Robert Barry Fleming Blazing a Path

IT’S HARD TO PIN DOWN ROBERT BARRY FLEMING: He’s been a director, choreographer, actor, and administrator for such theatres as Cleveland Play House and Arena Stage. This diverse résumé has taken him around the country: He’s lived in Cleveland, New York City, San Diego, Memphis, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C.

Now his new job is taking him home. He’s currently in the midst of his first season as artistic director of Actors Theatre of Louisville in Kentucky, a short drive from where Fleming grew up. Below Fleming talks about what he hopes from his new job and moving beyond the scarcity model.

DIEP TRAN: What was your pitch to the board of Actors Theatre of Louisville?

I grew