Arizona Theatre Company Names Tucson Stage Manager Mollie Heil Resident Artist

Arizona Theatre Company (ATC) has named Tucson-based stage manager Mollie Heil its Resident Artist for the 2026/2027 season, continuing the organization’s commitment to supporting local theater professionals and creating opportunities for artists to build lasting careers in Arizona.

The appointment marks the third year of ATC’s Resident Artist program, which launched in 2024 to provide exceptional Arizona-based theater artists with a sustained, paid season of employment and an artistic home within the company. As Arizona’s Official State Theatre and the state’s only League of Resident Theatres (LORT) member, ATC offers artists opportunities to work across multiple productions and disciplines rather than limiting employment to a single show.

During the upcoming season, Heil will serve as stage manager for ATC’s production of “Little Shop of Horrors” and assistant stage manager for “August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean.” She will also participate in educational and community-focused programming throughout the season.

“Stage management is an art,” said Matt August, ATC’s Kasser Family Artistic Director. “Mollie has been an essential part of our company for several years, and she has consistently demonstrated the ability to thrive in demanding professional rehearsal rooms alongside outstanding directors, actors and designers. She is exactly the kind of exceptional Arizona artist this program was created to support.”

Heil’s relationship with ATC began in 2018, when she joined the company as a Stage Management Intern. After returning to Tucson in 2020, she continued working with the theater, contributing to more than 10 productions across six consecutive seasons and advancing from intern to assistant stage manager to stage manager.

“A professional stage manager’s dream is to find an organization like Arizona Theatre Company that makes them feel completely at home in their work,” said Heil. “I found that my very first season with ATC as a Stage Management Intern and knew I wanted to live in Tucson and work with ATC. I love Arizona Theatre Company and the Tucson and Tempe/Phoenix communities, and I am incredibly lucky to do what I love in a place and with a company that means so much to me.”

Her credits include “The Roommate,” “Bob & Jean: A Love Story,” “Scrooge!,” “Master Class” and “The Legend of Georgia McBride.” Her assistant stage management work includes “Heist,” “Pru Payne,” “The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley,” “how to make an American Son,” “Nina Simone: Four Women” and “Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley.” Earlier in her career with ATC, she served as a Stage Management Intern for “The Music Man,” “Erma Bombeck: At Wit’s End” and “Native Gardens.”

Beyond Arizona Theatre Company, Heil has stage-managed 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 recently taught the final three semesters for BFA Stage Management students as an adjunct instructor at the University of Arizona. Heil earned her 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.

“At Arizona Theatre Company, our mission is to bring world-class, professional LORT theatre to Arizona – and to give audiences here the same caliber of artists, directors, designers and productions they would encounter in the country’s leading theatre markets,” August said. “Our audiences should not have to leave Arizona to experience ambitious, professionally produced theatre.”

Through its Resident Artist program, Arizona Theatre Company continues to cultivate local talent while bringing professional productions to audiences in Tucson and the greater Phoenix area. For more behind this Frontdoor, visit atc.org.