Robert Woodruff (director)
Encyclopedia
Robert Woodruff is an American
theater director.
in political science
. He has a masters degree in theater arts from San Francisco State University
. He co-founded San Francisco's Eureka Theatre Company
in 1972.
, on a libretto that Shepard had developed for the national bicentennial celebrations, The Sad Lament of Pecos Bill on the Eve of Killing His Wife. The thirty-three year-old playwright was still better known in London than the States, and his collaborations with Woodruff marked a turning point in both men's careers. For the next five years Woodruff was virtually the sole director of Shepard's work, staging the American premiere of Curse of the Starving Class
at the New York Shakespeare Festival
in 1978, the world premieres of Buried Child
(1978) and True West
(1980) at the Magic Theatre
in San Francisco and then in New York, and the touring productions of Tongues
and Savage/Love, which Shepard co-authored with the performer Joseph Chaikin
.
Woodruff has directed plays performed at Lincoln Center Theatre, the New York Shakespeare Festival
, the Brooklyn Academy of Music
, the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, and The Mark Taper Forum
in Los Angeles. Internationally he has created productions at the Habima Theatre in Israel and Toneelgroep Amsterdam
in the Netherlands. His work has been seen at the Sydney Festival
, The Los Angeles Olympic Arts Festival (1984 Summer Olympics
), The Edinburgh International Festival, The Hong Kong Festival of the Arts, The Jerusalem Festival and the Spoleto Festival USA
. Opera premieres include SOUND OF A VOICE (American Repertory Theatre) and APPOMATTOX (San Francisco Opera) both by Philip Glass and MADAME WHITE SNAKE (Opera Boston, Beijing Music Festival) by Zhou Long (Pulitzer Prize Music 2010). He has taught at the University of California
campuses at San Diego
and Santa Barbara
, New York University
's Tisch School of the Arts and Columbia University
.
In 2002, Woodruff succeeded Robert Brustein
as the artistic director of the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Woordruff left in 2007 when his contract was not renewed because of concerns that Woodruff's artistic approach would affect the theater's profitability.
Robert Woodruff was named a 2007 USA Biller Fellow by United States Artists
, an arts advocacy foundation dedicated to the support and promotion of America's top living artists.
He is now on the faculty of the Yale School of Drama
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
theater director.
Early life
Woodruff graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude from the University at BuffaloUniversity at Buffalo, The State University of New York
University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, also commonly known as the University at Buffalo or UB, is a public research university and a "University Center" in the State University of New York system. The university was founded by Millard Fillmore in 1846. UB has multiple campuses...
in political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
. He has a masters degree in theater arts from San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers over 100 areas of study from nine academic colleges...
. He co-founded San Francisco's Eureka Theatre Company
Eureka Theatre Company
thumb|The Eureka Theatre Company is a repertory theatre group located in San Francisco, California. The company is noted for its staging of the world premiere of Angels in America: Millennium Approaches by American playwright Tony Kushner....
in 1972.
Directing career
In 1976 Woodruff established the Bay Area Playwrights Festival, a summer forum for the development of new plays that is still flourishing. It was here that Woodruff first worked with the writer Sam ShepardSam Shepard
Sam Shepard is an American playwright, actor, and television and film director. He is the author of several books of short stories, essays, and memoirs, and received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979 for his play Buried Child...
, on a libretto that Shepard had developed for the national bicentennial celebrations, The Sad Lament of Pecos Bill on the Eve of Killing His Wife. The thirty-three year-old playwright was still better known in London than the States, and his collaborations with Woodruff marked a turning point in both men's careers. For the next five years Woodruff was virtually the sole director of Shepard's work, staging the American premiere of Curse of the Starving Class
Curse of the Starving Class
Curse of the Starving Class is a play by Sam Shepard which, along with Buried Child, A Lie of the Mind and True West, comprises the playwright's family tragedies.-Production history:...
at 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...
in 1978, the world premieres of Buried Child
Buried Child
Buried Child is a play by Sam Shepard first presented in 1978. It won the 1979 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and launched Shepard to national fame as a playwright...
(1978) and True West
True West (play)
True West is a play by American playwright Sam Shepard. Like most of his works it is inspired by myths of American life and popular culture. The play is a more traditional narrative than most of the plays that Shepard has written.-Plot:...
(1980) at the Magic Theatre
Magic Theatre
The Magic Theatre is a theatre company founded in 1967, presently based at the historic Fort Mason Center on San Francisco's northern waterfront...
in San Francisco and then in New York, and the touring productions of Tongues
Tongues (play)
Tongues is a 1978 play by Sam Shepard and Joseph Chaikin. Tongues is a series of monologues set to percussion and meant for one actor. Shepard and Chaikin had previously agreed to do a piece surrounding the concept of the voice, and nearing completion of the piece, decided it required some kind of...
and Savage/Love, which Shepard co-authored with the performer Joseph Chaikin
Joseph Chaikin
Joseph Chaikin was an American theatre director, playwright, and pedagogue.-Early years:The youngest of five children, Chaikin was born to a poor Jewish family living in the Borough Park residential area of Brooklyn. At the age of six, he was struck with rheumatic fever, and he continued to...
.
Woodruff has directed plays performed at Lincoln Center Theatre, 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...
, the Brooklyn Academy of Music
Brooklyn Academy of Music
Brooklyn Academy of Music is a major performing arts venue in Brooklyn, a borough of New York City, United States, known as a center for progressive and avant garde performance....
, the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, and The 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...
in Los Angeles. Internationally he has created productions at the Habima Theatre in Israel and Toneelgroep Amsterdam
Toneelgroep Amsterdam
Toneelgroep Amsterdam is the Netherlands' largest repertory company. Its home base is the Amsterdam Stadsschouwburg, a classical 19th century theatre building in the heart of Amsterdam.-History:...
in the Netherlands. His work has been seen at the Sydney Festival
Sydney Festival
Sydney Festival is Australia's largest and most attended annual cultural event running every January since it was first held in 1977. Its program features around 80 events including contemporary and classical music, dance, circus, drama, visual arts and artist talks...
, The Los Angeles Olympic Arts Festival (1984 Summer Olympics
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...
), The Edinburgh International Festival, The Hong Kong Festival of the Arts, The Jerusalem Festival and the Spoleto Festival USA
Spoleto Festival USA
Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina, is one of the world's major performing arts festivals. It was founded in 1977 by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Gian Carlo Menotti, who sought to establish a counterpart to the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy...
. Opera premieres include SOUND OF A VOICE (American Repertory Theatre) and APPOMATTOX (San Francisco Opera) both by Philip Glass and MADAME WHITE SNAKE (Opera Boston, Beijing Music Festival) by Zhou Long (Pulitzer Prize Music 2010). He has taught at the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
campuses at San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
and Santa Barbara
University of California, Santa Barbara
The University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus is located on a site in Goleta, California, from Santa Barbara and northwest of Los...
, New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
's Tisch School of the Arts and Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
.
In 2002, Woodruff succeeded Robert Brustein
Robert Brustein
Robert Sanford Brustein is an American theatrical critic, producer, playwright and educator. He founded both Yale Repertory Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut and the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he remains a Creative Consultant, and has been the theatre critic for...
as the artistic director of the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Woordruff left in 2007 when his contract was not renewed because of concerns that Woodruff's artistic approach would affect the theater's profitability.
Robert Woodruff was named a 2007 USA Biller Fellow by United States Artists
United States Artists
United States Artists is an independent nonprofit and nongovernmental philanthropic organization based in Los Angeles, California and dedicated to supporting the work of living American artists by the granting of cash awards, called USA Fellowships...
, an arts advocacy foundation dedicated to the support and promotion of America's top living artists.
He is now on the faculty of the Yale School of Drama
Yale School of Drama
The Yale School of Drama is a graduate professional school of Yale University providing training in every discipline of the theatre: acting, design , directing, dramaturgy and dramatic criticism, playwriting, stage management, sound design, technical design and production, and theater...
.