John Ballinger is a 2008/2009 Ovation Nominee in the Book/Lyrics/Music for an Original Musical category for KEN ROHT’S CALENDAR GIRL COMPETITION at the Bootleg Theatre.

As an Ovation Award Nominee, LA Stage asked John the following questions:

What was the moment that first inspired you to pursue working in the theatre?

I was making a living as a free-lance performing musician when, at a pool party with a bunch of crazy theater people, someone said they needed some music for a play and asked if I was interested. They needed some protestant hymn-like material and some country/folk arrangements. I knew all those hymns from my childhood and decided to go for it. That play was Lone Wolf Rhapsody for which I shared the honor of an LA Weekly Theater Award for best original music in 1998.

What do you feel made the production you were nominated for particularly successful, either overall or for you specifically?

The 99c only Calendar Girl Competition was successful all around because Ken Roht was at the helm. It was successful for me because there was a clear vision of the piece and the style coming from Ken and he gave me a nice chunk of autonomy in composing and arranging. He also picked a truly great cast.

What project or projects are you currently working on?

I’m again working along with Ken Roht on a commission from the CTG for an adaptation of the Nutcracker as well as original music for O-lan Jone’s Songs and Dances of Imaginary Lands.

What do you love most about theatre in Los Angeles?

I love the support my family and I  have received from the theater people we’ve associated with. The people I’ve worked with care deeply about their work and the people around them. It’s much more than community theater, but it is, in fact, a community.

What’s your dream project?

I’ll let you know when I wake up!

BIOGRAPHY: JOHN BALLINGER is a CalArts alum and has toured the most of North America and a good deal of the rest of this planet as a performing musician. Some of those tours have been for Rufus Wainwright, Moira Smiley, and the first nat’l tour of Dancing with the Stars. Recent events in his life have presented him with a renewed interest in theater. Some of those credits as composer, sound designer, or musical director include:  All but one of Ken Roht’s 99c Only Store shows, Celebration of the Lizard at the Lyceum, Imperialists at the Club Cave Canem (Bart DeLorenzo, dir), and He Pounces (Ken Roht, dir) at the Evidence Room, O-lan Jones’ The Woman Who Forgot Her Sweater (Roxanne Seaman, dir) at Inside the Ford, The Joan Rivers Show (Bart DeLorenzo, dir) at the Geffen, Echo’s Hammer (Ken Roht, dir) and 1001 (Michael Micetti, dir) at Theatre @ Boston Court, Michael Sargent’s The Projectionist (Bart DeLorenzo, dir) at the Kirk Douglas Theater, O-lan Jones’ Songs & Dances of Imaginary Lands, and an on-going commission from CTG for an adaptation of The Nutcracker (Ken Roht, book/dir). Many thanks to Ken, Bart, O-lan, and the Ovation Awards.

For a full list of Ovation nominees, or for information about the Ovation Awards Ceremony on January 11th, click here!