Van McLeod

Van McLeod BIOGRAPHY


Currently the Commissioner of the Department of Cultural Resources for the State of New Hampshire—where he works with cultural organizations, artists, and filmmakers—Van has forty years of experience producing and directing theatre, film, and other events in the entertainment industry. He was the founder and producing director of Theatre 369 in Boston, Kearsarge Theatre Company in Warner, NH, and the Papermill Theatre in Lincoln, NH. He created McLeod Productions LLC and for six years created and produced events throughout New England. In 2008, the NH Film Festival established the Van McLeod Award, which annually honors an individual who has made a significant contribution to the film industry. He has received lifetime achievement awards from both the NH Travel Council and the NH Theatre Awards, and was also honored with a Granite State Award for outstanding public service. Van was one of four American Fellows selected for the Salzburg Global Seminars, a gathering of writers directors and producers from fifty-one countries, on “The Power of Theatre:Artistry, Entertainment and Social Commentary”. Van won the Gold Aurora Award as director/producer of the documentary set in Northern Ireland, Murals: Romanticizing the Violence. Van was a producer of “Agadez; The Music and the Rebellion” that tells the story of the Tuareg nomads of the Sahara and profiles the extraordinary Tuareg star, Bombino. In 2008, President Obama appointed Van to his National Arts Policy Committee. Van attended the Orson Welles Film School in Cambridge, MA (where he later created and taught the Acting for Film class), and Parsons College, Fairfield, Iowa, where he majored in theatre.




2015