Travis LeMont Ballenger Joins Justin Waldman As Associate Artistic Director Of The Old Globe

Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein today announced the appointment of Travis LeMont Ballenger as Associate Artistic Director. The Globe will have two people in this key position, as Ballenger joins Associate Artistic Director Justin Waldman, who has been at the Globe since 2011. Ballenger and Waldman will report jointly to Edelstein. Ballenger will assume his artistic duties at The Old Globe on May 1.

"The Old Globe is one of this country's largest regional theatres, and the volume of work we make is enormous, including 16 annual theatre productions, our robust arts engagement programming in San Diego neighborhoods, the development of new plays and musicals, artist training, and humanities programming," said Edelstein. "Shepherding this work to the Globe's customary level of excellence is a formidable task, and I am fortunate to have two very gifted associates to help me do it. Both are skilled, talented, and wise. The contributions Justin Waldman makes to the Globe are spectacular; he is one of the most distinguished artistic leaders in the national field. Now joining him is Travis LeMont Ballenger, who brings considerable artistic vision, strategic acumen, and great warmth to his work. Our national search for this position yielded many wonderful candidates, but Travis distinguished himself immediately as an uncommonly dynamic and exciting figure, and one who will inject significant energy into our theatre and our city. I'm delighted to welcome him and thrilled to see the amazing work he and Justin will do together."

Travis LeMont Ballenger is a generative artist. As a producer, he has developed work with a number of artists, including Katori Hall, Lynn Nottage, D.W. Jacobs, Sarah Treem, Pearl Cleage, Psalm 24, Lydia R. Diamond, and Radha Blank. While at Arena Stage, he served as a line producer for the pre-Broadway run of Diamond's Stick Fly; D.W. Jacobs's R. Buckminster Fuller: THE HISTORY (and Mystery) OF THE UNIVERSE; and Tectonic Theater Project's The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later. Ballenger served as Associate Producer for Hip-Hop Theater Festival, where he produced both DC and New York festivals and Blank's Seed, a co-production with Classical Theatre of Harlem. He also worked as Associate Producer for Market Road Films, primarily creating films for National Geographic. At Market Road, he line-produced and lead the research for Nottage's This Is Reading and Sweat. Previously Ballenger was Associate Producer and Casting Director at Dallas Theater Center, working on a number of shows including Will Power's Stagger Lee and Andrew Hinderaker's Colossal. He most recently served as Associate Producer at The Drama League, where he mentored early-career directors, managed artist residencies and international programs, and produced Directorfest. Ballenger is a graduate of Southern Methodist University and South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities.

Justin Waldman is an Associate Artistic Director of The Old Globe. His prior staff positions include Artistic Associate at Williamstown Theatre Festival; Artistic Associate at Huntington Theatre Company; and Producing Artistic Director at Next Stages, which he founded. His New York directing credits include The Atheist with Campbell Scott (Circle in the Square Theatre/Culture Project), Sonia Flew (Summer Play Festival), Jester's Dead (Studio Tisch, The PIT), and News Junkie (Lincoln Center Theater's Directors Lab). His regional credits include As You Like It (The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program), Samuel J. and K. with Justin Long, What Is the Cause of Thunder? with Wendie Malick and Betty Gilpin, and The Atheist (Williamstown Theatre Festival), Brendan and The Atheist (Huntington Theatre Company), and Over It (Next Stages). Waldman assistant directed Saturn Returns directed by Nicholas Martin (Lincoln Center Theater), the musical workshop of Houdini with Hugh Jackman and directed by Jack O'Brien (Scott Sanders Productions), the musical workshop of Me & Miss Monroe directed by John Rando (Chase Mishkin Productions), and Present Laughter, The Cherry Orchard, The Rose Tattoo, and others (Huntington Theatre Company), as well as three seasons at Commonwealth Shakespeare Company. Waldman is a graduate of Tufts University.

The Tony Award-winning The Old Globe is one of the country's leading professional not-for-profit regional theatres. Now in its 85th year, the Globe is San Diego's flagship performing arts institution, and it serves a vibrant community with theatre as a public good. Under the leadership of Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein and Managing Director Timothy J. Shields, The Old Globe produces a year-round season of 16 productions of classic, contemporary, and new works on its three Balboa Park stages, including its internationally renowned Shakespeare Festival. More than 250,000 people annually attend Globe productions and participate in the theatre's artistic and arts engagement programs. Its nationally prominent Arts Engagement Department provides an array of participatory programs that make theatre matter to more people in neighborhoods throughout the region. Humanities programs at the Globe and around the city broaden the community's understanding of theatre art in all its forms. The Globe also boasts a range of new play development programs with professional and community-based writers, and in partnership with the University of San Diego it runs a renowned M.F.A. actor-training program. Numerous world premieres-such as 2014 Tony Award winner for Best Musical A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, Bright Star, The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas!-have been developed at The Old Globe and have gone on to highly successful runs on Broadway and at regional theatres across the country.

 

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