Managing Director - True Colors Theatre Company

Managing Director

Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company | Atlanta, GA | $100K - $110K | Full-Time

Best Consideration Deadline: April 30, 2026

Welcome to True Colors Theatre Company

The mission of True Colors Theatre Company is to celebrate the rich tradition of Black storytelling while giving voice to bold artists of all cultures.

– True Colors Theatre Company Mission Statement

Founded in 2002 by Tony Award-winning director Kenny Leon and Jane Bishop, Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company (TCTC) is one of Atlanta’s most vital professional theatre companies and a nationally recognized leader in centering the Black artistic experience. From its earliest days as a “moveable feast” producing across Atlanta venues, True Colors has grown into a company with a permanent home at the Southwest Arts Center and a deeply rooted presence in its community.

True Colors thrives at the intersection of artistic excellence and civic engagement. In 2019, Jamil Jude became Artistic Director, carrying forward a vision that honors the company’s founding commitment to Black storytelling while expanding its reach across communities, cities, and generations.

True Colors’ work is recognized nationally: in 2013, the company received the American Theatre Wing’s National Theatre Company Grant, and its flagship education program, the Next Narrative Monologue Competition now operates in eight cities across the country, with its national finals held each year at the Apollo Theatre in New York City.

True Colors’ programming spans mainstage productions, new play development, and transformative community education:

• Next Narrative Monologue Competition (NNMC): The company’s signature education program, built on original monologues commissioned by True Colors from living Black playwrights on topics relevant to today’s high school students. NNMC operates in eight cities nationally, culminating in a national finals at the Apollo Theatre.
• The Drinking Gourd: A cohort-based consortium that commissions and develops world-premiere works by leading Black playwrights in partnership with Black theatres nationwide.
• New Pages: A commissioning program focused on mid-career Southern playwrights, expanding the canon of voices heard on American stages.
• Community Connectivity: Enduring partnerships with civic organizations — including MARTA, the Atlanta Beltline, and Home Depot Backyard — that bring True Colors’ programming to diverse audiences across the city and region.

Our Values

Black Storytelling & Artistic Excellence

We believe the Black artistic tradition is a cornerstone of American culture and that centering it on stage is an act of both artistry and justice. We hold ourselves to the highest standards of production quality and artistic ambition.

Civic Engagement

We recognize that the theatre has a responsibility to the communities it inhabits. True Colors meets audiences where they are — in schools, on transit, at community events — and builds lasting relationships across civic, educational, and neighborhood life.

Equity & Inclusion

We are committed to building an organization that is equitable, anti-racist, and inclusive in both its artistic output and its internal culture. We pursue integrity and transparency in all that we do.

Collaboration & Partnership

We believe in the power of deep, generative partnerships — with artists, playwrights, donors, institutions, and communities — to amplify our mission and sustain our work.

The Job

The Managing Director (MD) is the chief external relations leader of True Colors Theatre Company, responsible for driving earned and contributed revenue growth of a budget of $1.5 million, strengthening external partnerships, and ensuring the organization’s financial and operational sustainability. The MD directly supervises the General Manager, Finance Manager, Development and Marketing Consultants, and co-leads a staff of 20 full-time and part-time staff. In close partnership with the Artistic Director (AD), the MD advances TCTC’s mission by aligning artistic ambition with strong fundraising, marketing, and strategic execution.

Current Environment

Like many regional theatres across the country, True Colors Theatre Company navigated significant challenges in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, including shifts in audience behavior and contributed revenue. The company has remained deeply committed to its mission throughout and continues to build on a strong foundation of community relationships, artistic credibility, and donor engagement.

True Colors is in an exciting moment of transition for the organization, with a dynamic and visionary Artistic Director, a committed Board, and a mission that resonates with the Atlanta community. The company is positioned to expand its revenue base, grow its institutional profile, and deepen its community footprint. The next Managing Director will need a firm grasp of the opportunities and challenges facing arts nonprofits today, and will bring both strategic clarity and entrepreneurial energy to help lead this next chapter of growth.

Your Roles and Responsibilities

Revenue Growth & Development

• Lead and execute a diversified contributed revenue strategy to raise $1.5 million across individual, corporate, foundation, and government sources.
• Personally cultivate and solicit major gifts and institutional support, serving as a primary relationship holder with key donors and funders.
• Build and provide strategic revenue goals for the organization in collaboration with the Artistic Director and Board Chair.
• Supervise the Development team with clear performance metrics and a culture of accountability and collaboration.
• Ensure that earned and contributed income goals are met through targeted revenue strategies.
• Develop financial models projecting one, three, and five years out to align with strategic priorities and long-term sustainability.
• Expand contributed and earned income streams by identifying and pursuing new opportunities consistent with TCTC’s brand and mission.

Marketing & External Affairs

• Supervise and guide Marketing Consultant to manage brand, marketing, communications, and audience development strategy, ensuring alignment with fundraising and revenue goals.
• Strengthen the theatre’s visibility and influence across civic, corporate, philanthropic, and cultural communities in Atlanta and nationally.
• Serve as chief administrative spokesperson and relationship builder, representing TCTC at community forums, national convenings, and arts advocacy events.
• Work closely with the Marketing & Communications consultant to enhance earned revenue models and deepen audience engagement.
• Advocate for the arts and increase public awareness of theatre’s role in civic life, particularly in elevating Black storytelling and artists of color.

Strategic Leadership

• Partner with the Artistic Director to translate artistic vision into fiscally sound, mission-aligned initiatives and long-term strategic plans.
• Reflect the organization’s values in daily management, strategic planning, communication, and external relationship building.
• Support and engage the Board of Directors in governance, fundraising leadership, and fiduciary oversight.
• Work with the board and staff to implement strategies that reflect the company’s transformational goals and mission priorities.
• Identify opportunities for partnerships, innovation, and expansion of the company’s reach and impact.
• Maintain effective, transparent communication with the Board of Directors, ensuring their ongoing engagement and participation.

Organizational Excellence & Operations

• Develop and manage the annual operating budget, including forecasting and financial planning in collaboration with the General Manager and Board.
• Monitor financial performance and cash flow; ensure compliance with audit, tax, contractual, and policy requirements.
• Oversee administrative systems, contracts, HR policies, and organizational infrastructure to ensure operational efficiency and resilience.
• Supervise business and facility operations with a focus on finance, fundraising, and earned revenue models.

Staff Management & Culture Building

• Foster a positive, cohesive work environment by empowering staff and providing clear opportunities for professional growth and development.
• Build a high-performing, accountable, and collaborative organizational culture consistent with TCTC’s values.
• Develop a transparent and supportive relationship with the staff and leadership team, ensuring clear and consistent communication across all levels.
• Champion and elevate the organization’s equity, diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism initiatives with care and intentionality.

Who Are We Looking For?

True Colors seeks a strategic, externally oriented leader with demonstrated success in revenue growth, organizational leadership, and building influential partnerships. The ideal candidate understands that leading a mission-driven arts organization requires both entrepreneurial ambition and deep cultural sensitivity.

The top candidates will have the following qualifications:

• A proven track record of individual, corporate, and major gift fundraising, with experience personally cultivating and closing significant gifts.
• Strong financial acumen, including budget development, financial modeling, and performance management in a nonprofit or arts organization setting.
• Experience leading and developing high-performing, mission-aligned teams.
• Marketing and brand leadership tied to measurable audience and revenue outcomes.
• Exceptional relationship-building skills across philanthropic, corporate, civic, and government sectors.
• Meaningful experience partnering with a Board of Directors on governance, fundraising, and strategic planning.
• The ability to collaborate closely with an Artistic Director while providing clear, confident operational leadership.
• Experience leading through periods of change and uncertainty with a solutions-oriented, adaptive mindset.
• 5+ years of related experience in theater and/or arts management, or management in a mission-based organization
• A deep commitment to the arts and to the mission of elevating Black storytelling and amplifying bold artistic voices.

True Colors Theatre Company is committed to advancing equity and diversity in all that we do. TCTC does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital or familial status, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, or any other basis prohibited by local, state, or federal law. We actively encourage applications from people of color, women, LGBTQ+ individuals, people with disabilities, veterans, and all those who bring the range of perspectives and lived experiences that strengthen our organization and our art.

About Atlanta

Atlanta is one of the most dynamic, culturally rich cities in the American South — a city of innovation, history, and extraordinary artistic energy. Home to a diverse population of approximately 500,000 residents in the city proper and nearly 6 million in the greater metro area, Atlanta is a global hub of Black culture, business, and civic leadership.

The city has long been a center of the civil rights movement, and today it remains a vital site of cultural production, with thriving communities of artists, musicians, filmmakers, and theatre makers. Atlanta’s arts landscape includes the Alliance Theatre, the High Museum of Art, the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, and dozens of mid-sized and emerging arts organizations. True Colors Theatre Company plays a distinctive and essential role in this ecosystem, centering Black storytelling and amplifying artists whose work shapes both local and national conversations.

Atlanta offers an outstanding quality of life, with a warm climate, exceptional food and hospitality, and a strong sense of community. For arts leaders who are passionate about cultural equity, civic engagement, and the transformative power of theatre, Atlanta is an inspiring place to do this work.

Salary and Benefits

Salary: $100,000-$110,000, commensurate with experience 

Location: In Person in offices in Atlanta, GA  

Benefits package includes:

• Medical benefits, including health, dental, and vision coverage
• Generous paid time off policy

How do I learn more?

Visit emcforward.com to submit your application. Applications for best consideration are due no later than April 30, 2026.

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