The Baltimore School for the Arts seeks an exceptional theatre professional to lead its pre-professional theatre program as the Theatre Department Head.
The Theatre Department Head is the artistic director and educational leader of BSA’s theatre program and has primary responsibility for envisioning and implementing educational and performance programming in the theatre department.
In addition to theatre, BSA provides conservatory quality, pre-professional training in dance, music, stage production, and visual arts. Students, admitted to the school solely by an arts audition, study one arts discipline in conjunction with a challenging college preparatory academic curriculum. Students spend a minimum of 3 hours per day in artistic coursework. There are 390 students in grades 9-12, approximately 115 in the theatre program each year.
BSA is a Baltimore City Public School with 80% city residents, and 20% from other counties in Maryland. The student body is diverse racially, socio-economically, and experientially. The school has an exceptional graduation and college placement record – each year 95% or more of its graduates continue on to higher education.
The high school has been recognized as one of the top five public arts high schools in the U.S. In recent surveys, graduates report college graduation rates nearly double the national average as well. BSA alumni can be found on Broadway and television, in films, in major dance companies, orchestras, and in museums, galleries and design firms all over the world.
As one of Baltimore’s premier cultural institutions, the school attracts artists of the highest caliber as faculty, and for residencies and master classes. BSA also provides access to the arts to Baltimore’s families and children through its free after-school arts education program, TWIGS, which serves 700 students, as well as other community outreach programs. The Theatre Department Head oversees theatre curriculum in all of the outreach efforts that involve the department.
The BSA Search committee, made up of members of the Board of Overseers, faculty, parents and artists, seeks a director who will ensure that BSA will continue to build on its sound foundation and tradition of excellence in Baltimore City, the State of Maryland, and as an institution of national prominence.
BSA Vision, Mission, Values
Our Vision
We respect the young creative mind and exist to nurture its passion and potential. We believe that the pursuit of mastery in an artistic field, paired with a strong individual sense of purpose, leads to a wide range of positive outcomes for both the student and the community.
Our Mission
Baltimore School for the Arts seeks to prepare the next generation of the creative workforce by providing inspiring arts and academic training to high school students as well as opportunities in the arts to younger children and the greater community.
Our Core Values. We believe these values are critical to the personal development of each student and an important underlying philosophy of the institution.
-CURIOSITY
-CONFIDENCE
-EXPERTISE
-COLLABORATION
-PURPOSE
-GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
The Position/Theatre Department Head
The Baltimore School for the Arts seeks a Theatre Department Head to begin in August 2016. The Theatre Department Head serves as the artistic and educational leader of a distinguished staff of theatre professionals. In this role, the Theatre Department Head guides artistic programming within the Theatre Department while managing the educational work that prepares students for study at the nation’s finest college and universities.
BSA’s artistic staff is encouraged to continue their professional practice in addition to their responsibilities in the school.
Students participate in local professional partnerships in Baltimore, including with Center Stage and Everyman Theatre, and master teachers visit the school regularly. Theatre graduates have gone on to significant success, attending some of the nation’s leading acting programs and working in theatre, film and television. Alumni also find success in a variety of other fields.
Recent BSA productions include Laramie Project, The Crucible and Three Sisters, and in collaboration with Showdown Theatre in England, Hairspray and The Exonerated.
Preferred Qualifications
-Demonstrated interpersonal and communication skills and ability to bring diverse constituencies together to support a common mission
-Strong training and experience as a theatre professional and an understanding of what is necessary to prepare serious young theatre artists for professional careers
-Strong evidence of successful teaching in a theatre programs
-Strong evidence of progressive leadership of an art or educational program
-Respect for the value of public education and the understanding of the challenges of working in a public school system
-Bachelor’s degree
Responsibilities
High School
-Inspire young people with compelling and effective actor training
-Oversee approximately 115 students in the High School Acting (70) and Stage Design & Production (45) programs on a daily basis
-Manage the theatre faculty (20 full- and part-time) of practicing, professional artists in both Acting and Stage Design & Production programs
-Supervise the performance aspects of the acting program by collaborating with colleagues in the acting program, the production program and across the school
-Communicate with prospective students and their families about the program in on-campus events and organize auditions for prospective students
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BSA TWIGS
-Oversee the approximately 100 5th through 8th grade students that come to BSA for after-school and Saturday theatre training programs
-Manage the education program for these young students
Theatre Curriculum
-In collaboration with the theatre faculty and school director, develop curriculum that provides powerful educational opportunities for students and connects them to the professional world of theatre
-Develop theatre programs that connect BSA students to the larger Baltimore community while providing appropriate training to those students
Faculty
-Communicate regularly about operational and artistic matters
-Identify and hire theatre faculty as necessary
Baltimore City Public Schools
-Serve as an employee of Baltimore City Public Schools
-Provide student attendance and student course grade information as required to BCPS
-Serve as a conduit of information from BCPS to faculty and students
Compensation and Benefits
The BSA Board of Overseers will work closely with the Baltimore City Schools’ Office of Human Capital to provide a salary that is within City Schools’ guidelines and is commensurate with background and experience. The Baltimore City Schools also provides excellent health benefits that include vision, dental and prescription drug coverage, State of Maryland teachers’ retirement benefits and life insurance.
ApplicationCover letters and resumes should be sent to
Baltimore School for the Arts
c/o Brigid Zuknick/Theatre Search
712 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
Or emails to [email protected] Please include “Theatre Search” in the subject line.
Applications will be accepted until January 15, 2016.
