The Old Globe Appoints Kim Montelibano Heil as Associate Artistic Director

The Old Globe has appointed Kim Montelibano Heil to the position of Associate Artistic Director. Heil, a theatre artist, administrator, educator, and producer for over 20 years, began her new role earlier this month. She will work closely with the Globe’s Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein on all aspects of artistic leadership, and will supervise the theatre’s Artistic Department.

Prior to her appointment, Heil served as The Old Globe’s Artistic Producer and Head of Casting. She was previously the Associate Producer and Casting Director at San Diego Repertory Theatre, and the Education Director at San Diego Junior Theatre. Heil has also acted as a consultant to Moonlight Stage Productions, and to San Diego State University’s New Musical Initiative. She currently serves on the Board of the National New Play Network and has also served on the boards of Diversionary Theatre and Blindspot Collective. Heil was one of the inaugural Ambassadors for the San Diego Theatre Alliance and recently became a member of the artEquity BIPOC Leadership Circle. Heil holds an M.A. in Performance Studies from New York University and is a member of the Casting Society of America.

“One of the keys to the Globe’s excellence is the high caliber of leadership at the senior levels of our company,” said Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. “The appointment of Kim Montelibano Heil as Associate Artistic Director buttresses our strength. Kim boasts a long history with this theatre, during which she’s served in many departments and in many capacities, contributing ideas, strategies, and passion that’s made our work better. She is a casting director of some distinction, and she’s been central to maintaining the high level of talent on our stages. She’s also long been a pillar in the local theatre community, ensuring the Globe’s deep ties to the artists of our city. Most of all, she’s a warm, kind, and humane individual who leads with compassion and empathy, and who has exquisite taste in theatre. I’m deeply pleased, both professionally and personally, to have her as a dear and valued colleague, and I know she’ll do important and wonderful work.”

“I’m immensely grateful for the opportunity to serve The Old Globe, and the San Diego theatre community, as the Globe’s Associate Artistic Director,” said Kim Montelibano Heil. “I’ve championed the Globe’s mission and work since 2004, when I began as an assistant to Jack O’Brien and Craig Noel. It’s a true privilege to work with Barry Edelstein, Audrey S. Geisel Managing Director Tim Shields, and all the Globe team in my new capacity, and I look forward to continuing to make theatre matter to San Diego and beyond.”

Tony Award–winning The Old Globe is one of the country’s leading professional nonprofit regional theatres. Now in its 90th year, the Globe is San Diego’s flagship performing arts institution, and it serves a vibrant community by creating theatre that lives beyond the stage. Under the leadership of Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein and Audrey S. Geisel Managing Director Timothy J. Shields, The Old Globe produces a year-round season of 16 productions of classic, contemporary, and new works on its three Balboa Park stages. The company’s Summer Shakespeare Festival is internationally renowned, and in 2024 the Globe completed the Shakespeare canon with Edelstein’s landmark production Henry 6. More than 250,000 people annually attend Globe productions and participate in the theatre’s artistic and arts engagement programs. Its nationally prominent Arts Engagement Department provides an array of participatory programs that make theatre matter to more people in neighborhoods throughout the region. Humanities programs at the Globe and around the city broaden the community’s understanding of theatre art in all its forms. The Globe also boasts a range of new play development programs with professional and community-based writers, as well as the renowned The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program. Numerous world premieres—such as 2014 Tony Award winner for Best Musical A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, Bright Star, The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!—have been developed at The Old Globe and have gone on to highly successful runs on Broadway and at regional theatres across the country.

Photo credit: Rich Soublet II