COLORADO SPRINGS, CO – With mixed emotions, Theatreworks Colorado Springs and the Ent Center for the Arts at UCCS announce that Artistic Director Caitlin Lowans has accepted the prestigious position of Artistic Director at Ten Thousand Things Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota, beginning February 2025. This is an exciting opportunity for Caitlin, who created Theatreworks’ ACT OUT community tour inspired by the model of Ten Thousand Things—a company renowned for its innovative productions and commitment to accessible theatre. Colorado Springs audiences may be familiar with Ten Thousand Things after its founding artistic Director, Michelle Hensley, visited Colorado Springs as part of the UCCS Theater & Dance Prologue Series on the American Theatre.

“Caitlin is a remarkable artist and leader,” said Ent Center for the Arts executive director, David Siegel. “I know that I speak for Theatreworks audiences, donors, artists, staff, technicians, UCCS students, and community partners in expressing gratitude and admiration for Caitlin’s visionary leadership over the past 6+ years. Ten Thousand Things is among the most influential theater companies in the country. While I am sorry to lose Caitlin in our own community, I am thrilled to see a Colorado Springs-based artist rise to this celebrated role on the national stage. It is a meaningful example of the extraordinary artistic talent in our community.” 

“Ten Thousand Things has inspired me since I first learned of the company in 2015,” says Lowans. “Their model of bringing essential and exceptional theater to people from all life experiences through free performances at shelters for the unhoused, correctional facilities, and low-income senior centers, in addition to more traditional theater venues, inspired Theatreworks’ ACT OUT/ Free-For-All community tour and programming. It has been such a gift to have served the past six-and-half years at the helm of Theatreworks, and now I am honored to bring everything I have learned from Colorado artists and audiences to this next chapter in Minneapolis.”

As Artistic Director, Caitlin has led many notable productions, including A Christmas Carol (2018) with puppets and actor-driven music; the musically madcap Lumberjacks in Love (2022); a gender-swapped Taming of the Shrew (2023); the magical stagecraft of The Little Prince (2023) and the epic scale of Into the Woods in Concert (2024) in collaboration with the Chamber Orchestra of the Springs. They also co-created The Mitten (2021) with Katy Williams Design and JParkerArts—an innovative outdoor, walking shadow puppet production performed in February 2021, where indoor puppeteers engaged masked, bundled-up audiences through large-scale shadow screens. Lowans further expanded accessibility with Aubergine (2023), presenting the first-ever fully bilingual production of Julia Cho’s play, complete with supertitles in both English and Korean to engage the local Korean diasporic community. This work will continue in 2025 with Korean and Tagalog supertitles for Lloyd Suh’s The Heart Sellers (2025).

Caitlin led Theatreworks’ successful move into its new home at the Ent Center for the Arts and guided the company through the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent recovery. Theaterworks season ticket sales now exceed pre-pandemic levels, bucking the national trend among regional theater companies.

Audiences have one more chance to experience Caitlin’s directorial work this season in Theatreworks’ holiday adaptation of the Jane Austen novel, Sense & Sensibility. The production opens November 29 and plays through December 22 at the Ent Center for the Arts.  

Caitlin succeeded Theatreworks founder, Murray Ross, as only the second artistic director in the 49-year history of the company. Soon, Ent Center leadership, the Theatreworks Advisory Board, and community stakeholders will begin work to identify a new leader for the company. Theatreworks has 5 remaining productions this season and performances will continue as planned during the search.

 “As we approach Theatreworks’ 50th birthday season, the Theatreworks board and I are focused on celebrating this milestone with our community,” says Siegel. “Exciting plans are already in place for this landmark season and soon, we will launch a national search for a new Artistic Director to lead Theatreworks going forward. Thanks to Caitlin’s leadership and Theatreworks’ talented staff, artists, and technicians, the future of Theatreworks is bright.”

For more information on upcoming performances or to stay updated on the Artistic Director search, please visit entarts.org.

Media Contact:

Elyce Gronseth
Assistant Director of Marketing & Communications
Ent Center for the Arts at UCCS
egronset@uccs.edu

About Theatreworks Colorado Springs: The professional producing theatre in-residence at UCCS, Theatreworks Colorado Springs connects, empowers, and delights our communities through performances and educational experiences that serve as mirrors for ourselves and windows into others. Founded in 1975, Theatreworks has been led for the past six years by artistic director, Caitlin Lowans, who brings a passion for community-engaged work celebrating the diversity of human experience.
entcenterforthearts.org/Theatreworks

About Ent Center for the Arts: This first-class arts facility, located on the University of Colorado Colorado Springs campus serves the community as a hub for the arts and an inspiration in academics. The vision for the facility was and is to foster a creative environment to house arts that will serve the Pikes Peak region, allowing artists to inspire and amplify one another rather than compete against one another. Art brings together diverse peoples and ideas in ways no other discipline can, and the Ent Center will be a pillar of the arts community within Colorado Springs.
entcenterforthearts.org