Since 2011, Susan Habas has been the Executive Director of Thalian Association Community Theatre. While providing management over the Hannah Block Historic USO Community Arts Center and its programs, Thalian Association Community Theatre produces five Main Stage Thalian Hall productions and five Youth Theatre productions annually. Susan is a native Wilmingtonian, with a successful sales, business growth, and customer loyalty background during a long fashion and retail management career with Hilda Godwin’s and The Julia. Locally, Susan is known for the weekly fashion show produced at the Pilot House in historic downtown Wilmington for 15 years and leading a variety of fundraisers for local non-profits.
Working with the TACT Board of Directors, Susan has grown the Youth Theatre program to include TACT Academy and a community outreach program that serves afterschool programs and Title 1 Elementary and Middle Schools in the Cape Fear Region. She also negotiated over $100,000 per year in trade sponsorships, founded the ARTfall Exhibition at the HBHUSO/CAC, established beneficial collaborations with the area non-profit organizations, and developed a diverse fundraising program including the Divine Divas events that also benefit designated non-profit organizations. Special events have included shows at the Blockade Runner, Mad Boar, and the most successful fundraiser in TACT history A Little Night Magic. Other historic firsts include staging productions at the Red Barn Studio theatre from 2013 – 2017 and in July 2017 collaborating with the Battleship NORTH CAROLINA to present the Tony Award winning play Mr. Roberts on the fantail of the Battleship, followed in 2018 by Caine Mutiny Court-Martial. Susan loves her life in Wilmington, her husband Michael, working with TACT, and her three Havanese, Gabby, Olive, and Cuba.