Actors Theatre of Louisville receives $1 million grant from Mellon Foundation

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Actors Theatre of Louisville received a $1 million grant from a national foundation.

The Mellon Foundation, a New York City-based foundation, provides grants to support communities through arts and humanities. The grant recognizes the leadership of Robert Barry Fleming, the executive artistic director of Actors Theatre.

Fleming, a Frankfort, Kentucky native, was recognized for his transformative leadership by the Mellon Foundation. His tenure at Actors Theatre began in June of 2019 after serving as director of artistic programming at Arena Stage and associate artistic director at Cleveland Play House. Under Fleming's direction, Actors Theatre has explored new ways to connect artists and audiences.

Ben Geirhart, communications coordinator for Actors Theatre, said the funding will support the new season and more programming.

"This award will enable Actors to continue projects and productions that pilot new operating and funding models for individual artists and organizations that foster a more inclusive, nimble, and cooperative sector and continue a long-standing tradition of innovation and excellence in the American theatre," Geirhart said.

According to the Mellon Foundation, the funding seeks to create an understanding of broader histories, narratives, and aesthetic traditions through multi-year support of artists and communities historically subject to disinvestment.

Earlier this month, Actors Theatre released its 2024-25 season. The theatre said this season uplifts stories and amplifies voices from a various perspectives to connect with different ideas and cultures.

"Working in community, we can make a place of belonging and a 'global' storytelling hub investigating the human condition in all its magnificence and madness," Fleming said in a news release. "These dynamic projects and diverse voices embody so many of the infinite possibilities that a world of prosperity can realize because of their diversity and difference. So onward and upward and three cheers for art that lives in pluralism, inclusivity, and social good for all."

Some upcoming performances for the 2024-25 season include:

Won't you be my May-bor? presented by Drag Daddy Productions starring May O'Nays at Victor Jory Theater from May 31-June 8
A Juneteenth Celebration with UNIVERSES performing a concert selection at the Bingham Theater on June 19
New Voices featuring teenage students from the Bilingual Summer Intensive with UNIVERSES at the Bingham Theater on June 29
Who Killed Alberta Jones? presented by Redline Performing Arts in partnership with the Parks Alliance of Louisville hosted at Alberta O. Jones Park on July 13 and at Victor Jory Theater from Aug. 8-10

The listing for the season will go on sale on a rolling basis starting April 23. To see the full listing for the season, click here.

50 years ago, Actors Theatre was designated the State Theatre of Kentucky.

The theatre is located at 316 West Main Street in downtown Louisville. To learn more about Actors Theatre, click here.

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