AUSTIN: Penfold Theater Company has named Texas State University senior Morgan Peterson to be its fall 2022 Arts Leadership Apprentice. The apprenticeship program is a partnership with TSU in which one apprentice is selected and serves to assist and shadow Penfold’s producing artistic director for one academic semester. The teacher will gain hands-on experience running a theatrical nonprofit organization.
Peterson, a theater performance and production and communication studies major, and will begin the curriculum in August 2023 at Penfold. As part of the apprenticeship, Peterson will work alongside Penfold’s program director, Taylor Flanagan, on the theatre’s accessibility initiatives, and will coordinate panel discussions on mental health that will take place during Penfold’s upcoming production of Vincent, a play about Vincent van Gogh. Some of Peterson’s university credits include In Arabia We’d All Be Kings (Assistant Director), Cendrillion (Assistant Director), I Didn’t Know You Could Cook (Director), and Suor Angelica (Assistant Director).
The teaching office aims to give students who have an interest in art management the experience and skills necessary to form a professional career in the theater. Teachers develop a 360-degree perspective of running a professional theater, including season planning, production and event planning, marketing, development, finance, human resources, and general administration. Teachers commit to approximately 200 hours during the academic year and receive up to six course credits and $10 per hour as compensation.
Previous art leadership teacher Kylie Gutierrez completed the regular program in addition to including a new game series, two pieces to advance through the early phases of development. In a statement, Gutierrez said teaching helped develop her skills, network and the confidence to build a career in theater. Natalie Blackman, faculty sponsor and Texas State University head of B.F.A. Performance and Production said in a statement, “I can’t tell you how much this apprenticeship meant to Kylie and how many valuable experiences she had as part of Penfold’s incredible organization for a semester. Penfold helped prepare her to truly be a leading To take part in making the bright future for theater that we are all working towards.
As of 2020, the Penfold Theater Company’s budget was approximately $194,000.
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