JoAnne Akalaitis
Encyclopedia
JoAnne Akalaitis is an American
theatre director and a writer
and the winner of five Obie Awards for direction (and sustained achievement) and founder of the critically acclaimed Mabou Mines
in New York
, from which she resigned after twenty years in June 1990.
Akalaitis was pre-med and studied philosophy in college. After choosing acting as a career, she also studied with the Actor’s Workshop in San Francisco, the San Francisco Mime Troupe
, The Open Theater
Workshop in New York, and acting theorist Jerzy Grotowski
in France. Additionaly, as a Mabou Mines founder, she conducted workshops in Mabou’s acting technique.
In addition to the American Repertory Theater - where she has directed Endgame
, The Balcony
(by Jean Genet
) and The Birthday Party
(by Harold Pinter
) - she has staged works by Euripides
, Shakespeare, Strindberg
, Schiller, Tennessee Williams
, Philip Glass
, Janáček
, and her own work at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
, New York City Opera
, Goodman Theatre
, Hartford Stage
, Mark Taper Forum
, Court Theatre
, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis
, and The Guthrie Theater. She is the former artistic director of the New York Shakespeare Festival
and was artist in residence at the Court Theatre
.
Ms. Akalaitis was the Andrew Mellon Co-chair of the Directing Program at Juilliard School
, and is currently the Wallace Benjamin Flint and L. May Hawver Flint Professor of Theater at Bard College
. She is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship
, National Endowment for the Arts
grants, Edwin Booth Award, Rosamund Gilder Award for Outstanding Achievement in Theatre, and Pew Charitable Trusts National Theatre Artist Residency Program grant.
In the early 1980s, Samuel Beckett reportedly attempted to shut down a production of his play, Endgame
, which she was directing.
: Zachary (b. 1971) and Juliet
(b. 1968).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
theatre director and a writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and the winner of five Obie Awards for direction (and sustained achievement) and founder of the critically acclaimed Mabou Mines
Mabou Mines
Mabou Mines is an avant-garde theatre company founded in 1970 and based in New York City.-History:Mabou Mines is a collaborative, avant-garde theater company based in New York City...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, from which she resigned after twenty years in June 1990.
Akalaitis was pre-med and studied philosophy in college. After choosing acting as a career, she also studied with the Actor’s Workshop in San Francisco, the San Francisco Mime Troupe
San Francisco Mime Troupe
The San Francisco Mime Troupe is a theatre of political satire which performs free shows in various parks in the San Francisco Bay Area and around California. The Troupe does not, however, perform silent mime, but each year creates an original musical comedy that combines aspects of Commedia...
, The Open Theater
The Open Theater
The Open Theater was an experimental theatre group active from 1963 to 1973.It was founded in New York City by a group of former students of acting teacher Nola Chilton, and joined shortly thereafter by director Joseph Chaikin, formerly of The Living Theatre, and Peter Feldman...
Workshop in New York, and acting theorist Jerzy Grotowski
Jerzy Grotowski
Jerzy Grotowski was a Polish theatre director and innovator of experimental theatre, the "theatre laboratory" and "poor theatre" concepts....
in France. Additionaly, as a Mabou Mines founder, she conducted workshops in Mabou’s acting technique.
In addition to the American Repertory Theater - where she has directed Endgame
Endgame (play)
Endgame, by Samuel Beckett, is a one-act play with four characters, written in a style associated with the Theatre of the Absurd. It was originally written in French ; as was his custom, Beckett himself translated it into English. The play was first performed in a French-language production at the...
, The Balcony
The Balcony
The Balcony is a play by the French dramatist Jean Genet. Since Peter Zadek directed its first production at the Arts Theatre Club in London in 1957, the play has attracted many of the greatest directors of the 20th century, including Peter Brook, Erwin Piscator, Roger Blin, Giorgio Strehler, and...
(by Jean Genet
Jean Genet
Jean Genet was a prominent and controversial French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. Early in his life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but later took to writing...
) and The Birthday Party
The Birthday Party (play)
The Birthday Party is the first full-length play by Harold Pinter and one of Pinter's best-known and most-frequently performed plays...
(by Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
) - she has staged works by Euripides
Euripides
Euripides was one of the three great tragedians of classical Athens, the other two being Aeschylus and Sophocles. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to him but according to the Suda it was ninety-two at most...
, Shakespeare, Strindberg
Strindberg
Strindberg may refer to:People* August Strindberg , Swedish dramatist and painter* Nils Strindberg , Swedish photographer* Anita Strindberg , Swedish actor* Henrik Strindberg , Swedish composerOther...
, Schiller, Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
, Philip Glass
Philip Glass
Philip Glass is an American composer. He is considered to be one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century and is widely acknowledged as a composer who has brought art music to the public .His music is often described as minimalist, along with...
, Janáček
Leoš Janácek
Leoš Janáček was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and all Slavic folk music to create an original, modern musical style. Until 1895 he devoted himself mainly to folkloristic research and his early musical output was influenced by...
, and her own work at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of New York City's Upper West Side. Reynold Levy has been its president since 2002.-History and facilities:...
, New York City Opera
New York City Opera
The New York City Opera is an American opera company located in New York City.The company, called "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and...
, Goodman Theatre
Goodman Theatre
The Goodman Theatre is a professional theater company located in Chicago's Loop. A major part of Chicago theatre, it is the city's oldest currently active nonprofit theater organization...
, Hartford Stage
Hartford Stage
Hartford Stage, located in Hartford, Connecticut, is one of the leading resident theatres in the United States, known internationally for entertaining and enlightening audiences with a wide range of the best of world drama, from classics to provocative new plays and musicals and neglected works...
, Mark Taper Forum
Mark Taper Forum
The Mark Taper Forum is a 739 seat thrust stage at the Los Angeles Music Center built by Welton Becket and Associates on the Bunker Hill section of downtown Los Angeles...
, Court Theatre
Court Theatre (Chicago)
The Court Theatre is a professional theatre located in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. The Court Theatre is affiliated with the University of Chicago, receiving in-kind support from the University and operating within the larger University umbrella...
, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis is a summer opera festival held in St. Louis, Missouri. Typically four operas, all sung in English, are presented each season, which runs from late May to late June. Performances are accompanied by the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, which is divided into two...
, and The Guthrie Theater. She is the former artistic director of the New York Shakespeare Festival
New York Shakespeare Festival
New York Shakespeare Festival is the previous name of the New York City theatrical producing organization now known as the Public Theater. The Festival produced shows at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, as part of its free Shakespeare in the Park series, at the Public Theatre near Astor Place...
and was artist in residence at the Court Theatre
Court Theatre (Chicago)
The Court Theatre is a professional theatre located in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. The Court Theatre is affiliated with the University of Chicago, receiving in-kind support from the University and operating within the larger University umbrella...
.
Ms. Akalaitis was the Andrew Mellon Co-chair of the Directing Program at Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
, and is currently the Wallace Benjamin Flint and L. May Hawver Flint Professor of Theater at Bard College
Bard College
Bard College, founded in 1860 as "St. Stephen's College", is a small four-year liberal arts college located in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.-Location:...
. She is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
, National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
grants, Edwin Booth Award, Rosamund Gilder Award for Outstanding Achievement in Theatre, and Pew Charitable Trusts National Theatre Artist Residency Program grant.
In the early 1980s, Samuel Beckett reportedly attempted to shut down a production of his play, Endgame
Endgame (play)
Endgame, by Samuel Beckett, is a one-act play with four characters, written in a style associated with the Theatre of the Absurd. It was originally written in French ; as was his custom, Beckett himself translated it into English. The play was first performed in a French-language production at the...
, which she was directing.
Family
She has two children with her ex-husband, composer Philip GlassPhilip Glass
Philip Glass is an American composer. He is considered to be one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century and is widely acknowledged as a composer who has brought art music to the public .His music is often described as minimalist, along with...
: Zachary (b. 1971) and Juliet
Juliet Glass
Juliet Glass is a writer and food critic, who formerly lived in Minneapolis. She is currently markets and program manager of FreshFarm Markets, a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. that promotes the growth of local food in the Chesapeake Bay region . She is the daughter of JoAnne...
(b. 1968).