Partners in the Arts: Out Front leader Paul Conroy and videographer Brian Wallenberg

Brian Wallenberg had just changed careers in 2013, transitioning from being a company dancer with the Atlanta Ballet to a videographer and content creator, when he went on a first date with Paul Conroy. At the time, Conroy was running a community theater in Newnan, Georgia. The two met at a Starbucks on 14th Street. 

Later that night, both of them were separately attending an opera at Cobb Energy Center. Conroy texted Wallenberg that he should look down the row. They were about six seats apart.

Married since 2020, Wallenberg now runs Saturnblu Productions, producing promotional content and videos for a variety of theater clients throughout Atlanta. Conroy founded and leads Out Front Theatre, the only theater company in Atlanta with a mission to specifically provide LGBTQ+ content for its community.

Conroy also has master’s degrees in theater directing from Roosevelt University in Chicago and the University of Idaho. His work with the city as a six-year member of the Mayor’s LGBTQ+ Advisory Board received special recognition in December.

The couple lives in a condo in Old Fourth Ward with their dog, Monty. They have a loving banter with one another, teasing while praising each other’s accomplishments.

In a recent conversation with ArtsATL, the two said they connected because of their lives in the arts and that their relationship has helped them both thrive in the arts community. 

ArtsATL: How long have you been together? How did you meet?

Conroy: March 2013 is when we had our first date. We met online. It’s a very 21st century love story.

Wallenberg: I had just retired from Atlanta Ballet.

Conroy: I’ve never seen him dance professionally. We started dating right after he retired, so I’ve never seen him onstage.

Wallenberg: Yeah, I retired in 2011 from performing, and I moved into my social media and video work for the Ballet at that point. And I did one show in 2013: their production of Dracula. I had just finished that; Feb. 16 was my last show. So a few weeks before we met, I really quit dancing. And my friends all made fun of me, saying I was like Cher because I’d say I was retiring and then come back and do something else.

ArtsATL: Now you do freelance video work?

Wallenberg: I create short-form marketing and promotional materials focused on theater mainly.

ArtsATL: Do you have favorite content you’ve made?

Wallenberg: I loved filming for Kinky Boots at Out Front. And The Prom.

Conroy: [Laughing.] I didn’t direct that one.

Wallenberg: It’s always so interesting for me to capture the magic that is created within a theater. I don’t really have a favorite piece because the work is so different for me. And the pieces I create are so unique and different because the shows are. That’s what I love about my job. Every time I go in, it’s a brand new experience.

ArtsATL: Does your background in dance affect your eye and influence your work?

Wallenberg: Absolutely. For the pieces I create, music is such a guiding force and a guiding factor — and it was when I was a dancer.

Conroy: With the video work, he’s self-taught! He didn’t take classes or have a degree or anything. Everything he does is self-taught.

Wallenberg: When I was dancing with the Ballet, I made enough money one year that I could buy myself a video camera and started filming stuff in the studio. And the first thing that I ever filmed and edited was purchased by the Ballet to promote the work that was a collaboration with Big Boi from OutKast. I was just doing it for fun, and the Ballet saw it and offered to buy it from me.

ArtsATL: And did Out Front begin before you started dating?

Wallenberg: Out Front came after we started dating.

Conroy: There was a point where I said, “I’m gonna start a theater,” and he just rolled his eyes and said, “Sure you are.”

Wallenberg: No, I said, “Yes dear. You do that. I can’t wait to see it happen!’”

Conroy: And then I did do it.

Wallenberg: And he really did do it. That spark of an idea has become what Out Front is today. I’m impressed every time I walk in the building.

ArtsATL: Does your understanding of artistic careers help your relationship?

Wallenberg: For us, one of the things that we bonded over when we first met was understanding our love for the arts and knowing what your schedule is like when you’re in the arts. We’d both dated people who were not related to the arts at all, and I always found it very challenging because the other person never understood the time commitment that was involved.

Conroy: They just thought it was you working 9-to-5 and then you do whatever after. And it’s like, “No, I don’t start rehearsal until like 6 at night, and that rehearsal runs until 10 at least.” I’m very curious as to how people who are in the arts make it work with people who have a strict 9-to-5.

Wallenberg: When I was in the theater filming a show with the Ballet, it was never an issue because Paul was in rehearsal at the same time. It was a bonding thing.

Conroy: We haven’t had a honeymoon yet because we can’t find the right time to do it. He’s filming projects. I’m directing something. We legally got married in 2020 during the pandemic, which was when the wedding was supposed to be — but obviously it wasn’t. In 2021 was when the actual party and ceremony was. We did it in July because I knew I was going to be back in the theater with Xanadu. We had a bunch of people from up north and here who were teachers, so that was the window. So we haven’t had a honeymoon yet. I mean, someday.

Wallenberg: We’ll get around to it.

Conroy: Maybe for like the fifth anniversary or something, which is coming up very soon.

ArtsATL: I enjoy how Paul begins each of his stage speeches instructing people to turn off their cameras and that photography is not allowed, while Brian is filming the production.

Wallenberg: I like being the exception to the rule. Except for that guy, he can take videos and photos!

Conroy: It’s really a gift because, whether it’s for archival or marketing purposes, a lot of arts organizations don’t utilize video in that sense. I mean, it helps us get grants. I always say that I married up because his skills benefit me. I don’t know if my skills benefit him.

ArtsATL: Brian, how do his skills benefit you?

[Laughter from Conroy.]

Wallenberg: I do store some of my equipment in a small space at the theater.

Conroy: You do get invited to a lot of fun events.

Wallenberg: We do a lot of fun things because of Paul’s work. Paul is very involved in the city with his work with the LGBTQ+ Advisory Board for the city. All of that is so fascinating to me. There are always really interesting events and people.

ArtsATL: How do your collaborations work?

Conroy: I’ve learned to give very few notes.

Wallenberg: I get notes all the time. He can be real with me. Paul just becomes a client.

Conroy: But I don’t have to do it. I trust you. My philosophy is that Brian has his gifts and skills, and I can stand back, not hindering it too much. I do that with everyone, with our marketing team and our directors. I think you should give everyone grace to do what they know how to do.

Wallenberg: Paul really does let you go in and do what you do. He trusts my eye, and I really value that.

Conroy: He started his own business! He just picked up a camera and decided that he was just going to do this. It wasn’t getting hired by a company. He just figured out how to do it and got it done, which is what people in the arts do.

Wallenberg: That bonds us. We’re those types of people. We have an idea. We figure out how to accomplish that idea.

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Benjamin Carr is an ArtsATL editor-at-large who has contributed to the publication since 2019 and a member of the American Theatre Critics Association, the Dramatists Guild, the Atlanta Press Club and the Horror Writers Association. His writing has been featured in podcasts for iHeartMedia, onstage as part of the Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Short Play Festival and online in The Guardian. His debut novel, Impacted, was published by The Story Plant.