VIDEO: Tarell Alvin McCraney On His Vision for the Geffen Playhouse

Watch as Geffen Playhouse Artistic Director Tarrell Alvin McCraney talks about his plans for the storied theatre's upcoming season and beyond. See the full video.

McCraney, who also received a MacArthur Genius Grant and a Peabody Award for his TV drama "David Makes Man," has had a longstanding relationship with The Geffen Playhouse. His play Choir Boy had its West Coast premiere there in 2014, later advancing to Broadway and receiving a Tony nomination.

Reflecting on his new role, McCraney expresses a deep connection to the legacy of storytelling at The Geffen Playhouse, recalling the awe of seeing his play embraced by a diverse audience. His vision as artistic director includes fostering a symbiotic relationship between budding artists and audiences, particularly focusing on students at UCLA. He aims to innovate by integrating theatre subscriptions into student tuition, seeing it as a crucial part of education and understanding the human condition.

Tarell Alvin McCraney is Artistic Director of Geffen Playhouse. In this role, he is responsible for identifying, developing, and programming new works and re-envisioned classics. He sets the strategic artistic course for the Geffen's Gil Cates and Audrey Skirball Kenis Theaters. McCraney is an award-winning writer, producer, and educator, best known for his acclaimed trilogy, The Brother/Sister Plays. His script In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue is the basis for the Oscar–winning film Moonlight directed by Barry Jenkins, for which McCraney and Jenkins also won a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar. He is an ensemble member at Steppenwolf Theatre and a member of Teo Castellanos D-Projects in Miami, a graduate of New World School of the Arts, The Theatre School at DePaul University, and the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale. He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Warwick. He was recently Co-Chair of Playwriting at the David Geffen School of Drama, where he remains on faculty. He is an associate at the Royal Shakespeare Company, London, and a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Writers Branch).

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