Dallas native brings two decades of Broadway, television and live entertainment experience back home to North Texas
WaterTower Theatre is turning the page on a new chapter—and the person holding the pen is a Dallas native who has spent more than two decades working on some of the biggest stages and entertainment productions in the country.
The Addison-based theatre has announced that JC Schuster has been promoted to Producing Artistic Director, making permanent the leadership role he has held on an interim basis since June 1. His appointment becomes official October 1, following the conclusion of WaterTower’s 2025–26 season.
Schuster succeeds Shane Peterman, WaterTower Theatre’s former Producing Artistic Director, who departed the organization to pursue other opportunities. Schuster’s promotion comes at an important moment for the theatre as it moves through a leadership and fiscal transition and prepares for its 2026–27 season.
For WaterTower, the appointment represents more than a change at the top. It also brings an accomplished entertainment professional with deep North Texas roots back to the community where his career began.
“Since stepping into the role of Interim Producing Artistic Director, JC has led with clarity, decisiveness, and heart,” WaterTower’s Board of Directors said in announcing the promotion. The Board credited Schuster with quickly assessing the organization’s needs, making prudent decisions and developing a clear plan for its future.
Those plans include ambitious programming, expanded opportunities for North Texas artists and a continued commitment to professional theatre that connects with the community and its longtime partner, the Town of Addison.
For Schuster, the opportunity is personal.
Born and raised in Dallas, he began his professional career at just 14 years old, touring nationally and internationally with Tap Kids. His career eventually took him to Los Angeles in 2009 and New York in 2011, where he built an impressive résumé spanning Broadway, Off-Broadway, television, film, choreography and live entertainment.
His Broadway credits include the original company of The SpongeBob SquarePants Musical, which received 12 Tony Award nominations, the 2015 revival of Fiddler on the Roof and Soul Doctor. He also worked with the American Repertory Theater on Finding Neverland.
His television and film credits include FX’s Fosse/Verdon, HBO’s Vinyl, Glee, Gossip Girl, Nurse Jackie and the film Annie. Behind the scenes, his experience has been equally broad, including work with Madonna, Keith Urban, Good Morning America, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Today, The View, the Tony Awards and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Schuster has also developed extensive experience as a producer and director, working on television, corporate events, conventions and live productions. His work on Fosse/Verdon included performing and assisting the choreographer during pre-production with choreography, staging and development.
Now, after 20 years in some of the entertainment industry’s most iconic cities, Schuster says he is excited to bring those experiences home.
“I’m excited to continue being a bridge between those experiences and what North Texas audiences want to see,” Schuster said. “Since moving back home to Dallas, where it all started for me, I’m ready to deliver the level of work expected from a professional theatre company while knowing, serving, and creating opportunities for the community and artists right here in the heart of Texas.”
That hometown connection may ultimately prove to be one of Schuster’s greatest assets.
He describes his vision for live theatre as “personal, accessible, and deeply connected to those it serves.” With WaterTower entering a new era, Schuster appears intent on making that philosophy the foundation for the theatre’s relationship with audiences, artists and the broader North Texas community.
For Addison and the region’s growing arts scene, the appointment signals an opportunity to pair WaterTower’s established presence with a new generation of leadership—and to do it with a Dallas native who knows both the world-class entertainment business and the community he has come home to serve.
The next act is about to begin.
