The Public Theater has announced Freedome Bradley-Ballentine will serve as its new director of artistic programs and associate artistic director.
Bradley-Ballentine returns to New York City after recent work as the associate artistic director and director of arts engagement at San Diego, California's The Old Globe. He has previously helmed the theatrical program for CityParks Foundation's SummerStage and the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre in Central Park. Bradley-Ballentine has also served as creative director for Creative Stages Entertainment.
“I started working at the New York Shakespeare Festival as a greeter while in college around the corner, now coming full circle," said Bradley-Ballentine in a statement aboout the new positions. "I had no idea how important that entry-level job would be on my life, or how it would change me. I'm an acolyte in the belief that theatre can be impactful to an individual and transformative to our society. The Public has been there for me during every phase of my adult life. I've witnessed how it's been integral to the people of New York. It's an institution that is vital to this city and the world. To support and steward it under the leadership of Oskar and Patrick at such a pivotal time is an exciting opportunity, one that I relish.”
The Public's Artistic Director Oskar Eustis said in a statement, “I have known and admired Freedome since I moved back to New York 17 years ago. He is a wonderful and magnetic leader, with superb taste, deep values, and terrific management skills. He is a man of the people, who brings artistic vision, commitment to community, and an enormous generosity of spirit to The Public."
Remarking on Bradley-Ballentine's work at The Old Globe, Artistic Director Barry Edelstein shared in a statement, “There are many ways to define a leader's legacy, but one of Freedome's most important is that the things he's helped create here are so remarkable that they will attract top-notch professionals to succeed him. We won't try to fill his shoes—an impossible task—but we will recruit someone special who will take what Freedome's leadership has accomplished, and move it forward with his same transformative and imaginative spirit.”
