Ken Butler to receive national theater award

QUICK GUIDE:

Who: Ken Butler, Executive Director, The Mass Arts Center

What: American Association of Community Theatre (AACT) Award

Where: Des Moine, Iowa

When: June 25–28

Web preview: https://aact.org/awards

CONTACTS: Michelle Swink – michelle@aact.org, 817-231-0482, Ext. 108

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE APRIL 30, 2025

MANSFIELD, Mass. ─ Ken Butler, Executive Director and founder of the Mass Arts Center, has been selected to receive the Special Recognition Award from the American Association of Community Theatre (AACT). Butler will be honored at the 2025 AACT National Awards ceremony during AACTFest 2025, taking place June 25–28 in Des Moines, Iowa.

The AACT Special Recognition Award is presented to individuals and organizations whose contributions to community theatre are far-reaching and of a special nature. Information about all AACT National Awards, this year’s recipients, and previous honorees can be found at aact.org/awards.

Butler’s vision, tenacity, and deep love for the arts have shaped the cultural landscape of Mansfield and southeastern Massachusetts for more than three decades. In 1993, with only $8 and a small group of arts-minded citizens, Butler founded what would become the Mass Arts Center – originally known as the Mansfield Music & Arts Society (MMAS). Under his leadership, the organization has grown from a modest black box theatre into a thriving regional arts hub, now celebrating its 25th theatre season.

After serving seven years as Board President, Butler became the organization’s first Executive Director in 2000. He has overseen the Center’s growth, which now includes theatre education for youth, rotating gallery exhibitions, and year-round performances that attract audiences from across the region. The Mass Arts Center operates at 888 South Main Street in Mansfield, with three main branches: the Reservoir Stage, the Morini Art Gallery, and the Academy at Mass Arts.

Butler has led several successful capital campaigns, including the acquisition of a three-acre waterfront property in 2018 and a $1.2 million renovation completed during the COVID-19 shutdown. The result is a state-of-the-art facility featuring a 103-seat stadium-style theatre, art gallery, studio spaces, greenroom, and private lesson rooms.

In true community theatre fashion, Butler has worn every hat imaginable – set designer, builder, lighting designer, actor, and “chief cook and bottle washer.” His unwavering dedication has kept the arts thriving in Mansfield, even in the most challenging times.

AACT represents more than 7,000 theatres nationwide and provides networking, resources, and support for America’s community theatres and their artists.

—

For more information, contact Michelle Swink at michelle@aact.org or 817-231-0482, Ext. 108.