Organic Theater Company Announces New Managing Director

Organic Theater Company has announced that Stephanie Sullivan has taken over as the new Managing Director of Organic Theater Company. Joshua Anderson, who served as the Managing Director of Organic for the last six years, is now the Finance Director for the company, as well as focusing more on directing and working on his starring role as New Dad.

As Organic's new Managing Director addressing issues of systemic racism is of utmost importance to Stephanie. In this moment, theaters are rightfully being called to examine their practices and participation in upholding white supremacist systems. Organic Theater is no exception, and they have work to do both administratively and artistically. They are currently working on developing a transparent antiracism plan, creating systems for accountability and harm prevention, rethinking aspects of their mission and practice, and making their company a safer place to practice artistry for BIPOC and all artists. How they can better address issues of equity, diversity, inclusion, and antiracism as a predominantly white company is a priority that Stephanie shares with the entire company.

Stephanie, a company member since August 2019, has been seen in four Organic productions to date: Phantom Pain, The Revolutionists, Melancholy Play, and The Memo. She is also currently the creator, main director and producer of Organic's Podcast Productions, on which she has actively been working since the theaters closed down due to the pandemic. She produced a podcast remount of The Revolutionists, which raised over $1,000 for the Ingalls Foundation of the University of Chicago Hospitals for COVID-19 responders, and is currently working on the first episodes of a series called SPREAD written by Phantom Pain playwright Barbara Lhota.

Stephanie's background is somewhat eclectic; born and raised in the US to an American father and a French mother, Stephanie was blessed with dual citizenship and nationality. While growing up in Houston, Stephanie attended an International School where she received all of her education in French and graduated with both an American High School Diploma and the French Baccalaureate. Deciding to remain close to family, which has always been important to her, Stephanie remained in Texas and attended Trinity University where her passion for theater developed and blossomed. She earned a B.A. in Communications and Theater from Trinity and then quickly knew that she would pursue a higher degree in Theater. In 2003, she graduated from Illinois State University, where she obtained an M.A. in Theater, then immediately moved to Chicago where she would earn her M.F.A. in Acting in 2006 from DePaul University.

From 2008 to 2019, Stephanie was a member of Boho Theater, where she not only acted in several productions, but also helped to design the unique casting process for the company. During her involvement with BoHo Theater, Stephanie witnessed and took part in the growth of a company that went from having 0 subscribers, 4 board members, and performed in a 30-seat house, to one that grew a robust subscriber base, doubled the size of the board, and performed in spaces at Theater Wit, Stage 773, and the Greenhouse Theater. As an actor, Stephanie has enjoyed working with many of Chicago's theaters including Timeline, Stage Left, Prop Theater, and Chicago Dramatists.

The Organic is committed to staging bold, relevant productions of classic, contemporary, and adapted works with a permanent group of artists over a sustained period of time.

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