Shakespeare Theatre Company Announces Next Michael Kahn And Friends: Off The Record Event

Shakespeare Theatre Company's Artistic Director Michael Kahn invites theatre-lovers to the second event of a series of intimate conversations about his career in D.C. as he prepares to retire. Open, unrehearsed and off the record, invited speakers will swap anecdotes and share memories about Michael Kahn's 33 years directing at the Shakespeare Theatre Company. The discussions focus on three distinct eras in STC's history and chronicle D.C.'s changing theatre scene. This second Michael Kahn and Friends: Off the Record will focus primarily on the formation of the Shakespeare Theatre Company in its second location: the Lansburgh Theatre (1992-2006).

On May 15, audiences are invited to join Michael and STC Affiliated Artists Philip Goodwin and Floyd King, actor Wallace Acton and former Managing Director Jessica Andrews as they discuss their favorite performances onstage, backstage antics and offstage tales. After six years in residency in the Folger Library's Elizabethan theatre, in March 1992, STC moved midseason to a new performance space: the 451-seat Lansburgh Theatre, which provided more flexibility and space for STC's growing audience. At the time the Penn Quarter neighborhood was not considered desirable by many; since then, STC has helped drive its revitalization.

During the Lansburgh years, Michael Kahn continued his tradition of color conscious casting with the famous “photo negative” production of Othello featuring Sir Patrick Stewart in the titular role. He founded the Academy for Classical Acting at The George Washington University to prepare the next generation of classically trained actors in a one-year intensive MFA program. Michael Kahn’s electric and condensed version of Sophocles’ The Oedipus Plays earned international acclaim and was later remounted in Athens. During this juncture, STC’s reputation was growing so much that the Clintons attended Twelfth Night, becoming the first First Family to attend a regional theatre company production.

The final Michael Kahn and Friends: Off the Record events will focus on the Harman Years (June 5). More details will be released soon.

For more information: http://www.shakespearetheatre.org/events/michael-kahn-friends-off-record/.

ABOUT THE INVITED SPEAKERS

WALLACE ACTON played the titles roles in STC productions of Richard III, Hamlet, Richard II, and Peer Gynt, garnering Helen Hayes Award nominations for the first two performances. Other notable STC performances include Ariel in The Tempest, Silvius in As You Like It, Octavius in Antony and Cleopatra, Porter/Doctor in Macbeth, Feste in Twelfth Night, Mosca in Volpone (Helen Hayes nomination), and a Helen Hayes winning performance as Richard/Peter in Henry VI.

JESSICA ANDREWS served as the Managing Director of Shakespeare Theatre Company from 1990-1994; her previous positions in Washington, D.C. included several years of experience working as director of the theatre program at the National Endowment for the Arts. After leaving Shakespeare Theatre Company, she joined the Arizona Theatre Company, and worked there for many years as a Managing Director, Executive Director, Director of Major Gifts, and returning twice as an Interim Executive Director. She retains the honorific Emerita Executive Director.

STC Affiliated Artist PHILIP GOODWIN is a star of stage and screen, in movies such as The Pink Panther, The Pink Panther 2 and Diary of a Country Priest. At STC, he turned in Helen Hayes award-winning performances as Brutus in Coriolanus, Questenberg/Gordon in Wallenstein, Malvolio in Twelfth Night, Mayor Stockmann in An Enemy of the People, and the lead role in Timon of Athens. He has appeared in Broadway productions of The Diary of Anne Frank, Tartuffe and The School for Scandal. Off-Broadway performances included the Fool to Kevin Kline’s King Lear in King Lear, and the Drama Desk-nominated Henry VI in Henry VI.

A longtime fixture on the Washington, D.C. theatre scene, STC Affiliated Artist FLOYD KING most recently appeared on the Sidney Harman Hall stage in the Helen Hayes-nominated Camelot as King Pellinore. Other notable STC roles include Postmaster in The Government Inspector, Verges in Much Ado About Nothing (mainstage and Free For All), Geronte in The Heir Apparent, Phipps in An Ideal Husband, Feste in Twelfth Night, Parolles in All’s Well That Ends Well, Pandarus in Troilus and Cressida, Malvolio in Twelfth Night, Ford in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Fool in King Lear. He has appeared on stages throughout Washington, D.C., and is currently an instructor at Academy for Classical Acting.

ABOUT MICHAEL KAHN

Since the start of his tenure as Artistic Director in 1986, Michael Kahn has directed 68 productions at STC, received 28 awards for his artistry and leadership and steered the Company to the 2012 Regional Theatre Tony Award. In 1991 he inaugurated the Free For All, which brings an STC production to audiences completely free of charge each year and has reached 690,000 patrons. He also created the Academy for Classical Acting, an MFA program in partnership with The George Washington University. Since the 1960s Kahn’s work has appeared on Broadway, Off-Broadway and in theatres around the United States, in addition to Athens, Cairo, Stratford upon-Avon and Adelaide. He has directed productions for the Houston, Dallas, San Francisco, Washington National and New York City Center Opera companies. Previously Artistic Director of the McCarter Theatre Center, the American Shakespeare Festival, the Acting Company and Chautauqua Theatre and Conservatory, he was a founding faculty member of the Drama Division of The Juilliard School and served as the Richard Rodgers Director of Drama for 15 years. He has also been on the faculties of New York University and the Circle in the Square Theatre School. Honored by numerous awards, including a Tony Award Nomination for Show Boat, Kahn was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame and was recognized as an Honorary Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (C.B.E.) in 2013.

For his final production at Shakespeare Theatre Company, MICHAEL KAHN has brought in a stunning women-led creative team of the foremost theatrical professionals to develop his grand finale. Wishing to stage Aeschylus’ Oresteia since his undergraduate years, Michael has been developing this production for several years with acclaimed playwright Ellen McLaughlin and a core cast of devoted actors, including several familiar STC actors. 

ABOUT MICHAEL KAHN’S FINAL SHOW

Ellen McLaughlin’s

THE ORESTEIA

Freely adapted from Aeschylus

Directed by Michael Kahn

April 30–June 2, 2019

Sidney Harman Hall

Please see the website for more information: http://www.shakespearetheatre.org/events/oresteia-18-19/

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