Heidi Breeden
Artistic Director at Arts for All
Education: Bachelor of Arts in Theatre, UNC Charlotte (2006)
Master of Fine Arts in Directing, Baylor University (2017)
Hometown: Charlotte, NC
Heidi Breeden’s interest in theatre began with her first play in kindergarten, and she has been fascinated with using her imagination to tell stories ever since. She took theatre classes in her public middle and high schools, where “theatre educators like Glenda Kale helped me see that not only did I enjoy making theatre for fun, but that this could be a legitimate career path for me,” she says. “Enrolling at UNC Charlotte to major in theatre was the absolute next right thing for me.”
When she arrived at UNC Charlotte, Heidi thought she wanted to be an actress, but soon she realized she wanted to be a director who enjoyed acting occasionally. Her undergraduate experiences have led to her current role as Artistic Director at Arts for All.
“I am forever grateful to Bob Croghan, Kelly Mizell, Dennis Black, Dr. Mark Pizzato, Matt Webster, Beth Murray, and so many others who gave me the skills and instilled in me the work ethic to pursue theatre education as a career path.”
As an undergrad student, Heidi was able to direct a full-length play, JERRY FINNEGAN’S SISTER by Jack Neary, independently during her senior year.
“I am so appreciative that the faculty (who had to vote to approve of me doing the production) trusted me to helm a production on my own, and that my fellow student designers and actors trusted me to be a good enough director to make the production worth their time, expertise, and effort when they were not getting any course credit for it. It is easily the thing I am most proud of accomplishing in my undergraduate career. And the play was good, too.”
While at UNC Charlotte, Heidi became convinced that arts access is a human right, that creativity is fundamental to a full life. Arts for All is a nonprofit based in Huntersville, North Carolina that focuses on arts access, providing high-quality arts experiences at no cost. As Artistic Director, Heidi facilitates and directs the theatre programming, which includes two major annual events: the Teacher-Penned Play Festival and Theatre on the Beach. In addition to her theatre work, Heidi also works alongside the Executive Director, Robin Stockton, to collect data for the arts access database, which is called Welcome Here.
This database is the first of its kind and is a searchable database of arts and culture venues in the greater Charlotte area. When people with specific needs are able to know ahead of time what to expect at an event or venue, they are more likely to participate in arts experiences. Welcome Here aims to support venues and producing organizations in becoming more accessible, as well as to bring more people into these venues to experience all of the arts and culture Charlotte has to offer.
Heidi also teaches Family and Consumer Science courses with Cabarrus County Schools.
Some of Heidi’s favorite past projects include “Romeo & Juliet” at Ardrey Kell High school, in which her students were true artistic collaborators; Assisting Dennis Delamar on “Other Desert Cities” at Actors’ Theatre of Charlotte; and her first directing job after graduate school,“Themba,” which was part of the NuVoices Festival at Actors’ Theatre of Charlotte.
Her advice for current students: “If you’re kind of interested in something, try it. College is the place to try and fail and fail safely and do it again.”
Check out Arts for All and all of their amazing programs!