The Old Globe Announces Classical Directing Fellowships

The Old Globe has announced The Old Globe Classical Directing Fellowship, led by the Globe's Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein, a leading Shakespearean scholar, author, and director. Four directing fellows-Daniel Jáquez, Delicia Turner Sonnenberg, Sam White, and LA Williams-will participate in the pilot session of this new initiative. They will be in residence from Tuesday, January 22 through Friday, January 26, 2019.

As one of the leading Shakespeare theatres in America, the Globe presents four full productions of the Bard's plays annually, and Shakespeare is central to the theatre's nationally renowned arts engagement programs. All of this work exemplifies the Globe's values-driven commitment to making theatre matter to more people, a commitment that expresses the Globe's view of theatre art as a public good. This commitment and this view require the Globe to think about the future of the American theatre and to train artists whose work will embody the values we champion. We can make a contribution not only to our own work but also to the field at large by expanding the ranks of exciting Shakespeareans ready to make theatre at the Globe's level of excellence. This Classical Directing Fellowship will broaden our professional artist-training work, now centered on The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program, which focuses on actors. This year's Fellowship will pilot the program, and our hope and expectation is that it will evolve into an ongoing part of the Globe's artistic life.

The Fellowship will focus on Shakespeare's text, how it is put together, and how it works in the imaginations and voices of American actors. In master classes, Edelstein will present a series of techniques that the Directing Fellows will then employ in rehearsals with a company of professional actors. The work will culminate in a private presentation on Saturday. After that, all involved will debrief and broaden the conversation to some larger questions about Shakespeare, American culture, and the director's art and life. Throughout the week, in addition to the artistic work, Directing Fellows will meet with members of the Globe's staff in many departments, and with representatives of the San Diego theatre community beyond the Globe. They will gain not only a set of specific tools to use in directing Shakespeare, but also a sense of the community in one of America's most dynamic theatre towns. In exchange, the Globe will have the chance to begin a conversation with a group of gifted artists with so much to offer this theatre.

"I'm very happy to launch this new program and help enrich American Shakespeare," said Edelstein. "The Globe is one of the country's great producers of Shakespeare, and, to my great good fortune, I enjoy a reputation as a Shakespeare director, producer, and educator. Artist training has been a huge part of my career, and I've benefited from the mentorship and guidance of some wonderful Shakespeareans at many points in my artistic life. I care a great deal about the future of Shakespeare in America, and it seems only right that I do everything I can to provide opportunities to artists who treasure this work as I do. Our first cohort of Fellows-Daniel, Delicia, Sam, and LA-has demonstrated the kind of passion and seriousness that I think merit support and encouragement. I'm beyond delighted to be part of their trajectory in this way, and I look forward to this Fellowship growing in both excellence and impact in the years ahead."

Barry Edelstein (Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director) is a stage director, producer, author, and educator. Recognized as one of the leading American authorities on the works of Shakespeare, he has directed nearly half of the Bard's plays. His Globe directing credits include The Winter's Tale; Othello; The Twenty-seventh Man; the world premiere of Rain; and Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Hamlet, and the world premiere of The Wanderers. He also directed All's Well That Ends Well as the inaugural production of the Globe for All community tour. He most recently directed The Tempest at Los Angeles Philharmonic. As Director of the Shakespeare Initiative at The Public Theater (2008-2012), Mr. Edelstein oversaw all of the company's Shakespearean productions as well as its educational, community outreach, and artist-training programs. At The Public, he staged the world premiere of The Twenty-seventh Man, Julius Caesar, The Merchant of Venice, Timon of Athens, and Steve Martin's WASP and Other Plays. He was also Associate Producer of The Public's Broadway production of The Merchant of Venice starring Al Pacino. From 1998 to 2003 he was Artistic Director of Classic Stage Company. Mr. Edelstein's other Shakespearean directorial credits include The Winter's Tale at Classic Stage Company; As You Like It starring Gwyneth Paltrow; and Richard III starring John Turturro. His additional credits include the Lucille Lortel Award-winning revival of Arthur Miller's All My Sons; the world premiere of Steve Martin's The Underpants, which he commissioned; and Molière's The Misanthrope starring Uma Thurman in her stage debut. Mr. Edelstein has taught Shakespearean acting at The Juilliard School, New York University's Graduate Acting Program, and the University of Southern California. His book Thinking Shakespeare, which was rereleased in a second edition in June, is the standard text on American Shakespearean acting. He is also the author of Bardisms: Shakespeare for All Occasions. He is a graduate of Tufts University and the University of Oxford, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar.

Daniel Jáquez is a freelance director, theatre maker, and translator of plays, and he is co-founder of TuYo Theatre, a new company in San Diego that creates and produces theatre that tells stories from a diverse Latinx perspective. Mr. Jáquez, a long-standing Associate Artist of Milagro, served as Interim Artistic Director of the company's 32nd season and received Portland's Drammy Award for Best Director. In New York, he was the Director and Co-Founder of UNIT 52, INTAR Theatre's young acting company, and the Director of INTAR and Jerome Foundation's New Works Lab, an annual festival for emerging Latinx playwrights. He serves on the Latinx Theatre Commons Steering Committee and the Lark Play Development Center's México/United States Playwright Exchange Advisory Committee. He is a member of Lincoln Center Theater's Directors Lab and of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. Mr. Jáquez earned an M.F.A. in Directing from the Institute for Advanced Theater Training at Harvard University/Moscow Art Theatre, and a B.S. in Mathematics from The University of Texas at Austin.

Delicia Turner Sonnenberg is a founder and the former Artistic Director of MOXIE Theatre, where recently she directed Voyeurs de Venus. She directed Skeleton Crew for The Old Globe and Romeo and Juliet for The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program. Her work has also been seen at San Diego Repertory Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, San Diego State University, Cygnet Theatre Company, New Village Arts, Diversionary Theatre, and Playwrights Project. Her honors include Theatre Communications Group's New Generations Program grant, San Diego Theatre Critics Circle Awards, Women's International Center Living Legacy Award, Van Lier Fund fellowship (Second Stage Theatre), and New York Drama League's Directors Project. She is married to designer Jerry Sonnenberg and is the proud mama to August and Zoë.

Sam White is a proud Detroiter, artist, activist, and Founding Artistic Director at Shakespeare in Detroit. She has won several awards during her tenure at the helm of the organization, as well as the cover of Southwest Airlines's in-flight magazine and a feature in Forbes magazine. Ms. White's theatrical credits include the prestigious 2017 Paul Nicholson Arts Management Fellowship at Oregon Shakespeare Festival. She is also a member of the 2017 Cohort for ArtEquity in Los Angeles. In addition, she recently served as Assistant Director for Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino's The Tempest at Stratford Festival in 2018. Ms. White will direct Twelfth Night at Utah Shakespeare Festival later this year.

LA Williams is a New York-based director primarily focused on new work. His recent credits include Rated Black: An American Requiem by Kareem M. Lucas (Next Door at NYTW). He has developed and directed new work at The Public Theater, Clubbed Thumb, Dixon Place, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, The New Group, The Classical Theatre of Harlem, Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, La MaMa, National Black Theatre, and The Kennedy Center. Mr. Williams was the Founding Artistic Director of the Black Directors Studio. He is the creator and executive producer of Celebrate! with LA Williams, a multimedia talk show that celebrates promising theatre artists. He currently serves on the Encores! Off-Center Artist Board at New York City Center. He is a recipient of the National Directors Fellowship, Clubbed Thumb Directing Fellowship, Kenny Leon Directing Fellowship, and Stage Directors and Choreographers Society Observership, and he is a member of the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab. Mr. Williams has directed and taught at The Juilliard School, New York University, The American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Brandeis University, and Howard University. He holds an M.A. from Emerson College and a B.A. from Alabama State University.

CALENDAR: Powers New Voices Festival (1/18-20), Classical Directing Fellowship (1/22-26), Familiar (1/26-3/3/2019), Tiny Beautiful Things (2/9-3/10), AXIS: I Love Africa concert (2/9), Globe Guilders' Celebrating Couture Fashion Show (3/22), Life After (3/22-4/28), They Promised Her the Moon (4/6-5/5), AXIS: Happy Birthday, Mr. Shakespeare! (4/20), AXIS: Manila Disco Fever (5/9), Ken Ludwig's The Gods of Comedy (5/11-6/16), What You Are (5/30-6/30), AXIS: Tuesday Summer Local Acts Celebration Festival (6/8 and 6/29), As You Like It (6/16-7/21), AXIS: Make Music San Diego (6/21), The Tale of Despereaux (7/6-8/11), Steve Martin's The Underpants (7/27-8/25), Romeo and Juliet (8/11-9/15), 2019 Globe Gala (9/21).

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