Theater Alliance announced today that Raymond O. Caldwell would be the company’s next producing artistic director.
Caldwell currently serves as Theater Alliance’s Associate Artistic Director. He succeeds Colin Hovde, who announced his departure in July 2018 after seven years at Theater Alliance’s helm.
Caldwell brings an array of experiences to his new role. He joined Theater Alliance in 2017 to curate and produce the company’s inaugural Word Becomes Action Festival. He was elevated to Associate Artistic Director at the beginning of 2018 and will direct the upcoming production of Blood at the Root in January. Caldwell is a Resident Director and full-time lecturer at Howard University’s Theater Department, a position he will hold through the end of the Spring 2019 semester.
Caldwell is an accomplished actor, director, and teaching artist. As an actor, he has toured nationally and internationally. He has worked with playwrights including Ntozake Shange, Edward Albee, and Tarell Alvin McCraney. Internationally, he has directed and developed new-work in India, Ukraine, Greece, Germany, and the UK. For five seasons, he has worked for Arena Stage’s Community Engagement Division, following a year spent as the company’s prestigious Allen Lee Hughes Community Engagement Fellow. He received a BFA in Acting from the University of Florida, and a MFA in Acting from the Ohio State University.
“I am thrilled that Raymond will be serving as the new producing artistic director,” said Colin Hovde, current producing artistic director. “Working with Raymond over the last year and a half I have been continually impressed and wowed by his dedication, clarity of vision and natural ability to inspire others. I look forward to working with Raymond over the rest of this Season as he takes over the position of leadership.”
In a statement, Caldwell said: “I am deeply honored to serve Theater Alliance as Producing Artistic Director and thank the Board of Directors and staff for trusting me with this next chapter in the company’s history, I look forward to building upon Theater Alliance’s commitment to producing innovative work of the highest artistic caliber – work that asks socially conscious, thought-provoking questions that lead audiences to meaningful conversations. I am committed to serving Ward 8 and our Anacostia community, and I look forward to promoting ideas around equity, diversity, and inclusion that will echo throughout our nation’s capital.”
Theater Alliance retained Carlyn Madden, a local executive search consultant, to support a four-month, national search. Elliott Bales, Theater Alliance’s Treasurer, chaired the search committee.
