Will Frears

Will Frears was born and raised in North London, and has lived in the United States since 1990. A renowned director, scriptwriter and author, Mr. Frears had his professional debut in 2003 at the Actor’s Theater of Louisville, where he directed the Pulitzer Prize finalist, Omnium Gatherum. The play—about a post-9/11 dinner party—was praised by The New Yorker’s drama critic John Lahr, as “a wow beginning” for the young director. Since this production, Mr. Frears has gone on to direct a wide range of plays and films in theaters across the States. His most recent directorial project was the 2012 production of Build, an Edgerton Foundation New American Play Award-recipient, at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles.

Mr. Frears has directed nearly two dozen plays since his debut at the Actor’s Theater, many of them acclaimed productions in premier Off Broadway theaters. Working in collaboration with some of contemporary theater’s most daring, well-regarded playwrights, Mr. Frears has directed productions of Year Zero (Second Stage Uptown), Still Life (MCC), Rainbow Kiss (The Play Company), The Water’s Edge (Second Stage), Pen (Playwrights Horizons, Terrorism (The New Group/The Play Company), Omnium Gatherum (Variety Arts), Where We’re Born and God Hates the Irish (Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre), Get What You Need (Atlantic 453) and Kid-Simple (Summer Play Festival). Mr. Frears’ regional productions include Some Lovers at the Old Globe Theater, The Pillowman at George Street Playhouse, Hay Fever and The Price at Baltimore CenterStage, and Sleuth at the Bay Street Theater. Mr. Frears has also been a frequent participant in the Williamstown Theatre Festival, where he directed Romeo & Juliet, Bus Stop, The Water’s Edge and A Servant of Two Masters. He is a recipient of the Boris Sagal and Bill Foeller directing fellowships.

Mr. Frears has also directed several films, including Coach, Beloved and All Saint’s Day. (Winner, Best Narrative Short at the Savannah Film Festival). His films have screened at many Festivals, including Tribeca, Palm Springs, Morelia, Savannah, the Hamptons, Sarasota and Newport Beach.

Mr. Frears is a regular contributor to many periodicals, including The Paris Review, New York magazine, Harper’s, Town & Country, Eight by Eight, and The London Review of Books.

A proud high school drop-out, Mr. Frears went on to receive his undergraduate degree from Sarah Lawrence College, where he currently serves on the faculty. He received his MFA from the Yale School of Drama.