Administrative Paid Associate Producer Waterwell New York, NY US 10/20/2026

DESCRIPTION

Waterwell is hiring a full-time Associate Producer to join the company’s small staff. Waterwell is committed to a rich, challenging, and fulfilling work environment that contributes to the ongoing professional development of everyone in the company. The Associate Producer will work closely with Artistic Director Lee Sunday Evans, as well as Managing Director, Sarah Scafidi, and Board Chair Arian Moayed.

As a small company that prides itself on using resources effectively and remaining organizationally nimble, we prioritize a work culture that affords a lot of flexibility and autonomy for each team member, while expecting a great deal of responsibility, integrity, and follow-through. As a small staff, we often participate in projects and tasks outside our roles in a team-oriented, collaborative way.

In all areas of the company’s work, we value pragmatic, problem-solvers who are self-starters and creative thinkers with a passionate drive to make unusual artistic projects. We frequently say that Waterwell’s projects “punch above their weight.” To that end, we are looking for someone who is invested in ensuring that Waterwell’s projects come to fruition with high standards of artistic integrity, innovation, and emotional creativity, while bringing a humble, roll-up-your-sleeves approach, so that we are poised to adapt our “theater magic” to a wide range of locations and circumstances.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Reports to: Artistic Director & Managing Director

Position type: Salaried, exempt

Start Date: January 4, 2027

Full/Part time: Full-time

Location: Midtown Manhattan, New York, NY

Schedule: Hybrid with in-person required 2-3 days/week, additional in-person time required during production or events, including some evenings and weekends

Salary & Benefits: $62,000-$65,000 / year + HRA + transit benefits

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

This Associate Producer will be involved in almost every aspect of the company’s work that the Artistic Director is involved in, which encompasses a wide range of tasks, some of them operational, administrative, and related to fundraising. We want to clearly state that we are looking for someone who will thrive as part of a small, hands-on staff that prioritizes critical thinking, constructive communication, and flexibility.

Waterwell creates and produces new projects in two key ways. Strong candidates for the Associate Producer will bring a strong skill set around making theater in a wide range of different settings, with a wide range of different stakeholders, that will prepare them to work deeply on both arms of Waterwell’s artistic programs:

Productions: Artistically daring and emotionally potent, we tell stories that inspire, entertain, and provoke. Productions typically take place in a theater, with some elements of production design and process that align with many new play development processes.

Responsive Projects: Visceral and urgent, we create cultural projects that make robust contributions to the work of organizers, policy leaders and service providers. Responsive Projects are often instigated by a partner organization who commissions Waterwell to create a new project from scratch, often on a very fast timeline to be performed in an unusual and/or site-specific setting. Recent examples include: a short play performed in the United Nations during the opening day of the 2026 General Assembly; a re-enactment of an overseas refugee interview as a site-specific performance at the Council on Foreign Relations NYC headquarters.

The Associate Producer’s tasks will include, but are not limited to, the following:

Producing

• Secure venues for rehearsals + productions, often outside conventional performance venues

• Line Producing: draft calendars and budgets, liaise with production management/designers/stage managers, create programs and signage, implement ticketing systems, etc.

• Audience-building

• Assist with budgets, and to a limited extent, contracts

• Provide company management support

Community Partnerships

• Build new Partner relationships and support ongoing relationships with current Partners

• Invest in Waterwell’s evolving best practices of creating projects for and alongside Partners

• Please note that a familiarity or direct experience with the building blocks of community organizing will be a big bonus for this position

Artistic

• Scout projects, read scripts, get to know the work of artists and potential partners

• Support the development of new work, produce workshops with a strong investment in process and artistic excellence

• Curate + support creative teams

• Dramaturgy + research

• Serve as on-site liaison for rehearsals, workshops, performances, etc.

Administrative and Scheduling

• Coordinate meetings + scheduling, both internally and externally, as part of overall project management

• Email correspondence, sometimes on behalf of Artistic Director

• Maintain + create organizational systems

• Errands, some engagement with processing receipts, accounting, and payroll processes

Development + Fundraising

• Proposal + pitch writing

• Grant-writing + research

• Support fundraising events

• Showcase artistic work for individual donors + funders

KEY PROJECTS

The Associate Producer would take a key, often lead role in aspects of these upcoming projects:

MORE CITIES, MORE STORIES

We are currently building out a project design to build on the success of STORIES FROM THE CITY OF IMMIGRANTS, an evening of 13 stories and 1 song that vividly bring to life the vital role immigrants play in New York City's past, present and future. Poignant, funny, emotional, and surprising, these stories span 125 years and many countries of origin, creating a visceral experience of the epic journeys so many people have taken to make NYC their home. We now have a vision to expand this project to 12 other cities across the country in 2027 + 2028. This model of creating cultura