Travis Walter Named Interim Artistic Director of MI's Meadow Brook

By Kenneth Jones
31 Aug 2009

Meadow Brook Theatre in Rochester, MI, announced the appointment of Travis W. Walter to the position of interim artistic director.

Walter has been the artistic administrator of the suburban Detroit theatre since July 2008. He graduated from Oakland University, where the resident professional theatre is located, in 2002 with a bachelor's degree in performing arts. Since that time he has been working professionally in the theatre both onstage and off. He has been seen at MBT in such shows as Witness for the Prosecution, The Foreigner, Romeo & Juliet, Wait Until Dark, A Christmas Carol (five years as Scrooge's nephew Fred and one as Jacob Marley) and Of Mice and Men. He is a member of Actors' Equity Association.

Walter has also been involved in several educational outreach tours including MBT's A Midsummer Night's Dream and BoarsHead's Get a Handle on your Mitten (a Michigan history showcase).

Last season Walter directed Murder by Poe and Beyond the Rainbow for Meadow Brook Theatre.

"We would like to thank Travis for his hard work and dedication during his tenure as artistic administrator," stated Dr. Linda Jarkey, president of Meadow Brook Theatre's board of directors. "We are proud of his exemplary commitment to the theatre and are confident that as interim artistic director his talent and leadership will have a very positive impact on the future of MBT."

"I am extremely grateful," Walter stated. "I want to help inspire audiences and really get people excited about live theatre."

Walter is also a playwright. He created, directed and produced the musical Hey There, Good Times: A Tribute to Cy Coleman in 2001. His play The Pendergrass Fortune or Liars and Moneygrubbers was a featured production of MBT's 2003 Edge of the Brook series and was revived in 2009. His drama Borrowed Heaven, which deals with a family coping with death and alcoholism, was presented at the first annual Michigan Theatre Festival.

Meadow Brook Theatre, a not-for-profit theatre, operates under a LORT D contract with Actors' Equity Association. It has focused on commercial fare, with some star casting, in recent years.

For more information about Meadow Brook Theatre, visit www.mbtheatre.com.