SAN FRANCISCO: Cutting Ball Theater has named Liz Olson its new managing and producing director. Olson replaces Suzanne Appel, who left the theatre in 2015 for Chicago’s Hubbard Street Dance. Olson comes to the theatre from the Tectonic Theatre Project, where she was line producer and general manager. She will start at Cutting Ball on Oct. 10.

“I am so excited to be joining the team at Cutting Ball Theater,” Olson said in a statement. “[Artistic director Paige Rogers], their staff, and their board bring so much passion to the work of the company. Ever since my first call with Paige, I have been blown away by Cutting Ball’s work and can’t wait to help them continue to grow and deepen their ties with the Tenderloin community and the San Francisco arts community as a whole.”

Prior to Tectonic Theatre Project, Olson was producing director of Studio 42. She received her MBA in public and nonprofit management from Boston University.

“Our hiring committee has taken quite a long time to search for exactly the right person to bring into the Cutting Ball family,” said Rogers in a statement. “Liz has worked in the New York area for nearly a decade and the range of her skills is very rare. I believe that Liz’s leadership will truly raise the bar for us, in the Bay Area and nationally as well. Hopefully, with Liz’s guidance, Cutting Ball may soon have an international presence.”