Arts & Culture
Sandy Cox is the new executive director of the Pensacola Little Theater, and her path to the role runs through a manufacturing floor and a mayor’s office, not a stage. A Georgia Tech-trained engineer, Cox spent her career running operations and manufacturing in tech before theater found her the way it finds a lot of parents: through her kid.
- “I brought my daughter to a local theater for her to learn how to stand and deliver,” Cox said. “And I became a theater mom at that point, and then next thing I knew I was on the board, and then next thing you knew I was running a theater.”
Before Pensacola, Cox served as mayor of Lakeway, Texas, a term that included both COVID-19 and a brutal winter storm.
“I don’t know if you heard of Snowmageddon in Texas. I was mayor during that point. But it was a great time, because I really went out to the community to find out what did the community want for Lakeway. We built a ten-year plan and put the strategy and the funding behind it.”
Why Pensacola
Cox and her husband had been eyeing the Gulf Coast for years and recently bought a beach house in Gulf Shores. The Pensacola Little Theater opening came up almost by accident, through a conversation with friends.
- “I just got so energized and excited,” Cox said. “It has such a tremendous history here in Pensacola, and I love the dualities of it, having an academy, producing the shows, a beautiful historic building, great people and patrons.”
What Makes a Great Arts Organization
Asked what separates a good theater from a great one, Cox pointed to community listening, volunteer energy, board strength, and staff depth.
“Most of art is done for free. Very few people are paid. That heart of the community coming out and wanting to see it succeed, a great board of directors, and then having a great staff, Pensacola Little Theater is so fortunate.”
She singled out artistic director Kathy Holsworth and new education director Brenda Hamilton, who toured with “Wicked” and performed as a Rockette before joining the theater’s staff.
An Outside Hire
I praised the theater’s board for hiring outside the community, calling it “a brilliant move” given Cox’s résumé across engineering, tech, and municipal government.
- Cox said, “I’m very appreciative and blessed that they chose me, and I’m excited to be here.”
