Children's Theatre of Cincinnati Welcomes New Associate Artistic Director

- Eric Byrd is joining the staff of The Children's Theatre of Cincinnati as the company's new Associate Artistic Director.

Eric is a Cincinnati native and a recent transplant from New York City, where he spent the past years working in commercial theatre and live entertainment. He got his start as a performer at Paramount's Kings Island and since has performed across the country and across the world. Favorite performance credits include Legally Blonde, Fiddler on the Roof, 42nd Street, The Drowsy Chaperone, Urban Cowboy, The Producers, High School Musical, & West Side Story, as well as multiple contracts on board Holland America Cruise Lines, where he also served as Company Manager.

This past year, he worked in the Broadway casting office of Stewart/Whitley where he assisted on the Broadway productions of On The Town, Chicago, Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 (starring Josh Groban) as well as the national tours of Bullets Over Broadway, Once, Shrek, Into the Woods and Elf, The Last Night of Ballyhoo, and The Forgotten Woman at Bay Street Theatre, AIDA Cruise Lines and West Side Story (starring Skylar Astin) at Carnegie Hall. He was responsible for expanding the talent search on London's West End for Royal Caribbean Cruise Line's productions of We Will Rock You, Cats, Saturday Night Fever, Mamma Mia! and Grease.

Additional casting credits include work at the Roundabout Theatre Company/Jim Carnahan Casting, assisting on the Broadway productions of Once, Matilda, and Anything Goes. Eric served as a choreographer and assistant director at Interlochen Summer Arts Camp for two summers, and has served on panels and taught master classes for Broadway Artists Alliance, Actors Connection, Students Live, and The Growing Studio in New York City. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre and a Minor in Management from Wright State University and is a proud member of Actors Equity.

"I am beyond thrilled to be joining the team at TCT," Eric says. "Theatre has the power to inspire, to heal, and to educate and it has given me a home, a sense of purpose, a safe haven, and a family. I'm looking forward to bringing my experiences to this incredible organization. This city is responsible for introducing me to theatre and I am so happy to be back. After all, there is no place like home!"

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