The Actors Studio to Present Three Day Celebration of Estelle Parsons

The Actors Studio will continue its 75th Anniversary celebration with a three-day celebration of one of its most influential members, Academy Award winner and Co-Associate Artistic Director of The Actors Studio, Estelle Parsons. With "Directed By Estelle Parsons," the legendary studio, located at 432 West 44th Street, will open its doors to the public for a series of live performances directed by Parsons, each free and open to the public.

THE DANUBE by Maria Irene Fornés

April 20 at 7PM and April 21 at 7PM

The Danube starts in Budapest, Hungary in 1938 and soon departs from chronological realism. Like all of Fornes' work, it is about the human race as it lurches from its past - into its future.

UNCLE VANYA (Acts 1 and 2) by Anton Chekhov

April 22 at 2PM

Written by Anton Chekhov in 1896, Uncle Vanya, is an important play concerned with themes of environmental deterioration and climate change.

RE-ENTRY

April 22 at 7PM

Reentry deals with the issues that are faced by men who are trying to survive post-incarceration. Under the direction of Estelle Parsons, a group of Actors Studio members have created a timely powerful piece about formerly incarcerated men.

Seating for all performances of this special 75th Anniversary event are free, and extremely limited. Those who would like to attend must reserve seats and receive confirmation of access. For more information about The Actors Studio and upcoming events, visit TheActorsStudio.org.

NOTE: While The Actors Studio's 75th Anniversary events are free and open to the public, reviews and photography of Actors Studio events are not permitted.

Thank you for respecting this long-standing policy of The Actors Studio.

 
ABOUT Estelle Parsons AT The Actors Studio

Beau Gravitte, Artistic Director (NYC) of The Actors Studio says "We are all grateful for her tireless dedication to our growth as artists and for the deep impact she has had on each of us. Please join us as we celebrate the incredible legacy of Estelle Parsons at The Actors Studio."

Estelle Parsons joined The Actors Studio as a member in the early years, studying with Lee Strasberg. During her time here, she had the privilege of working with some of the greatest directors of our time, including Elia Kazan, Arthur Penn, and Harold Clurman. In the year 1996, Estelle became the Artistic Director of The Actors Studio and initiated several programs, including The Group Theatre Reading Series, which explored the rich history of The Group Theatre. Also while artistic director, Estelle directed Studio members in both a production of Sophocles' Oedipus and later Oscar Wilde's Salome which ran on Broadway in 2005 and at the Wadsworth Theater in LA in 2006.

A passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion in the arts, she developed the Theater and Social Justice program to showcase plays that addressed important social issues, including Mud by Maria Irene Fornes, Rhapsody in Black by Leland Gantt, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot and Our Lady of 121st by Stephen Adly Guirgis. She also developed the Theater and Climate Change Series, which included her direction of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya and The Danube by Maria Irene Fornes as well as The Reentry, Actors Playing Jazz project which has been mounted in several locations by the actors who developed it. Estelle's passion for social justice and change continues today as she directs Kate T. Billingsley's American Rot here at The Actors Studio.

Parsons most significant contribution to The Actors Studio has been her leadership and artistry as a moderator where she challenges members to seek the truth in their characters and to discover the reality of the plays they are working on.

MORE ABOUT Estelle Parsons

Estelle Parsons is a highly acclaimed actress and director, with a career spanning over six decades. She is best known for her Academy Award-winning performance in Bonnie and Clyde and her recurring role as Beverly, the mother of the title character in the popular sitcom "Roseanne." Parsons has received five Tony Award nominations and has appeared in plays by some of the greatest writers of our time, including Edward Albee, Tennessee Williams, Dario Fo, and Horton Foote. One of Parsons' most notable stage performances was in Roberto Athayde's classic Miss Margarida's Way, which she performed on Broadway, throughout the United States, and internationally in London, Dublin, Turkey, and Australia. She also starred in Tracy Letts' August, Osage County on Broadway for a year and on the road for a year. As a director, Parsons created the New York Shakespeare Festival Players for Joseph Papp in the 1980s. For two seasons, they performed Shakespeare on Broadway for New York City school students and their families in an effort to develop a multicultural audience for New York City. Parsons also directed Al Pacino in Oscar Wilde's Salome; The Reading on Broadway and on tour. In recognition of her outstanding contributions to theater, Parsons has received four lifetime achievement awards: The Lilly, The Obie, The LaMama, and The Cherry Lane awards. She is also a lifetime member of The Actors Studio as well as co-artistic director and was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame in 2004. Most recently, Parsons appeared in the second season of Netflix's "Grace and Frankie" with Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda.

Both a place and a philosophy, The Actors Studio is an association of artists who, drawing from this common wellspring, have made enormous contributions to American art. Founded in 1947 in New York City by Elia Kazan, Cheryl Crawford, and Robert Lewis, the Studio began as a place where theatre artists could gather, privately, to explore new and deeper connections to the work. The founding members, a group of actors, writers, and directors, were committed to redefining the art of acting, to developing a series of techniques an actor could use to search for and express the truth onstage in the moment. The workshop went on to become the most powerful influence on American acting in the 20th century and continues today serving new generations of actors who are committed to the same ideal. Founding Artistic Director, Lee Strasberg, developed a series of techniques and exercises that became known as 'The Method' and changed the art of acting worldwide.

Membership is free. After successfully completing a series of auditions, the actor is invited into membership for life. Membership is bi-coastal, and to support them there are two locations. New York is The Actors Studio's birthplace and administrative headquarters. The only branch, Actors Studio West, is located in West Hollywood, CA. All members benefit from having a home with similar activities on both coasts.

Current leadership of The Actors Studio includes Co-Presidents Ellen Burstyn, Alec Baldwin and Al Pacino; Artistic Directors Beau Gravitte (NYC) and Salome Jens (L.A.); Co-Associate Artistic Directors Estelle Parsons, Michael Aronov and Javier Molina (NYC), and Katherine Cortez (L.A.)

Notable members, past and present, of The Actors Studio have included Bea Arthur, Anne Bancroft, Michael Bennett, Marlon Brando, Roscoe Lee Browne, Montgomery Clift, Common, Bradley Cooper, James Dean, Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, Sally Field, Jane Fonda, Ben Gazzara, Lorraine Hansberry, Julie Harris, Dustin Hoffman, Celeste Holm, Kim Hunter, William Inge, Elia Kazan, Harvey Keitel, Stephen Lang, James Lipton, Martin Landau, Cloris Leachman, Melissa Leo, Norman Mailer, Walter Matthau, Marilyn Monroe, Paul Newman, Jack Nicholson, Clifford Odets, Geraldine Page, Sidney Poitier, Sydney Pollack, Jose Quintero, Jerome Robbins, Mark Rylance, Eva Marie Saint, Kim Stanley, Maureen Stapleton, Rod Steiger, Eli Wallach, Tennessee Williams, Gene Wilder, Shelley Winters and Joanne Woodward, to name a few.



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