About Us

 Artistic Director (Ojai Valley Artists Theater Ensemble), Susan  Kelejian, started acting professionally after running away to France at age 17 and landing a job in a commedia dell’ arte touring company. 

Susan first came to Ojai in the 1990’s  with the Ojai Shakespeare Festival (OSF) playing Prospera in The Tempest. which was the "play which changed my life"  and started her on an in depth journey towards searching for a higher consciousness and knowledge in Esoteric Studies. She  has returned to Ojai in 2017 after being away for a few years in Los Angeles  where she became the founder and Artistic Director of Equine Dell Arte,  the only professional theater company in the world to consistently  perform Shakespeare on horseback. 

 She subsequently took the helm of the OSF internship program and has  been involved with several educational outreach theater companies  Susan is an award-winning playwright, actor, and director throughout Southern CA.  For more information see www.ovate.org.

Her education is from the American Academy of  Dramatic Arts, Goddard College (BA in Script writing and Metaphysics), USC (MSW for Social Work)  and MUW (MFA in Theatre Education,)UMS for PhD in Metaphysical Science, and holds an LCSW for psychotherapy.

After years of studying neurodivergency, especially with creative types, Susan has developed an hypothesis on how the "non linear" brain functions, has applied her approach with over 150 patients in the last 15 years, and subsequently has reframed ADHD to a different diagnosis (AFS, or Attention Fluctuation Spectrum). She is currently writing a book on her research and experience. (2024).