Shakespeare Festival St. Louis Announces Administrative Promotions

Jennifer Wintzer and Linda Schulte have been promoted to senior leadership positions at Shakespeare Festival St. Louis, it was announced today by Executive Producer Tom Ridgely. Wintzer will serve as associate artistic director and Schulte as director of external affairs.

"Jenny and Linda's contributions both to the Festival and to the cultural life of St. Louis have been enormous," Ridgely said. "They are not only consummate arts professionals, but also deeply engaged and highly regarded members of the community. Having them in these key leadership roles will greatly enhance the Festival's ability to be an inclusive, expansive and change-driven cultural resource for the entire St. Louis region."

As associate artistic director, Wintzer will play a key role in artistic development and season planning ensuring that the festival's commitment to community and education resonates across all programming. Her prior roles with the festival include director of community engagement and education and interim producing director.

As director of external affairs, Schulte's focus will be on the many stakeholders who support and promote the festival's work. After steadily increasing contributed revenue in three years as director of development, she will now be responsible for all fundraising, marketing and public relations strategies.

"This is an incredibly exciting moment for the Festival. As we continue to grow and develop new and bigger ways to serve the region, we're extremely fortunate to have big thinkers like Linda and Jenny to help guide us," Ridgely said. "They are leaders who believe that making art makes a difference, and the energy and expertise they bring to their work every day is exhilarating. I can't wait to see the difference they make in St. Louis."

Wintzer, a producer, director and educator, joined the festival in 2014 from Lincoln Center Theater in New York City. Since then she has overseen the dynamic Shakespeare in the Streets program, as well as the festival's education initiatives that span the state. Wintzer has also developed new work in partnership with institutions such as the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and the St. Louis Public Library. She is a graduate of the National Arts Strategies' Executive Program in Arts and Culture Strategy from the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice and holds a BFA from The Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University. Wintzer is also graduate of the St. Louis Regional Arts Commission's Community Arts Training, as well as a member of the programming council for the Theatre Communications Group conference in 2019.

Schulte, a St. Louis native, joined the festival as director of development in 2015 following roles with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and the Civic Federation in Chicago. In partnership with the festival's board of directors and executive leadership, she has overseen the organization's highest-ever levels of individual giving and institutional support, as well as national recognition for the festival's education and community engagement programs. She received her master's in International Affairs from Washington University in St. Louis and her bachelor's degree in Communications from Truman State University.

Shakespeare Festival St. Louis presents Shakespeare and works inspired by his legacy of storytelling. Since 2001, the festival has grown from producing a single production of Shakespeare in the Park to a year-round season of new plays in exciting and accessible venues throughout the St. Louis community. The festival's artistic and education programs reached over 50,000 patrons and students during the 2018 season and over one million since the festival's first season in 2001.Leadership support for Shakespeare Festival St. Louis' 2019 season is provided by the Whitaker Foundation. The festival is also funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Missouri Arts Council, the Regional Arts Commission, and the Arts & Education Council of Greater St. Louis. For more information, please visit www.sfstl.com, or call 314-531-9800.