Emerald City Theatre (ECT) has announced a new leadership position and an expansion of its Development Department. ECT welcomes Michael Cansfield as its very first full-time Development Director.

Mr. Cansfield brings more than two decades of experience working in Chicago’s non-profit cultural community as a fundraiser, stage manager, and producer. As a fundraiser, he has held positions with Lookingglass Theatre Company, the Chicago History Museum, the Chicago Humanities Festival, and Chicago Opera Theater. His work as a producer and stage manager included more than 30 non-Equity productions, many with the late Chicago impresario Bernard Sahlins for such organizations as the University of Chicago, Steppenwolf Theatre, the Driehaus Museum, and the Poetry Foundation where he assisted Mr. Sahlins on more than 20 semi-staged poetry and play-reading events.

He is a graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in theater from Kalamazoo College in Michigan. As a presenter, Michael has been seen in programs with the Chicago History Museum, as occasional host of the Dame Myra Hess Concerts, and for the Chicago Public Library’s One Book One Chicago. In 2015, he served as an artist-in-residence for the National Park Service at the Homestead National Monument of America in Nebraska, where he researched and wrote a play on early prairie homesteaders.

“I am thrilled to join the staff at Emerald City Theatre,” said Cansfield. “I have benefited personally from arts education and arts inclusion from an early age and look forward to helping Emerald City Theatre continue to capitalize on its great reputation and innovative slate of arts offerings for children and families.”

The addition of the Development Director position will prepare Emerald City Theatre for its next stage of growth, allowing the Development department to focus on increasing community support for the company.

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