Artistic Director

Company Overview

The Organization
World Curious. London Proud. Under the leadership of the new Artistic Director and Executive Director Evan Klassen, the Grand is building a bold future with daring projects, inspiring programs, and a captivating direction.

A leading cultural hub, the Grand is proudly located in the heart of downtown London, Canada. The Grand is a place for all Londoners, for everyone, to gather, celebrate, and be inspired by exceptional theatre experiences.

The Grand brings the world to London with diverse, relevant, and original stories from around the globe, and through collaborations with exceptional national and international performing arts organizations.

And the Grand will bring London to the world stage with a commitment to developing, producing, and premiering new and original stories through the COMPASS new play development program, and through ongoing artist and artisan development/mentorship. In partnership with artists and playwrights from around the world and around the corner, the Grand presents relevant, provocative, and entertaining stories that remind us of our collective humanity.

The Grand's commitment to educational programming and youth mentorship is exemplified by The High School Project, the only project of its kind in North America. An award-winning community outreach initiative launched as part of their 2017-18 Season, 100 Schools, demonstrates the Grand’s commitment to engage children at the youngest ages to all aspects of live theatre.

A not-for-profit, charitable regional theatre, the Grand produces and presents professional theatre on two stages: the Spriet Stage (839 seats) and the Auburn Stage (144 seats). The Grand season runs from September to May with subscription series and special activities on both stages. The Grand is a Category A member of the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres (PACT) and engages artists who are members of Canadian Actors’ Equity Association (CAEA). Technicians and artisans work under a variety of collective agreements. The annual operating budget is approximately $8-10 million. The Grand has a full-time staff of 26, plus a team of over 50 artisans, technicians, seasonal and part-time staff. The Grand Theatre is led by a volunteer Board of Directors, is supported by two related Boards, and engages over 200 volunteers annually.

The Grand Theatre’s Commitment to Anti-Oppression
Institutions across Canada are being called upon to recognize and address historical and contemporary practices that have resulted in and perpetuated social inequity and harm.

We at the Grand Theatre recognize and acknowledge our part in this history and current reality. The Grand Theatre has a responsibility to take decisive action to ensure that the theatre is an inclusive and accessible place. To this end, we will name, address, and eliminate harmful behaviours, practices, and inequities that we have both produced and reproduced. Our Anti-Oppression work will examine how race, gender, class, region, religion, ethnicity, sexuality, ability, and all intersections of those categories interact with our organizational processes, so that we do not reproduce harm in our hiring, programming, and daily business operations.

While the Grand Theatre has benefitted from diverse cultures through performances on our stages, we have not fully acknowledged our cultural impact on these communities. We have much to do to build trust, consistency, and accountability as allies with Black, Indigenous, People of Colour, and other marginalized groups. Therefore, we will remove systemic barriers to participation and ensure our organization is a physically and emotionally safe space for Black, Indigenous, People of Colour and other marginalized groups at all intersections of identity.

As well, we will deliberately seek out and recruit Black, Indigenous, People of Colour and other marginalized groups to work and participate at every level of our organization ensuring that people are welcomed, respected, supported, and valued in our theatre. We commit to building and fostering authentic and sustained relationships with the communities we value but have excluded. Through the work described above, we will achieve an accessible, equitable, and inclusive Grand Theatre community of artists, audiences, donors, boards, and staff. This will be the foundation of our work and practice at the Grand Theatre.

Land Acknowledgement
The Grand Theatre operates on the traditional lands of the Attawandaron (also known as Neutral) people and territories associated with various treaties of the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, and Lunaapewak. The Attawandaron peoples once settled this region alongside the Algonquin and Haudenosaunee peoples and used this land as their traditional beaver hunting grounds.

In London, the treaties include the 1796 London Township Treaty and the 1822 Longwoods Treaty. The London Township Treaty was a regional treaty signed by diplomats representing all parties living on the land that today we know as southwestern Ontario. The Longwoods Treaty was signed by representatives of the Crown and the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation and covers approximately 580,000 acres in area.

Locally, there are three First Nations communities. They are the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation, the Oneida Nation of the Thames, and the Munsee Delaware Nation. We would also like to recognize the growing Indigenous urban population, comprised of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people.

We value the significant historical and contemporary contributions of local and regional First Nation, and all of the Original Peoples of Turtle Island (also known as North America). We acknowledge the traditional lands upon which we operate, as well as all the sacred waterways.

Job Description

THE GRAND THEATRE (London, Canada) is seeking a visionary, creative, and energetic individual to serve as its next Artistic Director. Reporting to the Board of Directors, and working in partnership with the Executive Director, the Artistic Director will be responsible for developing and implementing an imaginative and compelling vision that will shape the strategic direction for all artistic programs at the Grand Theatre including initiatives such as youth, education, community engagement and the development of new works.

Following the Grand's motto as a theatre that is World Curious and London Proud, the Artistic Director will be a leader in the London arts community with a strong desire to engage with artists and organizations locally, within Ontario, across Canada and internationally. The ideal candidate will have a drive to build audiences and embrace their role in the public and private sector support needed to deliver on strategic artistic priorities and will value collaboration.

As the artistic leader of the Grand Theatre, the Artistic Director will play an active role as a thought-partner in planning for the organization’s overall advancement. Supporting and partnering with artists, staff, board and volunteers, the Artistic Director will operationalize the strategic plan while building a thriving, creative and diverse culture serving the London community and artists. The Artistic Director will conceptualize and implement a plan to continue to grow the Grand Theatre’s artistic objectives while leading and motivating a highly effective artistic team in realizing successful artistic objectives.

The Grand Theatre is continuing its journey towards becoming an increasingly diverse, equitable and inclusive organization. The Grand is committed to an open and transparent hiring process and encourages applications from our diverse community. We welcome all applications from women and gender nonconforming people, people of color, Indigenous peoples, people with disabilities, people of all sexual orientations, and all others who may contribute to the further diversification of the Grand Theatre.

This is an exciting and unique opportunity for an artistic professional who can bring together their vision, experience, and passion for theatre and believes they can continue to take the Grand Theatre to the next level. The Artistic Director must have an interest in theatre in all its forms, new play development and developing the next generation of artists and audiences. They will want to invest themselves in the success and growth of the Grand Theatre and will find personal fulfillment in being part of the future.