London, Ont.’s Grand Theatre has announced its new executive director to replace Evan Klassen, who stepped down to return to his hometown of Winnipeg to fulfil the same role at a theatre there.
Lyndee Hansen, an award-winning Canadian theatre manager, producer and decade-long contributor to the Grand Theatre, officially begins leadership of the organization on July 29, but started on Monday to have a week of crossover with Klassen. The board of directors at the Grand says Hansen was their ideal candidate for several reasons, one being her near-decade experience working there in various roles.
“I know all the people, I know the board, I know some of our audiences,” Hansen says. “So, it’s great to feel like I’m just moving up and moving into a new space with an organization I know and love.”
The Grand hired a search firm Martin Bragg & Associates to do a national search, looked at a number of candidates, had a short list, and did several interviews for the role. Hansen was recommended to fill the role. The search found qualified arts leaders from across the nation.
“It was a rigorous process with two different interviews with the search firm, then two different interviews with the search committee,” Hansen says.
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Hansen is nationally recognized for her leadership within the Canadian professional theatre community and has received several prestigious awards over the course of her career, most recently the Mallory Gilbert Leadership Award in recognition of sustained, inspired and creative leadership in Canadian theatre. It’s given once a year to an individual who’s worked for a long time in the industry and shown their dedication to theatre, ensuring its future success.
“I was also awarded early in my career with the Victor Poli award for emerging administrators, so that was lovely in an earlier point in my career … and the year I got that Mallory Gilbert was given a lifetime membership to PACT (Professional Association of Canadian Theatres), so I have a wonderful memory of being recognized along with hir.”
Working in partnership with the artistic director, Rachel Peake, Hansen’s role will have her drive administration, audience engagement, strategic business planning and fundraising pillars for the Grand. She will provide strategic vision, financial oversight and support to the Grand Theatre’s senior leadership teams in maintaining and expanding upon an open and welcoming culture that reaches everyone in contact with the company.
“The Grand has always been a home for me. The first professional show I saw was in the box seats when I was six years old, so it’s always held a special place in my heart,” Hansen says. “I’m really excited to have the opportunity to lead the organization.”
Hansen plans on building on the successes that Klassen and Peake have been enjoying over the last six months. Peake’s first program season has been warmly received and Hasnen wants to take her love of theatre and championing of work to bring everyone to the theatre for the upcoming season.
A high school project of Matilda starts rehearsals in two weeks, and the season starts in earnest with As You Like It in October, which brings together the Beatles and Shakespeare, including 20 Beatles songs.
“We also are doing Sound of Music as holiday show, which (Peake) directed last year in Winnipeg and Edmonton,” Hansen says. “And we have 12 (London) local children double cast as the Von Trapp family.”
You can find the upcoming shows and descriptions for this season on the Grand Theatre website.
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