American Players Theatre Appoints New Managing Director

Carrie Van Hallgren

Spring Green, Wis. – The APT Board of Directors has appointed Carrie Van Hallgren as the company’s new managing director, beginning January 1, 2015. Ms. Van Hallgren and Brenda DeVita, artistic director will take over co-leadership of American Players Theatre from Producing Artistic Director David Frank, who is retiring at the end of this year.

Barbara Swan, President of APT’s Board of Directors, said: “We were looking for someone very special to be the new managing leader of APT and we believe we have found that in Carrie Van Hallgren. Carrie grew up in the area and was in a sense raised on APT’s work as well of that of the Wisconsin Shakespeare Festival. APT helped to develop her love of Shakespeare and theater and set her on a path to become the talented and experienced theater professional that she is. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to bring her back to the
area and to APT.”

Ms. Van Hallgren is a native of Platteville, Wisconsin and graduated from Platteville High School. She holds a BA in Theatre History from Davidson College and an MFA in Theater Management from Yale School of Drama.

She comes to APT from the University of Minnesota where she served as Producing Director of the Department of Theatre Arts & Dance. From 2009 to 2012, she was on the faculty of Davidson College and also produced the theater department’s season.

She was Managing Director of Milwaukee Shakespeare and interim General Manager at Milwaukee Chamber Theatre. At Yale Repertory Theatre, Ms. Van Hallgren served as both Associate Managing Director and Company Manager. While at Yale, she completed her management fellowship under the mentorship of Barry Grove at Manhattan Theatre Club during the company’s Tony Award winning 2005 season. Ms. Van Hallgren produced the inaugural Royal Shakespeare Company performance and educational residency of The Merchant of Venice at Davidson College in 2002. Her 17-year career also includes positions in the education and artistic departments at Chicago Shakespeare Theater and Milwaukee Repertory Theater.

As an educator, Ms. Van Hallgren has taught introduction to theatre, acting, playwrighting and arts management.

Ms. Van Hallgren is married to radio producer Sam Van Hallgren and together they have three children.

Dual-Leadership Model

With Ms. Van Hallgren’s appointment, American Players Theatre will make a change to its leadership structure.

Since 2005, David Frank has served as APT’s Producing Artistic Director. In 2015, the company will move to a dual-leadership model with Brenda DeVita as Artistic Director and Ms. Van Hallgren as Managing Director. Ms. DeVita took over as Artistic Director in January and is responsible for the artistic vision, including season selection, hiring artists and managing the artistic staff. Ms. Van Hallgren will lead the administrative side of the organization, including finance, marketing and development.

Ms. DeVita said: “In true APT style, we looked long and hard and were extremely deliberate in our search for a new Managing Director. We were determined to find all of the qualities we wanted in one candidate. We’ve found those qualities in Carrie Van Hallgren, and are thrilled that she will be joining our team here at APT. Her keen intelligence, her life-long passion for theater and Shakespeare in particular, along with her investment in what is special about APT, is a remarkable combination. I very much look forward to collaborating with her and am confident we will be terrific partners.”

American Players Theatre’s 35th season is currently running through November 9 with nine plays in rotating repertory. Located near Spring Green, Wisconsin, the theater welcomes over 100,000 visitors each year and is one of the most popular classical theater companies in the country.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.