Dr. Aaron Thielen

Biography

Aaron Thielen has worked professionally for the past 30 years as an actor, director, choreographer, and writer. For the last 17 years, he has been the Artistic Director of the Marriott Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. During his time at the Marriott, he wrote multiple award-winning musicals, including the book for 'October Sky,' which premiered in October 2021 in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan, and the Jeff Award-winning 'HERO.' He also adapted the stage version of 'Boys' for 20th Century Fox and was tasked by Andrew Lloyd Webber to develop a new musical review work titled 'Forever.' His directing credits include productions such as 'Spring Awakening' (Chicago International), 'Darling Grenadine,' 'Loves Oklahoma!,' and the International production of 'Spelling Bee.' Additionally, he directed the 30th anniversary concert of 'HAIR!' in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Aaron earned a Master of Arts in Business: Arts Creative Enterprise Leadership degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Bolz Center for Arts Administration and has served as a board member of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre in New York City for the past six years, continuing his committee work for the organization. In 2018, he was asked by the State Department to develop an arts educational outreach program in Bosnia and Herzegovina, leading to the creation of Broadway Borders, a not-for-profit arts organization that fosters international cross-cultural collaborations in musical theatre performance to create shared understanding and cultivate connections among emerging artists across borders, empowering artistic social entrepreneurship.

Research Interests