Lesley Ballantyne : The Road To Becoming A "Well- Seasoned" Artist

Having the chance to sit down with Lesley Ballantyne and talk all things encompassing the arts and creativity was a true pleasure! Lesley shed a light on something that is a huge problem during our conversation that most artist will run into as they age in their career. That is a lack of work. Not because the talent nor the ability of the performer has lessened but because we simply don’t write many stories that include this hugely growing portion of our population so the parts for older actors are few and far between.

Lesley and her colleagues have taken on this problem head on and have a developed a theatre company , Well Seasoned productions, that only hires Actors that are over fifty. I love that! They are not only creating a space for seniors artists to work and as Lesley puts it, “we are creating a space for younger artists to grow into”. I believe this discussion is one that needs to be had and I hope it inspires more writer, directors, filmmakers, casting directors to dive into projects that tell stories that reflect back to us a larger spectrum of our society and an underutilized portion of our artist’s community.

In this Episode:

how to manage the right and left brain when being and administrator and an artist at the same time

what you need to consider before you start something artistically entrepreneurial in nature

How as you age the artist community becomes even more valuable

What to do if you are feeling stuck in your career.

the obsolescence of older artist and the importance of creating a space for artists to keep working as they age

by Chelsea Johnson | Cue to Cue

A little about Lesley:

Lesley celebrates 40-plus years in the Canadian entertainment business this year. Her talents have allowed her to work as a director, choreographer, performer, producer, teacher, and arts administrator. Her peripatetic career has taken her across Canada, parts of the US, and as far south as the Bahamas. She is a proud Dora Mavor Moore Award winner and a Jessie Richardson Award nominee for On Tap. Lesley is a past Artistic Director of the Muskoka Festival Theatre (theatres in Gravenhurst, Port Carling, and Huntsville ON) where she directed and choreographed many of the Festival’s main-stage and touring productions, many of them original Canadian musicals. She has experienced the joys of both performing, directing and choreographing shows in a range of theatres from small storefront locations to the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. Recent projects include: Project Manager, The Siminovitch Prize; Co-producer, World AIDS Day Concert; Director, Put Up Your Hand; Director, Brundibar; Co-Producer Confessions of an Operatic Mute, and many rewarding shows for Smile Theatre.

Check out Well Seasoned Productions!