Mark Hillenbrand holds a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois and an M.B.A. with concentrations in Management and Marketing from the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota. He is currently Associate Chair and Managing Director of Theatre at Ball State University in Muncie, IN. In 1998 he was granted a sabbatical to research HOW TO PRODUCE A PLAY WITHOUT A PRODUCER: A SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR ACTORS AND WRITERS. He moved to New York and extensively interviewed prominent theatrical producers. A current perspective on all topics of producing theatre. HOW TO PRODUCE A PLAY WITHOUT A PRODUCER: A SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR ACTORS AND WRITERS reveals the best most current insights into the art & techniques of successful low budge theatre productions.
Hillenbrand has managed/produced over seventy theatre productions in Indiana, Illinois, and Minnesota. He is currently on the Board of Directors of Heartland Theatre Company, and is Vice President of the Indiana Theatre Association. As Managing Director at Ball State University , he is responsible for marketing, publicity, fund raising and development, organizing design and tech deadlines, play selection and box office management. He is also a contributing author to Showcase News, a New York periodical which covers off-off Broadway. As a playwright, Hillenbrand has won four national awards, and was recently named a finalist in New York’s Lark Theatre playwriting contest. His plays have been produced in Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. His most recent play, Tough-Guy Detective Story was shot as a television pilot for National Public Television and was directed by four-time emmy award winner Jim Shasky.
