Theatre Calgary Announces MAYA CHOLDIN as New Executive Director

Theatre Calgary's Board of Directors are pleased to announce the appointment of Maya Choldin as the new Executive Director of Theatre Calgary. She will officially join the theatre on November 2, 2020.

An Alberta native and graduate of Mount Allison University, Ms. Choldin is currently the Managing Director of Pig Iron Theatre Company in Philadelphia, PA, a position she has held for the last six seasons. Prior to Pig Iron, Choldin built a long resume in the arts that includes General Manager of the Pennsylvania Ballet, along with roles at George Mason University's Hylton Performing Arts Center, the Kimmel Center, and management of productions and projects at Opera Philadelphia, the Mann Center, and FringeArts.

"The arrival of our new Executive Director Maya Choldin signifies an important investment in our future, and further exemplifies the resilience and the ongoing commitment to the theatre by our Board and staff," says Craig Senyk, Chairman of the Board. "With a deep background in the arts, and having helped successfully navigate a theatre through the Covid-19 pandemic, Maya and the team will ensure our theatre continues to thrive as we move forward to the day that we can once again perform live for our audiences."

"I am thrilled to return to Alberta and to join Artistic Director Stafford Arima in leading Theatre Calgary, alongside its dedicated staff and passionate Board," says Choldin. "Never has the mission of Theatre Calgary been more relevant than today. As we struggle to find ways to come together, I look forward to helping the Theatre Calgary team create engaging experiences and to make sure that the diverse community of Calgary feels welcome and represented both on our stages and in our audiences."

Arima shares his anticipation of this new partnership. "Maya comes to Theatre Calgary with an extensive and diversified theatre, and arts background. I deeply appreciate her worldliness, which overflows from her being, probably because of the variety of cities she has lived, worked, and thrived in. I'm excited and eager to begin this new partnership with Maya as we enter into unchartered territories of how theatre, gathering spaces, and connectivity will live and breathe within our lives."

Choldin echoes those sentiments. "During these unprecedented times we have unique opportunities to consider the possibilities of what is next, and this has been at the center of my conversations with Stafford and the Board. I am inspired and excited to work with this exceptional team, and to join Theatre Calgary."

In addition to her arts experience, Choldin has served on the boards of a variety of community organizations, and in the fall of 2019, she attended ArtEquity Facilitator Training to deepen her commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion in the arts.

Formed 52 years ago, on July 1, 1968 Theatre Calgary is Calgary's first professional theatre company. Our mission is to stimulate, provoke, and delight through ambitious programming created to ignite local, national, and international engagement. Theatre Calgary is a member of the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres, and operates within the jurisdiction of the Canadian Theatre Agreement. For more information, visit us at theatrecalgary.com and follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

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