Travis Schlegel

Travis Schlegel
(Lennie)

Producer, Of Mice and Men

Travis first discovered his passion for the theatre in high school, later refining his skills, honing his craft, and stoking the fires of his passion during his time at various community theatres. After many years away from acting — working for a regional ambulance service as a paramedic — he returned to the stage in 2016 to tackle one of his all-time favorite roles: Pontius Pilate in “Jesus Christ Superstar”.

Travis is a long standing member of Theatre In The Grove, where he has played everything from Lawrence Wargrave in “Ten Little Indians” to Good Ole Reliable Jake in “Evil Dead: The Musical” to countless productions where he was a member of the ensemble. Most recently, he was seen as Mr. Mushnik in “Little Shop of Horrors”.

Travis is now a 52-year-old father and grandfather, and is proud to be tackling the role of Lennie in this production of OF MICE AND MEN. Working closely with Benjamin and Life In Arts Productions, the two met during an audition, and this will be their first time onstage together.

The role of Lennie is another important bucket list role for him, particularly as he has close family ties to people with special needs. He hopes to honor them with his upcoming portrayal, taking great pains to transform what could be a caricature into a complete human being.

“When something is new and hard and bright, there ought to be something a little better for it than just being safe, since the safe things are just the things that folks have been doing so long they have worn the edges off and there’s nothing to the doing of them that leaves a man to say: That was not done before, and it cannot be done again.”

— William Faulkner