Persephone Theatre Announces Alan Long As New Executive Director

Saskatoon, SK – Following a national search, Persephone Theatre is pleased to announce Alan Long as its new Executive Director. His tenure at Persephone will begin August 24. Long takes on this position following the departure of previous Executive Director Breanne Harmon in May.

“On behalf of the Board of Directors, I am delighted to welcome Alan Long as the new Executive Director of Persephone Theatre,” said Persephone’s Board Chair Charlene Scrimshaw. “Alan brings extensive leadership experience across a wide range of organizations, and a deep and longstanding commitment to Saskatoon and its vibrant community.”

Long currently resides in Saskatoon, where he has extensive experience in management and the arts. He has experience working in theatre, with arts administration experience at both Gordon Tootoosis Nīkānīwin Theatre (GTNT) and Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan (SOTS). He started his career as a stage manager in 2001, and also holds credits in theatre as both an actor and musician. In addition to his theatre experience, Long has also worked in management roles at Wanuskewin and the YMCA of Saskatoon.

“I am excited for this opportunity to take on a leadership role at Saskatoon’s largest and beloved theatre company,” Long said. “In the last 25 years, I have had the privilege to work with so many great artists and arts administrators in what I know to be an incredibly talented and diverse theatre community.”

He is ready to continue bringing theatre to the community at Persephone Theatre, where he is looking forward to continuing the momentum created by the current and past leadership and board.

“I am looking forward to reconnecting with everyone and working together with Artistic Director Heather Cant to continue to bring important, thought-provoking and entertaining theatre to Saskatoon and Saskatchewan audiences,” Long said.

“Alan shares my deep love for theatre and I’m delighted to welcome him back to the fold,” Cant said. “I know the artistic community and Persephone’s patrons and supporters will welcome having Alan in this new role. I’m excited to get started building our partnership and visioning Persephone’s future together.”

In addition to his experience working in the arts, Long also has extensive experience in development and fundraising, which will be an asset to Persephone Theatre. While at SOTS, Long oversaw the Staging the Future Capital Campaign, which raised more than $6 million, and at Wanuskewin, he helped initiate the UNESCO Ready Campaign, which raised $7 million in support of becoming Saskatchewan’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site. Recently, Long has been instrumental in leading fundraising and communications at the YMCA of Saskatoon.

“His strong community relationships, strategic perspective, and passion for theatre position him exceptionally well to co-lead Persephone into its next chapter,” Scrimshaw said. “We are confident that his experience, collaborative leadership, and understanding of our community will serve the theatre well as we continue to build on our momentum and strengthen Persephone’s role as a cultural cornerstone in Saskatoon,”

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To book an interview, please contact:
Jodi Schellenberg, Director of Marketing & Communications
306-384-2126 ext. 237
[email protected]

Additional Information:

Biography – Alan Long grew up on a farm and helped run and expand the operation from 1990 to 2000.  During that time he was a professional musician playing drums in three different bands, one of which won several Saskatchewan Country Music Awards in the late 1990s.  He moved to Saskatoon in 2000 to pursue a career in theatre where he began working professionally in the spring of 2001 as a Stage Manager.  Alan has appeared in several professional shows as an actor, musician and stage manager, and he collaborated in three Canadian Fringe Theatre tours appearing in Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Edmonton and Victoria.  He applied his farm management, theatre production and musical production experience to the General Manager position at SNTC in 2011 where over a four year period he helped expand the company to an $800,000 annual budget supporting employment for four fulltime and four part time/seasonal employees as well as numerous theatre artists each year.  At Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan, Alan oversaw the Staging the Future Capital Campaign that raised more than $6 Million and transformed the organization into a permanent downtown festival site. At Wanuskewin he helped initiate the UNESCO Ready Campaign which raised $7 Million in support of their ongoing effort to become Saskatchewan’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Most recently, Alan has led fundraising and communications for the YMCA of Saskatoon, an organization now poised for a whole new era of expanded activity in regard to affordable health and wellness programs for families and individuals in our great city.