Name: It's a Simcha!
Start: 2024-11-03T18:30:00-04:00
End: 2024-11-03T21:00:00-04:00
Location: Bloomington Convention Center

Join us for a special celebration as we honor Audrey Heller, pay tribute to her amazing legacy and formally welcome Darrell Ann Stone as the new Producing Artistic Director of the Jewish Theatre of Bloomington. The evening will feature dinner, wine, dessert, tributes, live Klezmer music, and more. We will also share our exciting 2025 season. Malcolm Abrams, Bloom Magazine editor, will serve as Master of Ceremonies, bringing warmth and humor to the festivities.
About Audrey Heller
Elocution lessons at age 5 to correct a lisp, sparked a love of acting that led to being featured performer at family gatherings, roles in school plays, studying with a professional drama coach, working as a solo performer throughout the Boston area, a year at Columbia University to study theatre, and many years as a puppeteer with Bloomington's Puck Players Puppet Theatre.
In addition to acting, Audrey became interested in directing and took classes in directing at IU and Cal State Long Beach. For 20 years, she was Artistic Director for Diversity Theatre, a former Bloomington theatre company with the mission of educating about social issues through the medium of theatre.

When she learned that there was an active and vital Jewish theatre developing in the United States, Audrey co-founded The Jewish Theatre of Bloomington where she has been Producing Artistic Director since 2005.

Along the way, Audrey's experience as a lisper led to her interest in helping children with speech and language problems, and she earned Bachelor's and Master's degrees at Boston University and the Pennsylvania State University. She then worked as a Clinical Supervisor and Clinical Assistant Professor in IU's Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences until her IU retirement in 1996.
Audrey has brought to JTB her wealth of experience and passion for meaningful Jewish theatre, all grounded in her Jewish background. She developed a unique and highly respected company that brings outstanding Jewish theatre to Jews and non-Jews alike.
About Darrell Ann Stone
Darrell Ann brings a wealth of expertise and professional experience to the position. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Theatre from Northeastern University in Boston and a Master of Social Work degree from Indiana University.
Darrell Ann will retire from her IU full time job at the end of October and begin this new JTB position in January. In addition to her long professional career working at IU and in local nonprofits, she is a free-lance theatre artist who brings decades of performance, production directing and theatre administrative experience to this new position.
She has also been our Talk Back facilitator extraordinaire for many years! In addition to having served as JTB Co-Artistic Director (2008-2011), she has since served continually as their Artistic Advisor. Darrell Ann is currently JTB Interim Board President but will step down in August to begin preparing for the transition to Producing Artistic Director.