Updated May 13, 2024

Position: Learning and Creative Engagement Coordinator

Reports To: Impact Producer & Co-Director of Artistic Programming

Compensation: $50,000, Full Time

FLSA: Exempt/Salaried

Start Date: July 1, 2024

To Apply: Email resume, cover letter, and an intro video (30-90 seconds introducing who you are and why you’re interested in the position) to aacostapowell@actorstheatre.org with subject line LACE Coordinator Submission. Applications open through June 1, 2024.

Actors Theatre of Louisville’s mission is to unlock human potential, build community, and enrich quality of life through programming that reflects the wonder and complexity of our time.

Now in its 60th season, and 50th as the State Theatre of Kentucky, Actors Theatre remains dedicated to serving the local and global community by participating in the creation of a more just and inclusive society. Actors Theatre’s work strategically centers experiences that reflect a civic commitment to the social good and to the health and wellness of the many constituents it serves. In pursuing a synthesis of art and service, the interdisciplinary laboratory intersects art, emergent technology, and social transformation for a storytelling (r)evolution. Actors Theatre uplifts stories and amplifies voices that represent myriad perspectives, especially those historically excluded, seeking to connect and learn from a diversity of people, ideas, and cultures through our work. Grounded in equitable practices and the work toward our collective liberation, we strive to cultivate a welcoming space of belonging for all.

Actors Theatre of Louisville sits on the unceded land of many Indigenous communities including the Shawnee, Eastern band of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Osage people.

The Learning and Creative Engagement (LACE) Coordinator cultivates strong and lasting relationships for Actors Theatre of Louisville and acts as a bridge that connects the organization and our community. Using tools rooted in life-long learning, this position is tasked with facilitation of our existing programs including in-school residencies and student matinees, and with developing new avenues for creative engagement.

The LACE Coordinator is responsible for all educational efforts and for working with the Artistic team to coordinate those efforts with the programming. This multi-faceted work is grounded in expansive, holistic pedagogy and is served by someone who leads with curiosity, seeks out surprise and wonder, and builds capacity for creative exploration and discovery. The LACE Coordinator will need the skills to confidently facilitate certain educational events themself, and to “lead from behind,” delegating most of the public-facing facilitation to other staff, teaching artists, and guest artists and setting them up for success.

The LACE Coordinator will work closely and interdependently with Actors Theatre of Louisville’s small and adaptable staff and should contribute positively to a culture of belonging and inclusion. The position requires an awareness and understanding of structural and systemic oppression with cultural competence to be of service to a diverse range of communities.

• Embrace Actors Theatre of Louisville’s commitment to creating spaces of belonging, coalition building with the community, and the intersection of arts and wellness.
• Be an integral part of a small and mighty staff that is inspired to work in flexible, creative, and innovative ways.
• Embody a life-long learning approach and curiosity before coming to conclusions. Able to move forward with incomplete information and respond to updates and changes.
• Enjoy engaging with learners of all ages and abilities and fostering opportunities for various styles of learner.
• Be an excited ambassador of Learning and Creative Engagement by representing Actors Theatre at all student-focused events, key residency days, grassroots outreach events, and additional Actors Theatre happenings. Be solution-oriented and able to navigate existing systems as well as imagining new ones.
• Foster a positive team culture amongst the LACE teaching artists.
• Be self-motivated, self-sufficient, culturally competent with humility, and adaptable in a variably paced, frequently changing environment where situations and needs must be met with timely and proactive responses and actions.

Residencies, Workshops, and Special Programs:

• Facilitate the overall building, implementing, and sustaining of engagement programs.
• Serve as lead administrator of education programs.
• Maintain roster of teaching artists, including building relationships with existing cohort, seeking additional candidates to recommend as needed, having a working knowledge of the special skills represented on the team and what competencies may still be needed to deepen and expand programmatic offerings.
• Plan and facilitate training and professional development of teaching artists and other LACE collaborators.
• Collect robust quantitative and qualitative data before, during, and after programs, and report regularly to artistic producers on the successes, challenges, and opportunities of all LACE initiatives.
• Research and develop connections between the available LACE programs and school curricula/state academic standards.
• Serve as the primary point of contact with organizational partners and schools and actively cultivate, sustain, and generate new relationships and leads for LACE programming.

Student Matinee Performances:

• Communicate Student Matinee opportunities to schools, educators, and organizations.
• Where demand is high, execute an equitable process for prioritizing reservations.
• Where demand is low, recruit additional participants through targeted outreach.
• Liaise with Box Office to navigate the reservation process with each group.
• Serve as LACE representative at student/educator nights, and student matinees, including welcoming the participants, sharing expectations for behavior, and addressing any challenges that arise. If scheduling conflicts arise, identify a qualified substitute to serve as the representative for LACE who can fulfill all duties.
• Organize post-show conversations, including moderating when appropriate or identifying another moderator as relevant.
• Create (or when appropriate delegate creation of) study guides, video guides, pre- and post-show materials and other engagement tools for productions.

Engagement:

• Serve as an ambassador for Actors Theatre of Louisville in the community and maintain strong relationships with peer organizations and individuals.
• Represent Actors Theatre of Louisville at vendor/tabling events throughout the community, including recommending events in which to participate, recruiting staffing support, and performing the tabling responsibilities.
• Stay current on local community and educational needs and seek out ways to partner and build coalitions.
• Contribute to and maintain thriving relationships with the JCPS Cultural Consortium, FFTA, Kennedy Center VSA Playwright Discovery cohort, and other groups as needed.

Administration:

• Collaborate with the Impact Producer to clarify impact goals and key performance indicators for LACE initiatives.
• Collaborate with External Relations staff to promote programming through direct mail, email, website, social media, brochures, interviews and grassroots efforts.
• Collaborate with Development staff to acquire funding for LACE programs, including participation in grant writing, reporting, and implementation for LACE-related grants.
• Research, develop and implement current recommended optimal policies in creative engagement and arts education, recognizing field-wide practices are ever-evolving and striving to balance stability with necessary change.
• Maintain department budget, including forecasting and monthly reconciliation. Track expenses, earned revenue, and grant funds.
• Review, edit, and/or create policies for the following programs:
  • Student Matinee Procedures
  • In-School Residencies
  • Teaching Artist Training/Professional Development
• Edit and update Teaching Artist Manual seasonally

• An ambassador to our community that is connected to and knowledgeable about Louisville and our greater region.
• Motivated to engage in small, large, rural, and urban environments within multiple complex school systems.
• Able to explore iterative ideation, documenting along the way and adjusting plans in a responsive manner.
• Adept with writing, public speaking, and interpersonal relations.
• Ability to work with learners of all different styles.
• Cultural competency to work with individuals from diverse backgrounds and foster open communication.
• Capacity to be aware of and in control of emotional wellness and be able to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically. A strong sense of professional and personal boundaries when providing hospitality to guests is essential.
• Adept at long term planning while also creatively addressing problems as they arise.
• Ability to work as an effective team member and maintain a positive attitude in stressful situations.
• Adept at balancing multiple tasks with flexibility. Strong time management, prioritization, and organizational skills.
• Broad knowledge of education field.

• Two years of experience in a related field that demonstrates a skillset that includes managing people, fostering relationships, coordination of intricate projects/tasks, and alignment with social justice and belonging efforts. Strong organizational and project management skills.
• Ability to lift, push, pull or otherwise maneuver up to 50 lbs. repeatedly, alone, with assistance, or by coordinating support.
• Comfort speaking on the phone, via text message, and via email with teachers, administrators, students, and artists.
• Comfort with public speaking, providing instructions, and addressing issues with large groups of students and/or intergenerational groups.
• Lifestyle and schedule that allows for a hybrid work schedule which is approximately 50% in-person and includes a variable day-to-day and week-to-week schedule with some early mornings, some evenings, and some weekends.
• Experience in balancing a multihyphenate role that includes taking responsibility to balance necessarily busy weeks with recovery periods.
• Must have a reliable vehicle or mode of transportation, and valid driver’s license.
• Comfort with crowds of all ages and abilities including young students, elder adults, and groups with specific access needs.
• File organizational skills and basic knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite, Google docs, and Teams/SharePoint or similar communication and file organization platforms.
• Background check clearance to work with minors and enter schools.

• Strong working knowledge of Jefferson County Public Schools and Kentucky state educational standards.
• Experience with implementing arts education programs in schools.
• Experience with student matinees or other related events hosting large student groups on field trips.
• Experience with grant writing and fundraising.
• Experience with access services including ASL interpretation, captions, audio description, service animals, neurodiverse support, etc.
• Conversational Spanish and/or ASL. (Other languages are also a plus.)

• Email to aacostapowell@actorstheatre.org with subject line LACE Coordinator Submission:
  • Resume
  • Cover letter
  • Intro video (30-90 seconds introducing who you are and why you’re interested in the position)