Director of Fellowships and Community Engagement, Playwrights' Center (MN)

Director of Fellowships and Community Engagement

Reports to: Producing Artistic Director
Hours: 40 hours/week – Full-Time
Schedule: Some evenings and weekends required

Overview

The Director of Fellowships and Community Engagement is a senior artistic leadership position at the Playwrights’ Center and will be a key participant in fellowship support, artistic strategy, and programming. This position will provide dedicated and holistic support to the following Fellowship programs: Jerome Fellowship, Many Voices Fellowship, the McKnight Fellowship in Playwriting, and individual CORE Writers.

The Director will be the Primary Artistic Liaison and Advisor to the Jerome Fellows, Many Voices Fellows, and the McKnight Playwrights. The Director will collaborate with the Producing Artistic Director to manage, support, and produce all commensurate activities and programs related to the fellows. In addition they will serve as the Lead Producer on the Ruth Easton Reading Series. In collaboration with the PAD and AAD, they will manage, support, and produce commensurate activities and programs related to the Core Writers, including but not limited to PlayLabs, and any related Public or Internal Workshops.

The focus of this support includes individualized support, individual and group mentorship, and activity planning as part of the day-to-day duties of this position.

Duties and Responsibilities

Fellowship Responsibilities

Work to solicit applicants and build greater awareness of the Fellowship programs.
Participate in the Fellowship’s selection process as support to the panelists who will select the writers.
Produce workshops of Fellowships, both in and outside of the public season.
Onboard and welcome new Fellows to the Twin Cities.
With the PAD, curate and program a retreat for new fellows.
Build relationships with the individual Fellows on a regular basis to support them and their yearlong Fellowship goals.
Read and respond to plays for the current cohort of fellows.
Produce play development workshops in collaboration with Artistic Programs Manager.
Co-Produce the annual PlayLabs Festival which includes the Fellows Showcase.
Create and manage a Fellowship year which includes: monthly check-in meetings, Master Class opportunities, Writers’ Group formation, introducing Fellows to artistic leaders (locally & nationally), arranging outside mentorship, and other opportunities.
Engage with past fellows as they move out of their Fellowship years and into Affiliated Writer status. This connection and support will be a vital part of the transitioning of playwrights out of the Fellows Program.
Continue to move the Mentorship of the Fellows forward with innovative thinking and program design.

Core Writers (shared responsibility with Associate Artistic Director)

Work to solicit applicants and build greater awareness of the Core Writer program.
Participate in the Core Writer’s selection process as support to the panelists who will select the writers.
Produce workshops of Core Writers, both in and outside of the public season.
In collaboration with the Producing Artistic Director, work closely with Core Writers to develop and promote their work to theaters around the country for consideration for commissions, development opportunities, and productions over their three-year term.

Filming Workshops (shared responsibility with Associate Artistic Director)

Responsible for hiring all technical and artistic contractors to film Public Season workshops and supervise the artists contracted.
Explain the video process to the playwright and director and make sure they understand the scope and intention of the project.
Review video draft footage of the reading and provide the video editor and sound engineer with feedback.

Additional Partnerships

Work with the Artistic Department to foster, expand, and strengthen relationships with local artist-service organizations and other community partnerships.
Attend Jerome and McKnight Foundation events.

Skills/Qualifications

5+ years experience in one or more of the following areas: new play development, managing playwright residencies and/or commissions, supporting playwrights dramaturgically or producorially, program development, and producing.
Ability and commitment to working with diverse groups in terms of gender expression, race, sexual orientation, religion, ability, age, class, and immigrant status.
Strong interpersonal skills, including cultural sensitivity/awareness and the ability to effectively work with and lead teams.
Radically people-centered leadership skills, with an emphasis on collaboration, care, and maintaining safe and healthy process-based environments for creative and innovative development.
Experience producing workshops, readings, designing artist cohort experiences, advocating for artists, and creating connections within the theater field to help support and develop each writer.
Efficient verbal and written communication skills.
Ability to organize and track multiple projects occurring simultaneously, including workshops, readings, fellowship activities, and public events.

Compensation and Benefits

This role is a full time, in-person position with a salary of $68,000–$73,000 with a generous PTO package that includes vacation, sick leave, and holiday pay. Playwrights’ Center also offers full health benefit options and an optional Simple IRA retirement plan.

Detailed Description and Application Instructions

Equal Opportunity Statement

Playwrights’ Center is an equal opportunity employer committed to multiple perspectives in every aspect of our organization and its practice. Because diversity is an asset to a dynamic work environment where inclusion, respect and integrity, service, and innovation are valued, we seek to recruit, develop, and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool. Learn more about our mission and values here.