Richard G. Hitchler

Richard is a visionary artistic director, producer, presenter, cultural and community leader with over 30 years of innovative experience specializing in growing arts organizations and connecting community. He is the Founder and Artistic Director of Theatre 55, Minnesota’s only full-time senior theater who’s mission is to enrich the lives of elders through life long learning and vision is to shift the paradigm on aging and end ageism. From 1997 - 2015, Mr. Hitchler was the Executive and Artistic Director of SteppingStone Theatre for Youth Development. Under his leadership, the theatre commissioned and produced more than 60 new plays by local playwrights, conducted a five million dollar capital campaign to create SteppingStone Theatre’s first permanent home, and quadrupled the number of young people served. Mr. Hitchler earned a B.F.A. in Theatre Arts from the University of Minnesota and has been working in professional theatre since 1987. Locally, he has worked as a director, educator, and administrator with The Children’s Theatre Company, Small Change Theatre, Cricket Theatre, Mixed Blood Theatre, and Illusion Theater. Mr. Hitchler also spent a number of years in Florida, working with Florida Studio Theatre, and the Orlando Shakespeare Festival. He is an alumni of the James P. Shannon Leadership Institute, led the St. Paul A.C.E. facilities committee, and has served on Minnesota State Arts Board panels and the St. Paul Cultural STAR Board. He has won several awards including the Sally Irving Ordway Award for Education in Theater, the Ann Shaw Fellowship, and Pollen’s 50 over 50 theatre award