an extensive international search process, I couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome Jill Anderson to CTC as Managing Director,” says Board Chair Silvia Perez. “Jill’s expertise in this field is unparalleled, and I can’t wait to experience the excellence and spirit of innovation that she’ll bring to our organization.”

“We are so pleased and excited to have Jill join the leadership team,” says Interim Managing Director Steven J. Thompson. “Her experience and knowledge of the theater community will insure that CTC will continue its tradition of excellence and positive community impact.”

Anderson has been recognized as part of the Central NY Business Journal’s “40 Under Forty” and serves on numerous municipal and non-profit boards.  Originally hailing from Marshfield, Wisconsin, Anderson is delighted to return to the Upper Midwest and to the community in which her professional career began.

Children’s Theatre Company (CTC) is the nation’s largest and most acclaimed theatre for young people and serves a multigenerational audience. It creates theatre experiences that educate, challenge, and inspire nearly 250,000 people annually. CTC is the only theatre focused on young audiences to win the Special Tony® Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre and is the only theatre in Minnesota to receive three Tony® nominations (for its production of A Year with Frog and Toad). CTC is committed to creating world-class productions at the highest level and to developing new works, more than 200 to date, dramatically changing the canon of work for young audiences.

CTC is the most significant provider of theatre education opportunities in the region. Every year, thousands of children experience theatre for the first time at CTC. Our student matinees and education programs demonstrably benefit the community, from the intergenerational conversations sparked by our world premieres, to the sequential skill-building that happens in our Theatre Arts Training, to the pre-K focus of our Early Childhood Initiative. ACT One is CTC’s comprehensive platform for access, diversity, and inclusion in our audiences, programs, staff, and board that strives to ensure the theatre is a home for all people, all families, reflective of our community.