Lawrenceville’s Aurora Theatre has announced that co-founder and producing artistic director Ann-Carol Pence will retire after 30 years on Feb. 1, 2027.
The theater is currently undergoing a search for a new executive director to take over full time, according to a news release. In the interim, board member Randy Redner will act as executive director and Katie Chambers will serve as interim artistic director.
“Anthony and Ann-Carol did an amazing job bringing theater to Gwinnett and the metro area, and that is such a gift they have given all of us,” Amanda Sutt, Aurora Theatre’s board president, said. “And now they’re passing it to us, and it is our job to make sure that we give it the staying power, so that it can last well beyond all of our existences.”
Pence was not immediately available for comment.
Credit: Photo courtesy of Aurora Theatre
Credit: Photo courtesy of Aurora Theatre
Pence and co-founder Anthony Rodriguez launched Aurora Theatre in 1996 in a converted hardware store in Duluth to create a “professional theatre company that would enrich lives, reflect the community it serves and make world-class arts accessible in Gwinnett County,” according to a news release. Rodriguez left the theater in 2022.
Pence’s impact on Aurora Theatre is far-reaching. Over the past 30 years, she arranged the music for Aurora’s first “Christmas Canteen” show in 1996; developed Aurora’s Learning Library program that stages shows for elementary-age kids; and helped to expand the theater’s educational offerings for students and teachers.
Some of the initiatives she launched include Musicals by Moonlight and Aurora’s New Musical Initiative, which helped to create opportunities for emerging artists.
Pence stepped down as the music director for “Christmas Canteen” in December 2025.
“I think handing off while you’re still vital and relevant makes it easier for the next generation to assume the lead,” she told ArtsATL. At the time she noted that her tenure at the theater would be longer, saying, “There’s a bunch of knowledge that I’m sure I have in my brain that has never been put down on paper, so this gives me a few years to still be here and pass that opportunity along.”
Sutt said the board and the Aurora Theatre staff has known Pence’s retirement would be coming down the pipeline for about a year now, during which they were working to get a transition plan in place. Since Pence and Rodriguez will remain on the board, she’ll be able to continue lending her expertise.
Chambers, the interim artistic director, has worked alongside Pence for years and will be able to bridge her creative vision with Pence’s, Sutt said, so “our audiences shouldn’t feel like anything has changed.”
The search for an executive director is taking precedence to ensure they have “the right business strategy in place,” Sutt said, which will be vital in setting up a foundation that will allow the theater to exist for the next century.
“We’re giving ourselves space to kind of daydream and really figure out what is going to be the best fit (for executive director) because this is such a critical piece,” Sutt said. “We need somebody who understands business, who also has utmost respect for the art side of it.”
Credit: Photo courtesy of Aurora Theatre
Credit: Photo courtesy of Aurora Theatre
During her tenure, Pence has been awarded six Suzi Bass Awards for outstanding music direction, and under her leadership the theater received the Pinnacle Award for Large Non-Profit and the Gwinnett Chamber’s Moxie Award, recognizing it as an outstanding woman-led organization.
“Thirty years ago, Anthony and I set out to create a theatre with purpose that would uplift all people,” Pence said in a prepared statement. “I am endlessly grateful to the artists, staff, board members, volunteers, donors, patrons and community partners who believed that professional theatre could not only exist but thrive in Gwinnett County. I remember a patron once asking me after seeing an original take on a musical, what our agenda was. Our agenda is empathy. I challenge Aurora, as a nonprofit charity to not only continue to entertain, but to educate, inspire and advocate for empathy and kindness.”
Aurora concluded its 30th season with the musical “In the Heights” in June. The 31st season begins in August with the first show, “Annie,” running Aug. 20 to Sept. 13.
In 2007, Aurora Theatre relocated to Lawrenceville Square, where it continues to operate in the Lawrenceville Arts Center.
The $35 million Lawrenceville Arts Center facility was built to give the Aurora Theatre “a larger home, offer more programming and boost economic development in the area,” according to reporting by ArtsATL.
Recently, however, new city-imposed requirements for the theater company “have put a strain on the relationship between the parties,” according to the ArtsATL story.
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