Former Dixon Stage Left manager hired as The Dixon’s new executive director

DIXON – The Dixon: Historic Theatre has announced the appointment of a new executive director after it terminated its former director in late March.

Spencer Aurand, former business manager at Dixon Stage Left, will fill the role previously filled by Darren Mangler. Aurand left Stage Left a couple of months ago and decided to move back to theater when the Dixon theater board approached him about the position, Aurand said.

“I’m really excited to be working at The Dixon. It’s always been a dream of mine ... and I’m really excited to work with The Dixon to make Dixon a better, more entertaining place for people to live,” Aurand said.

Aurand has been working in the theater business for about 10 years. His interest was sparked after working as stage manager in high school. After college, he was hired by Dixon Stage Left, beginning as a stagehand and helping to run the box office before being promoted to business manager, he said.

Aurand said he’s working closely with the theater’s manager and technical director to plan the 2026 season, but “right now, I don’t have any kind of major revolutionary plans.”

“I’ve got a really good team working here, so right now, [I’m] just trying to get my feet on, make sure the thing kind of runs smoothly for the next few months,” Aurand said.

Mangler’s termination happened during a meeting with theater board Chairman Mike Venier, who also is a Dixon City Council member, and theater board member Jeremy Englund because “[Mangler’s] talents and our needs have been falling out of alignment as we continue to grow,” theater board member Debbie Bay wrote in an email to Shaw Local.

[ The Dixon: Historic Theatre leadership cuts ties with executive director just weeks after grand reopening  ]

The 103-year-old theater sat largely unused until about 2019. That year, the Historic Dixon Theatre Group replaced the previous board of directors and had big plans to raise the theater’s profile, but it lost momentum in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Then, in August 2022, the theater won a $1.2 million federal Economic Development Administration grant for structural improvements to the facility. By 2024, with the hiring of Mangler, its revitalization plans took off again. The theater closed Oct. 1 to undergo its $1.5 million restoration project and reopened March 2 with the musical “Spamilton.”

Mangler developed the 90-show lineup for the 2025 season, which includes two touring shows, three original musicals and four children’s performances. Other highlights are the Dixon Municipal Band’s seasonal concerts, performances from the Eastman School of Dance, movie nights, a USO show for veterans, and the return of video game tournaments on the big screen.

Mangler got his start in theater at the Timber Lake Playhouse in Mount Carroll. He booked two national tours with the Repertory Theater of America and the Missoula Children’s Theater before moving to Los Angeles and, eventually, making his way back to northern Illinois.