Bio

David Orace Kelly just completed the second year of the Theatre Values Project, a nationwide study on the values and ethics held by theatre companies across the United States. He is an arts advocate and fundraiser. He is the Development Director at Balagan Theatre,  the Drama Department Head at Explorer West Middle School, and a freelance Director for organizations such as: Youth Theatre Northest and quiet Productions.  Formerly he has worked with Seattle University, Seattle Shakespeare Company, Washington Ensemble Theatre, Intiman Theatre, Photographic Center Northwest, Stone Soup Theatre and many others. In the past three years he has helped to raise over $500,000 for nonprofit organizations in the Seattle area. As part of the Theatre Values Project (2010), he presented at The Washington State Arts Alliance Cultural Congress and Seattle University on the Ethics of Art. This past year he was a featured presenter on issues of leadership in the arts at the Arts Nonprofits Now conference (2011).

Background: At the age of 10 he started his first arts business built on his first love, juggling. For eleven years following, he ran his own entertainment company juggling in the northwest United States. During this time, he presented workshops on street performance, and advanced juggling skills in multiple years at the International Juggling Association Conventions, the Portland International Juggling Convention, and the Seattle Juggling Convention. He was also the featured juggler in Leonard Bernstein’s Mass under the direction of Marin Alsop, opened for the Kingsmen, was a featured performer at multiple International Juggling Conventions, won the award for best variety act at the Filbert Festival, and was chosen as a child prodigy in his home town of Eugene Or. for his work in the field of juggling.

Training and Education: He holds an MFA in Arts Leadership from Seattle University where he studied under the direction of Kevin Maifeld. He is also a trained theatre artist; his undergraduate experience includes work at Cornish College of the Arts, Dell’Arte School of Physical Theatre for master classes in clown and mask, and Naropa University, in Boulder Colorado, where he earned a BFA in Performance (acting, dance, and voice). In his career as a theatre professional he has directed over 30 theatre productions and performed nationally.