Role Title: Director of Music + Comedy

Reports to: Chief Programming Officer
Base Pay: $96,000.00 - $115,000.00 / Year
Employee Type FT: Year Round

Description:

Starlight is Kansas City’s oldest and largest outdoor performing arts venue, stewarding a $20M+ annual budget and a year-round staff of 45+ full time employees alongside hundreds of seasonal team members and volunteers. As a civic treasure and cultural destination, Starlight presents Broadway musicals, concerts, special events and community programming that collectively reach hundreds of thousands of guests each year through approximately 100 events annually.

The Director of Music & Comedy is responsible for the planning and delivery of music and comedy programming at Starlight, including touring concerts, comedy shows, festivals, local presentations, and special engagements. This strategic and creative leader ensures that Starlight’s offerings remain competitive, financially sustainable, and artistically vibrant. By cultivating relationships with artists, agents, promoters, performers, and the national touring circuit, the Director delivers innovative programming that attracts new audiences, deepens community engagement, and advances Starlight’s high-quality, mission-aligned music and comedy experiences.

Required Accountabilities & Deliverables:

• Lead the execution of Starlight’s year-round music and comedy programming strategy.
• Deliver a balanced season of music and comedy events that align with audience demand, artistic quality, organizational mission, and revenue goals.
• Negotiate contracts, relevant agreements, and settlements, and maintain relationships with artists, agents, promoters, and booking partners to secure competitive touring performances.
• Recommend pricing strategies in partnership with revenue, finance, and guest services teams. · Develop and manage music and comedy programming budgets.
• Champion the creation and implementation of innovative concepts, formats, and partnerships to expand Starlight’s music and comedy programming beyond traditional offerings and engage new audiences.
• Collaborate with the programming team to maximize year-round calendar utilization.
• Monitor the effectiveness of music and comedy projects, with special emphasis on revenue, artistic standards, accessibility, audience feedback, and relevance.
• Oversee on-site execution of music and comedy events, coordinating with production, guest services, and artist teams to ensure seamless performances, audience satisfaction, and adherence to contractual and safety requirements.
• Work closely with marketing, guest experience, philanthropy, and finance to maximize impact and visibility of music and comedy programming.
• Lead and mentor a high-performing music and comedy programming team. Support professional growth opportunities and ensure collaboration across departments.
• Build strong networks with industry leaders and represent Starlight in national music and comedy booking conversations.
• Identify and pursue external partnerships and co-presenting opportunities with promoters, venues, arts organizations, artists, and community groups to develop collaborative programming and expand Starlight’s reach.
• Analyze industry trends related to touring concerts, comedy circuits, festivals, sales, funding, and audience feedback to inform programming.

The above listing is not all-inclusive; other duties may be assigned to meet the evolving needs of the organization.

Preferred Skills and Abilities:

• Strong understanding of music and comedy touring networks, festival circuits, and booking practices.
• Proven track record of curating successful seasons balancing artistic and financial goals.
• Excellent negotiation, budgeting, and contract management skills.
• Collaborative leader with experience managing teams.
• Ability to maintain Starlight’s ticketing system (Tessitura) and oversee management and maintenance of key functions for performances related to programming.
• Strong project management skills, including financial analysis.
• Effective communication skills to support initiative implementation.

Preferred Education and/or Work Experience:

• BA in arts administration, entertainment management, live events, or a related field.
• Minimum 7 years of progressive experience in music, comedy, live entertainment, festivals, or related booking and producing roles.
• Experience working with Tessitura or another CRM and ticketing system.
• Knowledge of ticketing practices, event settlement processes, reporting, concert or live event operations, and event performance evaluation.

Come join an organization that offers the following three-tier benefits package:

Starlight Physical Wellness
Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance paid by employer Short-Term and Long-Term Disability Awarded Silver level certification from KC Chamber of Commerce for 2025 Healthy KC Workplace Wellness

Starlight Emotional Wellness
Paid Time Off (up to 10 days in first year) Paid Holidays (including Thanksgiving, winter holiday (Dec. 25-Jan. 1) and 5 floating holidays of your choice) Employee Assistance Program Personal Leave of Absence up to 4 weeks

Starlight Financial Wellness
401(k) Retirement Savings Program Life Insurance
Family Leave up to 4 weeks at 100% pay
125 Cafeteria Plan

Starlight Theatre Association is an Equal Employment Opportunity organization. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to age, race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, protected veteran status, and other statuses protected by law.

Starlight supports an environment that values and respects the experiences and contributions of its employees, volunteers, partners, and community members. We encourage and welcome applicants of groups that are historically underrepresented in the American theatre industry.

For more information about our accessible workplace, including disability accommodations for the application process and beyond, please email starlightjobs@kcstarlight.com.

Starlight Theatre Association of Kansas City, Inc. is a 501 (c) not-for-profit organization with a mission to connect our community through live arts experiences that entertain, inspire, and engage.