ST. LOUIS: Metro Theater Company (MTC), a professional theatre for youth and families in St. Louis, has announced that artistic director Julia Flood will retire as of June 2024, at the conclusion of the company’s 51st season. Flood has held the position for a decade. The company has begun a national search to find their new executive artistic director. Interested candidates can find the position description and application instructions here.
“It has been a pleasure and an honor to serve side by side in leadership with Julia,” said managing director Joe Gfaller in a statement. “Her commitment to telling stories that inspire audiences of all ages and to reflecting and representing the lived experiences of St. Louis’s young people has been a special gift to the entire region. She will always be a treasured colleague to every artist, educator, and staff member with whom she has collaborated here.”
Julia Flood succeed longtime Metro artistic director Carol North in 2014. She previously served as the artistic director of Eckerd Theater Company in Florida for 16 years and served on the board of directors for TYA/USA from 2011-2019. In May, Flood was honored by TYA/USA with the Harold Oaks Award for Sustained Excellence. Under her leadership, MTC has produced 34 productions including world premieres from Idris Goodwin, Mariah Richardson, Guinevere Govea, and Anna Pickett, and offered arts residencies in countless schools across the St. Louis region. In 2017, she led the company’s move to its current mainstage home at the Grandel. Prior to her artistic leadership roles, Flood spent many years as a freelance actor, director, teaching artist, and playwright. A graduate of Northwestern University, she was a resident member of the Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble for seven years.
MTC will honor Julia’s legacy at its annual After Dark gala, which will be held on May 7 at the Palladium near Lafayette Square in St. Louis. As part of the gala, Julia plans to welcome back as many artists as possible, and MTC is raising funds to help underwrite those artist tickets.
“As I round out a decade of service to the mission and vision of Metro Theater Company, I am grateful to be surrounded by this community of artists, educators, board, staff, and supporters who take inspiration daily from the intelligence and emotional wisdom of young people,” said Flood in a statement. “For half a century, MTC has made St. Louis a more welcoming place to live, one child at a time. I look forward to watching MTC’s next chapter as a new generation continues to build on the national reputation of this amazing theatre company.”
Founded in 1973, Metro Theater Company seeks to create professional theatre, foster an inclusive community, and nurture meaningful learning through the arts. As of 2022, MTC had an approximate budget of $1 million.
