Arts & Entertainment

AOP Announces New President, CEO

The Aquarium of the Pacific (AOP) has announced the appointment of Jeffrey Flocken as its new president and CEO. He will lead the aquarium in its ongoing quest to be a trailblazer in species conservation and animal welfare.

He brings to the organization a wealth of knowledge and connections in policy, communications, conservation science, sustainability, fundraising and managing teams to enact change to better the lives of animals, empower communities and save species.

“The aquarium is not just a place to connect with animals and nature. We are committed to conserving our planet. We already have important programs that are saving species, but want to take this to the next level,” said AOP Board Chair Jennifer Hagle. “We are thrilled to welcome Jeffrey Flocken and all of the knowledge and expertise he brings to establish the aquarium as a national and international leader in conservation.”

Flocken’s prior experience includes roles as president, Humane Society International; North American regional director, International Fund for Animal Welfare; international affairs specialist at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; director of education, policy and outreach, Conservation International; and endangered species outreach manager, National Wildlife Federation. He has a juris doctor from the Wayne State School of Law and a bachelor of science degree in Communications and English from the University of Michigan.

“The City of Long Beach looks forward to welcoming Jeffrey Flocken to serve as the aquarium’s next president and CEO,” said Long Beach City Manager Tom Modica. “He has the right blend of vision, experience and integrity to lead the organization and its dynamic workforce into their next chapter. His proven track record of inspiring others and achieving ambitious goals will be invaluable in the years ahead as the aquarium seeks to continue to inspire locals in new ways and elevate its status as a regional and national destination.”

Flocken is co-founder of Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders, an international organization dedicated to training and mentoring up-and-coming leaders in the wildlife conservation field. The organization works to foster the skills necessary to succeed in advocacy campaigning and organizational leadership, empowering local communities in conservation. In his role, Flocken stewarded the growth of over 250 professionals from across the wildlife conservation field.

During his career, he delivered major animal welfare and conservation policy victories in the United States, South Africa, United Kingdom, Mexico, the European Union, Vietnam, Costa Rica, South Korea, Canada, Brazil and India, among other countries. These include launching street dog and cat health efforts caring for millions of at-risk companion animals and ending the dog meat trade in South Korea.

Flocken will be joined in Long Beach by his wife, Mary Crimmings, and their daughter Collette, as well as their rescued dog and cat, Chewbacca and Dasher.

Performance Auditions

Musical Theatre West (MTW) will hold auditions for its first two shows in their 2026 Season of Dreams: “Man of La Mancha” and “In the Heights.” The open auditions will take place Sunday, Nov. 23 and Monday, Nov. 24 at the MTW Reiner Rehearsal Hall, located at 4350 E 7th St.

Performances are scheduled for Feb. 13-March 1, 2026, for “Man of La Mancha” and April 10-26, 2026, for “In the Heights” and will take place at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center. A full audition breakdown is available at https://musical.org/auditions/.

In addition to “Man of La Mancha” and “In the Heights,” MTW is also seeking non-union actors for its upcoming spring educational tour. This tour contains two musicals, “Saving Paka’s Dog Park” and “How Do You Know?” and will be performed at local schools as a part of Musical Theatre West’s ever-growing education outreach programming. These actors will interact with the students after entertaining them with these musicals that cover subjects that are a part of the STEAM curriculum.

“Come one, come all! We are excited to see all of the incredible talent that will come out for our first two productions of 2026, as well as our spring educational tour,” said Paul Garman, executive director and producer at Musical Theatre West. “We see ourselves as a theatre of the community, and we hope that the community comes out in full force for these two incredible shows and tour.

“In the Heights” specifically is all about the importance and power of community, and we hope to represent the beautiful residents that we serve here in Long Beach. Our goal is always to cast local actors in our productions, and we hope we can reach that goal with these shows!”

Auditions are open to both union and non-union performers and appointments can be made by contacting mtwauditions@musical.org. Musical Theatre West strives to reflect its community and welcomes and encourages all performers of any gender identity, age, religion, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, language, physical ability or diverse viewpoints to audition.

For more information, visit https://musical.org/auditions/.