The Alliance for the Arts has appointed Michael Hebler as its new events and programming director. One of his duties includes continuing the Alliance’s theater program.
“With my theater degree, I wanted theater to continue,” said Hebler. “I think it’s a very important .… It’s a performing art. This is the Alliance for the Arts, and so when they offered me the role, I told them I definitely want to continue with theater. “
While theater will continue to have a presence at the Alliance, it will look quite a bit different under Hebler’s direction.
“I’m looking forward to bringing musicals back to the Alliance,” Hebler said. “I think we will start that with a musical revue night sometime this August or September just to help get people familiar with the Alliance for the Arts as a place to come see a musical. And then we’ll look into actually producing musicals, whether it’s ‘Godspell,’ ‘The Fantastiks,’ ‘110 in the Shade,’ ‘Assassins,’ some of the smaller productions.”
There will also be comedies and dramas, as well as productions by the Alliance Youth Theatre under the direction of Carmen Crussard.
“The Alliance Youth Theatre will still be part of the yearly programming,” Hebler noted. “They have plays coming up. In May is ‘Peter and Wendy’ and then ‘In the Heights’ in June. Those are all directed by Carmen Crussard, and she has just sent us her pitch list for the following season. So she will continue on with producing the children’s theater here for the next season.”
Hebler won’t reveal the plays he’s pitched to Alliance Director Neil Volz for November and February. But he leaves little doubt that they’ll reflect a new direction for theater at the Alliance for the Arts.
“There are some fantastic productions out there that just need to get produced,” Hebler added. “They need to be seen, and year by year, we’ll probably do two or three a year, on average, at least at this point. From there, hopefully we’ll be able to grow the theater department even more as time goes on.”
MORE INFORMATION:
New Events & Programming Director Michael Hebler will do more than merely pitch production ideas to Director Neil Volz and the Alliance board. He plans to direct, as well.
The productions will initially run for two weekends, as they had in the past.
“I’m actually used to three weekends, personally,” Hebler said. “But I’m kind of following the pattern that was already set in place here until we grow and get more exposure to the Alliance for the Arts being on the forefront of people’s minds as someplace to go see theater."
Hebler holds a degree in Theatre Arts from Orange Coast College in California. However, life took him in a different direction soon after.
A passionate film enthusiast, Hebler established a career as an international film publicist. In that capacity, he collaborated on high-profile projects for major studios, including Disney, Pixar, Lionsgate, and Warner Bros.
“I worked on ‘WALL-E.' I worked on ‘Up.’ I worked on the third ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ movie at 'Worlds End,'” Hebler noted. “I worked on the second ‘Narnia’ movie and the Jim Carrey 'Christmas Carol' by Disney, as well as various others. At Warner Brothers, there was ‘Poseidon’ and ‘Superman Returns,’ and some for Lions Gate as well, which I mostly did at Comic-Con when I worked three consecutive years at Comic-Con in San Diego.”
After moving to Florida in 2014, Hebler transitioned into event management, working as an Events Project Manager for Rich Dad Education in Cape Coral until COVID hit. Prior to the pandemic, he successfully orchestrated large-scale live symposiums throughout North America, building strong relationships with attendees and vendors.
Hebler began volunteering at the Alliance in August of 2024.
“My first event here was called ‘80s versus '90s Party Night,’” Hebler recalled. “It was a blast. They had so many people come through the doors. It was really my first time here, stepping inside the Alliance that night. I was immediately blown away by the campus and hearing about everything they had to offer here. It was a fantastic first experience.”
Not long after, the outreach manager position opened up at the Alliance.
“I found out during the ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ event in 2024 that the outreach manager was going to be leaving,” Hebler said. “I submitted my resume, went through the interview process and I took her position as outreach manager in early December of last year.”
He was outreach manager for about a month.
“Now I’m the events and programming director. I concentrate on programming seasons, which includes theater, cinema, special events, concerts, anything that is art-related that is a ticketed event.”
Hebler is also an award-winning author. His published works include a series of four novels, a novella, multiple short stories, and a children’s picture book.
His deep passion for all arts inspires his commitment to fostering community and celebrating the transformative power of creativity.
Theater is an important part of that equation.
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.