Actors Theatre of Louisville Executive Artistic Director Robert Barry Fleming Stepping Down

Robert Barry Fleming is stepping down as the executive artistic director of Actors Theatre of Louisville after five years. He first took on the position in 2019, helping the theatre navigate the Covid-19 pandemic nine months into his tenure.

“It has been the privilege, honor, and daily joy of my lifetime to work and learn with and from this extraordinary Actors team," Fleming said, Louisville Public Media reports. "Though the challenges of stewarding a regional theater through a global pandemic and the detrimental comprehensive impact it has had on our industry has been formidable for everyone in our field who care about and are dedicated to the American theatre, I’m nothing less than ‘beyond-my-wildest dreams’ grateful for the wonderful partnerships that have emerged and the sense of community and connecting across difference that has manifested from our collective efforts."

Throughout his time in the position, Fleming faced the COVID-19 pandemic and shelter-in-place orders. He also implemented fresh and diverse offerings, including pivoting away from the theatre's classic long-running production “Dracula,” switching it out for a more recent piece of work, “Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy.”

Now in its 50th anniversary year as the State Theatre, Actors Theatre will engage in meaningful community partnerships with fellow arts and service organizations around the region and will continue to share new work, revive relevant classics, and offer exciting experiences as part of the company’s Storytelling (r)Evolution!

Actors Theatre of Louisville is supported by Brown-Forman, the Fund for the Arts, the Kentucky Arts Council, the Shubert Foundation, and a grant from the Mellon Foundation, which recently awarded Actors Theatre $1 million in recognition of Fleming’s transformative leadership in the American theatre.

Actors Theatre of Louisville, the state theatre of Kentucky, unlocks human potential, builds community, and enriches quality of life by engaging people in theatre that reflects the wonder and complexity of our time.