Combining a dash of Southern charm with a tangible commitment to theatre on the edge, Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre has been staging shows for over 42 years, and is now one of the country’s most recognized regional theatres. The Alliance has launched several shows to Broadway, including Come Fly With Me, Aida, The Color Purple, and The Last Night of Ballyhoo. The Alliance was the recipient of the 2007 Regional Theatre Tony Award® for Outstanding Achievement, and this year was singled out for 27 local Suzi Bass Award nominations alone.

Also in 2011, the theatre premiered Bring It On: The Musical, whose creators include Tony Award-winner Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Leading the Alliance’s many victories over the past decade is Susan V. Booth, the Jennings Hertz, Jr. Artistic Director, who joined the Alliance Theatre in 2001. In the ten years since, she has launched the Collision Project for teens, the Kendeda Graduate Playwriting Competition, and has also shepherded key local producing partnerships with Georgia Shakespeare, True Colors as well as the nine theatre companies from the Alliance’s City Series, as well as numerous regional collaborative productions.

I exchanged e-mails with Susan recently about her efforts for the Alliance, about the challenges and rewards of regional theatre, and about what comes next for the Alliance in 2011.

Angela Mitchell: It’s great to have the chance to talk with you, Susan. I always have to ask this, because it’s a favorite topic of mine – but what was the show you saw that made you say, "I want to work in the theatre!" as a child or young adult?

Susan V. Booth: For me, it was less about seeing a show and more about being fascinated by the notion of living as an artist. My great uncle was a well-respected painter – his work is in MOMA’s collection in New York and he travelled to Europe with Romare Beardon as a cultural ambassador for the U.S. Government – and he was received by my parents almost like visiting royalty when he’d visit. Thanks to my family, I grew up not only surrounded by his work, but engaged by the idea that making a living as an artist was a feasible and honorable pursuit.

And as the youngest of four children, I needed to find a career that wouldn’t replicate anything my big brothers were doing. I wanted to be unique.

Angela Mitchell: That’s a great story. You’ve achieved so much in your work and career -- in your opinion, what's the most misunderstood aspect of the Artistic Director's job?

Susan V. Booth: It’s funny. When I started this job nearly ten years ago, the answer would have been that folks misunderstood that an AD isn’t just an artist, but they also need to be a savvy manager of people and programs. Now that I’ve been in the job for a while, I wonder if people remember that it’s my job to be an artist. Ultimately, though, the job requires both skills, and you won’t succeed if you don’t find the balance between the two.

Angela Mitchell: What do you enjoy most about what you do? (And least?)

Susan V. Booth: I love directing. The singularity of focus for those weeks when all that matters is creating the world of the play and the shared language for all of the people in it – actors, designers, audience members – is a profound gift. I walk out of the rehearsal hall each day exhausted and exhilarated by the work.

I wish I could tell you that balance sheets fed me in the same way, but I’m learning to find the joy in creating a sustainable institution as well.

Angela Mitchell: What's your typical process for choosing a season, and the shows that fit into that season?

Susan V. Booth: There are these enormous white boards in my office – one for the Alliance Stage, one for the Hertz Stage, and one for the institutional BHAGS (Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals). Titles go on, titles come off. Ideas for partnerships and commissions and new artistic programs – they go on, they come off.

Angela Mitchell: I love that – it’s creative and organized at the same time.

Susan V. Booth: It’s a dynamic and ongoing process that’s fed by reading, meeting with artists, talking with colleagues and commercial producers, listening to our audience, trying to imagine what dialogue Atlanta’s likely to be in the midst of 18 months from now – and what project would best catalyze that dialogue.

Angela Mitchell: How do you work to differentiate yourselves from the other theatres in your area as far as branding, marketing, and promotion – stuff like that?

Susan V. Booth: We’re a national theatre with a local address. We take seriously the responsibility of bringing Atlanta the best theatre and the best theatre artists working in our field – and having a creative home where those artists can do their best work. We’re committed to giving Atlanta the first access to work that will go on to theatres across the country, as well as supporting Atlanta’s own artists with the national level of excellence that they deserve. And we make each one of our eleven productions by hand – we’re not a commercial booking house. We have a team of craftspeople and artisans that rivals any theatre in this country.

Angela Mitchell: What tools do you use for promotion and audience development? (Twitter? Facebook? Mail, Newsletters, et cetera?)

Susan V. Booth: All of the above and more. We’re in social media, we’re in digital, print, television and radio distribution – but we still hear from first-timers to the theatre the refrain of “I never knew!” The trick for us – and for any not-for-profit cultural organization – is having the resources to not only create excellent work, but to have enough resources to make sure Atlanta knows what you’re doing.