Julia Flood to Retire
Artistic Director Julia Flood will retire in June 2024 after the conclusion of the company’s 51st season.
Julia Flood, Artistic Director Metro Theater Company
Julia will have served as MTC’s Artistic Director for ten years at the time of her retirement, but her commitment to theater for young audiences in the country extends well beyond her tenure in St. Louis. Prior to coming to MTC to succeed long time Artistic Director Carol North in 2014, she had served as the Artistic Director of the former Eckerd Theater Company in Florida for 16 years and served on the board of directors for TYA/USA, the national service organization for theater for youth and families from 2011-2019. As recently as May 2023, she was honored by TYA/USA with the Harold Oaks Award for Sustained Excellence, the lifetime achievement award for sustained impact in theater for youth in America. Under her leadership, MTC has produced thirty-four productions including world premieres from Idris Goodwin, Mariah Richardson, Guinevere Govea and Anna Pickett, Jeremy Schaefer, Eric Coble, and John Wolbers and offered arts-based residencies in countless schools and school districts across the St. Louis region. In 2017, she led the company’s move to its current mainstage home at The Grandel.
“As I round out a decade of service to the mission and vision of Metro Theater Company, I am grateful to be surrounded by this community of artists, educators, board, staff, and supporters who take inspiration daily from the intelligence and emotional wisdom of young people,” said Flood. “For half a century, MTC has made St. Louis a more welcoming place to live, one child at a time. I look forward to watching MTC’s next chapter as a new generation continues to build on the national reputation of this amazing theater company.”
Prior to artistic leadership roles at theaters for young audiences, Julia spent many years as a freelance actor/director/teaching artist/playwright. A graduate of Northwestern University, Julia spent seven years as a resident member of the Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble, an artist-led ensemble founded under the guidance and artistic direction of legendary acting teacher Alvina Krause, in Pennsylvania. There she first learned the importance of theater for young audiences and began to work on devising and developing new works for the theater.
“It has been a pleasure and an honor to serve side-by-side in leadership with Julia,” shared Managing Director Joe Gfaller. “Her commitment to telling stories that inspire audiences of all ages and to reflecting and representing the lived experiences of St. Louis’s young people has been a special gift to the entire region. She will always be a treasured colleague to every artist, educator, and staff member with whom she has collaborated here.”
MTC will honor Julia’s ten-year legacy at its annual After Dark gala, which will be held on May 7 at The Palladium near Lafayette Square in St. Louis. As part of the gala, Julia hopes to be able to welcome as many artists as possible to the celebration. MTC is raising funds to help underwrite those artist tickets, enabling the event not only to celebrate Julia, but also the legacy of artists that her time at MTC have helped to develop and nourish.
“Julia has been the artistic visionary for Metro Theater Company for the last decade,” reflected Nancy Garvey, MTC Board President. “Her love of theater for young audiences and passion for nurturing learning through theater is evident in every MTC production and education program. We are grateful for her inspiring leadership of our staff and artists and for inspiring the young people, teachers, and families her work has touched.”
Metro Theater Company has begun a national search to find the company’s new Executive Artistic Director. Interested candidates can find the position description and how to apply at metroplays.org/work.