The Aurora Fox Arts Center has an experienced executive leader at its helm after Lisa Rigsby Peterson accepted the position of interim manager of theater operations. She will be working directly with the city of Aurora’s director of Library and Cultural Services Ginger White Brunetti.
Rigsby Peterson brings more than 25 years of leadership experience in professional theater and performing arts, including serving as the founding executive director of the Lone Tree Arts Center for more than a decade, and the executive director of the Wheeler Opera House in Aspen for three years. Both venues, like the Aurora Fox, are municipally owned and operated. Her experience also includes leadership roles with Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Curious Theatre Company and Phamaly Theatre Company. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Theatre Management from Yale University.
“Throughout her accomplished career in the arts, Lisa has balanced creative excellence in theater with the steady leadership and developing of high-performing teams in the performing arts field,” said White Brunetti. “At this important point for the Aurora Fox, Lisa will help ensure the successful continuation of Season 41 alongside a talented team, while also leading a comprehensive assessment of the arts center’s operating model.”
The Aurora Fox Arts Center is preparing for its second Season 41 production, “Fat Ham,” opening March 27 under the direction of donnie l. betts.
"In my career, I have seen the transformative power of the arts again and again –in the face of national crises, a worldwide pandemic, and, perhaps most importantly, in everyday life,” said Rigsby Peterson. “To work alongside colleagues with Aurora's Library and Cultural Services Department and help steer the Aurora Fox towards its next chapter, is incredibly exciting. Joining the many artists and leaders who have made the Aurora Fox an outstanding artistic home and have helped shape the theatre's history, feels very special, and I can't wait to get started."
In addition to overseeing current theater operations, Rigsby Peterson will conduct a professional assessment of the Aurora Fox Arts Center operations to help inform 2027 season planning, budget development and recommendations for future organizational direction. This is a limited-term assignment through Dec. 31, 2026.
Season 41 will continue with “Violet” from June 5 to 28, “Feeding Beatrice” from Oct. 2 to Nov. 1, and “Hank Williams: Lost Highway” from Dec. 4 to Jan. 4, 2027.
About the Aurora Fox Arts Center
Located in the heart of the Aurora Cultural Arts District, the historic Aurora Fox Arts Center is a vibrant hub for artistic expression, presenting diverse stories that inspire and engage the community. Built in 1946 as Aurora’s only movie palace, the Fox was restored after a devastating fire and reopened in 1985 as a city-owned performing arts center. Today, the Aurora Fox is an award-winning professional theater featuring a 217-seat proscenium stage, including five wheelchair-accessible seats, and a 72-seat black box studio. Each season, it produces five mainstage productions, offers a summer children’s program and provides a variety of classes, all while maintaining a commitment to diversity, authentic representation and theatrical innovation.