New Managing Director for The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati
(CINCINNATI) — The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati is pleased to announce the company’s new Managing Director, Ms. Kim Deaton.
Ms. Deaton is a native Cincinnatian and graduate of the Cincinnati Country Day School (’87). Kim left Cincinnati to attend Vanderbilt University (’91) where she received a Bachelor of Science in Education, and then quickly returned to Cincinnati which she and her family continue to call home.
Kim assumed the role of Managing Director of the Children’s Theatre in September of 2013. Kim’s expertise spans non-profit management, fund raising, strategic planning, market media development, public relations, special events, grant acquisition and major gift acquisition.
Prior to joining The Children’s Theatre, Kim worked as the President of the Ohio Valley Chapter of the National MS Society, as the Director of Major Gifts for the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and prior to that as the Director of Market Development for Local 12 WKRC-TV and Clear Channel Broadcasting. She served as the Executive Director of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and spent time operating her own consulting company, advising both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations in the area of special events, board building, marketing, corporate sponsorship, public relations, fundraising and promotions.
Kim was raised in the nonprofit world as her mother served as the Executive Director for a local nonprofit for 24 years. Kim resides in Mariemont with her three wonderful children Merrell, Kealy and Bryson and has watched her daughter Kealy flourish as a vocal and drama major at the School for the Creative and Performing Arts.
The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati’s Board President, Mr. Craig S. Hurwitz, said, “TCTC has been on a transitional journey for the past four years. The hiring of Kim represents the end of that process and is the final piece of the puzzle. Under the leadership of both Artistic Director, Angela Powell Walker, and Kim, our organization is uniquely positioned for success. This is the right leadership team and the right time for us to fulfill our mission of educating, entertaining and engaging children and children at heart through our professional productions and arts education programming.”
“I am thrilled to be joining an organization as well respected as The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati,” Ms. Deaton said. “As the mother of a child who is very active in performing arts, I have seen firsthand how the experience can positively impact a child’s development. A colleague recently said to me ‘The Arts are an independent verification of self-worth for children,’ and that struck me as a powerful and very true statement. Through exposure to our MainStage Productions and programs such as ArtReach and Learning the Craft, children gain exposure to an imaginative and powerful world.”
The Board of Trustees of The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati is pleased to announce their selection of this exciting, enthusiastic and resourceful talent, Kim Deaton as its new Managing Director.
The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati is dedicated to making the world a richer place in ways that truly matter. A moment of joy in the theater, a better understanding of history or literature through the arts, and a song that you cannot stop humming are small examples of how the arts can spur a child’s learning process to new heights, creating a world that is more interesting, more accessible, and utterly fascinating. Helping a child have this experience is the goal that drives us.
TCTC’s mission is to educate, entertain and engage our young audiences through professional theatrical productions and arts education programming. As we fulfill our mission this season, we will accomplish the following through our three primary programs:
- MainStage at the Taft Theatre – We will welcome 85,000 children, teachers, and family members, including students from approximately 235 schools across the Tri-State, to one of our four family-friendly and professional musical theater productions at the historic Taft.
- ArtReach – We will see 90,000 children and their families at one of our 280 touring performances or during an arts-integration workshop or residency.
- Learning The Craft – Over 300 children will be provided fine arts instruction, including the group that participates in the four-week intensive STAR summer program where we offer professional musical theatre training to some of the region’s most talented youth.
Each year The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati contributes to the vibrancy and cultural vitality of our region by providing nearly 180,000 children and their families with arts exposure-opportunities through performances, workshops and art-making experiences. For thousands of children, our programs are their first professional “arts encounter.” We seek to plant the seed for an ongoing and deeper artistic engagement that blossoms as they return for another one of our programs or as they become patrons of other arts organizations in our cultural community.
