The American Theatre Wing is the nonprofit that supports theater nationally — from regional spaces to nonprofit institutions to commercial productions — and the individual artists who make it. Heather Hitchens, its president and CEO, has led the organization for 13 years.
When Hitchens joined the Wing in 2011, she brought a rare breadth of experience. With a bachelor’s degree in music as a percussionist and a master’s degree in arts administration, Hitchens began her career on the development side of the performing arts. Later, she served as executive director of the Delaware Symphony Orchestra, president of Meet the Composer and executive director of the New York State Council on the Arts, which gave her exposure to individual arts organizations as well as a government point of view. The New York State Council on the Arts oversees everything from museums to theater to music. Hitchens saw her time with the organization as “a call to service.”
She decided to move on to the Wing because, as she said, “My heart and soul has always been with artists and creatives, and the Wing does a lot to support that aspect. And the arts education — helping people not only discover theater, but advance through the theater — is a dual passion of mine.” Hitchens added, “There’s something about understanding every angle of this — being an artist, having done fundraising, working in the government side of it — that really brought me to this point that the Wing ended up being the perfect place to bring these things together.”
Particularly in the aftermath of the pandemic and shutdown, discussions among industry professionals about government support and public advocacy for the arts have been more pronounced. As the leader of the Wing and with her past government experience, Hitchens is uniquely qualified to offer her perspective on arts advocacy. In this third part of our Q&A series with Hitchens, she supplies a concrete message to reinvigorate support for the arts.
