What's Happening at the Shaw Festival 2021

Tim Jennings, Executive Director/CEO of The SHAW FESTIVAL

A respected and awarded performing arts manager with more than 35 years of international professional experience, Tim Jennings is a passionate social advocate known for his creativity, financial acumen, leadership skills and energy. He joined the Shaw Festival as its Executive Director in the fall of 2015.
Beginning his career in theatre production and management, Mr. Jennings was appointed managing director of Toronto’s Roseneath Theatre in 2000 alongside its artistic director David S. Craig. In 2008, Mr. Jennings was asked to assume the role of managing director at Seattle Children’s Theatre and, in 2011, was recruited to the Tony Award-winning Children’s Theatre Company of Minneapolis (CTC) – the world’s leading family theatre – as its managing director.
During his time at these organizations, Mr. Jennings increased revenues,
built endowments, created new business alliances to enhance the reputation and scope of the companies, improved artist and artisan working conditions and supported the visionary work of his artistic partners.
In addition to his management accomplishments, Mr. Jennings has taught Theatre Production and Management at Toronto’s Ryerson University and Humber College. He has served on more than a dozen industry boards, including the Theatre Communications Group (TCG) – the national organization for the American theatre – where he held the position of treasurer until July 2018 and was a founding member of TCG’s Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) Institute (established in 2013). Currently, he is a member of Theatre Sheridan’s advisory board, the treasurer of the Board of Tourism NOTL/Niagara-on-the-Lake Chamber of Commerce and a member of the COVID-19 recovery taskforce for TCG. Additionally, he was appointed to the Lord Mayor’s Niagara-on-the-Lake COVID-19 recovery advisory group and regularly collaborates with similar groups regarding arts and tourism across North America.
An astute move by Mr. Jennings to purchase pandemic insurance in 2016 allowed the Festival to keep most of its artists and workers employed during last year’s COVID-19 outbreak. Additionally, with the assistance of the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS), he created the Education and Community Outreach Specialists (ECOS) program and rehired many of the Festival’s independent contractors as summer employees who worked the remainder of the season as ambassadors for The Shaw, creators of online content and artist-educators in education and outreach programs.
Mr. Jennings continues to lead the Festival through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
(Photo Credit- David Cooper)