Julia Flood (she/her) has been Artistic Director of Metro Theater Company, a 49-year-old TYA company in St. Louis, MO, since 2014. Prior to MTC, she led a professional TYA touring company based in Clearwater, FL for 16 years and spent many years as a freelance actor/director/teaching artist/playwright in the “mainstream” theater world. A graduate of Northwestern University, Julia was a resident member of the Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble in PA for the ensemble’s first seven years. Julia’s 40+ years of experience in the professional theater has led to a passionate belief in the power of theater to change the course of a young person’s life. She is committed to nurturing, commissioning and producing new voices for the theater. Julia served on the national board of Theatre for Young Audiences/USA from 2011 until 2019 and continues to work to support the national field of TYA.