Raymond O. Caldwell will be the next artistic director of the Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles. The theater announced the appointment at a gala event on November 16 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel to celebrate the legacy of retiring founding artistic director Stephen Sachs. “After a deep, nationwide search, the board is confident that Mr. Caldwell is the leader who will burnish the Fountain’s traditions and bring the creative and innovative energy needed to ensure a vibrant future,” stated board chair Dorothy Wolpert. “We congratulate him and eagerly anticipate a thrilling partnership.” Photo courtesy of the Fountain Theatre. Caldwell was the artistic director for six seasons at DC’s Theater Alliance, where he directed, developed, and produced socially conscious, thought-provoking programming that transformed the region and had global impact. Under his leadership, Theater Alliance was chosen to lead an American Arts Envoy with the US Department of State. He devised and directed the new work A Global I.D.E.A. with 23 artists and activists from Bangladesh, Nepal, India, and the U.S. exploring what “Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility” mean on the global stage. He developed and led similar international programming promoting cultural preservation, LGTBQIA+ rights, disability advocacy, peacebuilding, and countering violent extremism, human trafficking, and gender-based violence. In addition to his international work as an educator, Raymond was a faculty member and resident director at Howard University’s Department of Theatre Arts. He was part of the National Arts Strategy Executive Leadership group at Harvard and holds an MFA in Acting/New Play Development from Ohio State University and a BFA in Acting from the University of Florida. “As an admirer of the work the Fountain Theatre has committed to for the past 34 years, I’m deeply honored and humbled to have been chosen to be the next artistic director,” said Caldwell. “I’m excited to continue creating work that celebrates Los Angeles’ incredible diversity, asks vital questions, provokes new ideas, and inspires civic engagement and action. It’s my belief that community-driven spaces like the Fountain Theatre are vital as we confront the greatest pandemic of our times: loneliness.” Now living in Los Angeles, Caldwell has spent the last 16 years in Washington, DC, as a director, writer, producer, and educator. He is the 2023 SDC Zelda Fichandler Award recipient for his creativity and deep investments in the community. He has received Helen Hayes awards for directing, writing, and producing and was a regular recipient of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Artist Fellowship. His most recent directing credits include Romeo & Juliet at Folger Shakespeare Theatre, Look Both Ways at the Kennedy Center, Poetry for the People at Theater Alliance, Skeleton Crew at the Contemporary Theatre of Ohio, and Passing Strange at Signature Theatre. He has written and adapted new works for Theater Alliance and the Kennedy Center, including Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks from the book by 2024 MacArthur recipient Jason Reynolds. A national tour is planned for early 2025. Poetry for the People: The June Jordan Experience, which he created alongside renowned composer Adrienne Torf, received the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Adaptation. The Fountain Theatre creates, develops, and produces new plays that bring to life the urgent social, political, and cultural issues of our time, reflecting the vibrant diversity of Los Angeles and the nation. Its educational outreach programs inspire young people to become engaged citizens and leaders of tomorrow.