Producer and casting director Jody Feldman retires

Sammie Purcell

Jody Feldman, producer and casting director for the Alliance Theatre, is saying goodbye after 35 years.

Feldman, who started with the Alliance back in 1991, will retire this December. According to a press release, Feldman cast more than 375 productions for both adults and children at the theater during her tenure, including “The Last Night of Ballyhoo,” “Aida,” “The Color Purple,” and “Maybe Happy Ending.”

“It’s impossible to overstate Jody’s impact on the Atlanta Theatre community in general and on the Alliance in particular,” said Tinashe Kajese-Bolden and Christopher Moses, the Alliance’s Jennings Hertz artistic directors, in a joint statement. “It’s also impossible to imagine the Alliance without her. Luckily, we won’t have to as her legacy is baked into the very fabric of this organization. The depth of love she poured into this place will continue to inspire every staff member and artist who works here for generations to come.”

When Feldman first started her career, she thought she wanted to be an actor. But something about that profession left her feeling a little bit unfulfilled. She didn’t always love going to the movies – she found it difficult to watch other actors doing what she thought she wanted to do – but liked the actress Holly Hunter. So, one day she decided to go see 1987’s “Broadcast News,” and everything changed.

“It was an epiphany,” Feldman said. “I don’t want to be Holly Hunter the actor. I want to be her character in this movie. I want to produce.”

While she didn’t want to be a news producer like Hunter’s character in the film, she finally realized that she wanted to take a step into the world of theatrical producing. She called up The Academy Theatre (now located in Hapeville), founded by Frank Wittow, and asked for a job. They were in the process of moving to a bigger facility, and she thought they could use the help.

“I’ll do anything,” she remembered saying. “I’ll clean bathrooms, I’ll sweep – whatever you want me to do!”

She started off as the assistant managing director and later became the assistant general manager, according to the release. This is also where she met Kenny Leon, the award-winning director who would go on to serve as the artistic director of the Alliance Theatre for 11 years.

Leon was instrumental in paving the way for Feldman to come on at the Alliance. She eventually left the Academy Theatre to have her first child, but she didn’t stay away from theater for long. According to Feldman, Leon called her up one day – she was standing in the kitchen, she recalls, with a baby on her hip – and asked her to come on as his assistant and casting director. She initially said no – she’d already decided to be a stay-at-home mom, and was ready to refocus all of her energy into that lane. But Leon wouldn’t take no for an answer.

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