Arizona Theatre Company Names Tucson Stage Manager Mollie Heil Its 2026–2027 Resident Artist

The season-long appointment will see Heil work on Little Shop of Horrors and Gem of the Ocean as ATC expands sustained opportunities for Arizona theatre professionals.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Arizona Theatre Company has appointed Tucson-based stage manager Mollie Heil as its Resident Artist for the 2026–2027 season.
• Heil will stage manage Little Shop of Horrors and assist with August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean.
• ATC launched the paid season-long Resident Artist programme in 2024 to develop and retain Arizona-based theatre talent.
• Heil began at ATC as an intern in 2018 and has worked on more than ten productions across six consecutive seasons since returning to Tucson in 2020.

A theatre season is shaped not only by the performers audiences see on stage, but also by the professionals coordinating rehearsals, technical cues and the many moving parts behind each production. In Arizona, Arizona Theatre Company (ATC) is placing that backstage expertise at the centre of its latest investment in local artists, naming Tucson-based stage manager Mollie Heil its Resident Artist for the 2026–2027 season.

The appointment gives Heil a season-long professional relationship with the company, rather than a contract tied to a single production. She is scheduled to stage manage ATC’s Little Shop of Horrors, serve as assistant stage manager for August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean, and contribute to educational and community activities during the season. For theatre audiences visiting Tucson or the greater Phoenix area, the announcement offers a view into the local creative teams supporting ATC’s productions.

A longer-term role for an Arizona theatre professional

ATC introduced its Resident Artist initiative in 2024 to provide paid, sustained work to Arizona-based practitioners across theatrical disciplines. The programme is intended to give performers, designers, stage managers and other production specialists opportunities to build careers in the state, while developing continuing relationships with the theatre.

Heil’s connection with ATC dates to 2018, when she joined as a stage management intern. After returning to Tucson in 2020, she worked on more than ten productions across six consecutive seasons, progressing through assistant stage management and stage management positions.

Her ATC stage management credits include The Roommate, Bob & Jean: A Love Story, Scrooge!, Master Class and The Legend of Georgia McBride. She served as assistant stage manager on Heist, Pru Payne, The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley, how to make an American Son, Nina Simone: Four Women and Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley. Her earlier internship work included The Music Man, Erma Bombeck: At Wit’s End and Native Gardens.

Matt August, the company’s Kasser Family Artistic Director, characterised stage management as an artistic discipline and pointed to Heil’s experience working in demanding professional rehearsal environments. He said her development within ATC exemplified the kind of in-state career the Resident Artist programme was designed to support.

Heil, in comments accompanying the October 15 announcement, described her first internship season as the experience that made her want to live in Tucson and continue working with ATC. She also expressed appreciation for the Tucson and Tempe/Phoenix theatre communities.

Connecting local talent with regional theatre

Outside Arizona Theatre Company, Heil has worked on productions for The REV Theatre Company, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Tuacahn, Cortland Repertory Theatre, The Weathervane Theatre and The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. She also taught the final three semesters for BFA stage management students at the University of Arizona as an adjunct instructor. She holds a BFA in Stage Management from The Sargent Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University in St. Louis and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association.

Arizona Theatre Company describes itself as Arizona’s Official State Theatre and the state’s only member of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT). Its productions reach audiences in Tucson and the greater Phoenix area. The company positions the Resident Artist initiative within a broader effort to connect local practitioners to the professional production standards and collaborative networks of American regional theatre.

August said regional companies can play an important role in developing work that eventually reaches larger commercial stages. He argued that Arizona audiences should be able to experience ambitious professional productions without leaving the state. The Resident Artist model also addresses a less visible issue in the performing arts: the difficulty of finding continuous work locally when many production appointments last only for a single show.

For visitors considering theatre as part of a trip, ATC’s official website provides production and season information, while Visit Tucson offers wider destination planning resources. Further details about Heil’s appointment were published through Visit Tucson’s press coverage.