MINNEAPOLIS: Children’s Theatre Company (CTC) has named Jill A. Anderson, the current managing director of Syracuse Stage in New York, to be its new managing director. Anderson will assume the post on July 22. She succeeds Kimberly Motes, who departed last October to become executive director of Chicago Shakespeare Theater. CTC board member Steven J. Thompson has been serving as interim managing director since Motes’s departure.
“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 in a statement. “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.”
At Syracuse Stage, Anderson has been responsible for an $8 million operating budget, and 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,” said incoming artistic director Rick Dildine in a statement. “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, Conn. 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 theatre 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. Anderson has been recognized as part of the Central NY Business Journal’s “40 Under Forty” and serves on numerous municipal and nonprofit boards. Originally hailing from Marshfield, Wisc., 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. As of 2022, the theatre’s budget was around $11.3 million.
