Theatre Director Nancy Meckler Releases New Book 'Notes From the Rehearsal Room'

Theatre director Nancy Meckler's book Notes from the Rehearsal Room is intended for anyone interested, professionally or as a theatregoer, in what is involved in turning words on a page into a theatrical event. It will be published by Bloomsbury Methuen in their Theatre Makers series on 9 February 2023.

"Ever wondered what happens on the other side of that door with the sign warning, 'Rehearsals in process. Do Not Enter.' Well, master director Nancy Meckler graciously opens this door and invites you into her remarkable process. She brings this often mysterious endeavor refreshingly back down to earth while still inspiring all of us to shoot for the moon. A must-read for anyone who loves theatre and how we go about making it." -Brian H. Kulick, Chair of the Theatre Program, Columbia University School of the Arts, USA

Nancy is former Artistic Director of Shared Experience and was the first woman to direct at The National Theatre, with Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? in 1981. She includes in her book recollections of working with many of the great 20th century playwrights, including Edward Albee, Pam Gems, Harold Pinter, Dennis Potter and Sam Shepard. She explains how hard it was, when she first started working, to be taken seriously as a director, simply because she was a woman. Her book is intended to be a useful handbook for young directors - as Nancy says, no one teaches directing! - but also gives the audience an insight into the rehearsal process.

Her experience is varied from her early days working on the fringe with her alternative theatre company Freehold, to working at large institutions including The National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company, to the 22 years she was Artistic Director of Shared Experience Theatre.

An American by birth she now lives in London but has also worked in the States both on Broadway, off Broadway and regionally.

About Nancy Meckler

Nancy Meckler was born and educated in the US and came to live in London in 1968.

She was a founder member of Freehold Theatre Company (1968-72). She was the first woman to direct at The National Theatre, with Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? in 1981. She was associate director at Leicester Haymarket (1984-87), where productions included The Cherry Orchard (with Alfred Molina), Macbeth (with Julie Walters and Bernard Hill) and Electra and The Hypochondriac (both with Ben Daniels). She was Artistic Director of Shared Experience Theatre from 1988 to 2011, where her productions included Anna Karenina adapted by Helen Edmundson, Mill on the Floss adapted by Helen Edmundson (co-director Polly Teale), War and Peace adapted by Helen Edmundson (co-director Polly Teale, co-production with National Theatre), A Passage to India adapted by Martin Sherman and Mother Courage in a translation by Lee Hall (with Kathryn Hunter). For the Royal Shakespeare Company, Nancy directed House of Desires, Romeo and Juliet, Comedy of Errors, A Midsummer Night's Dream, All's Well that Ends Well, House of Desires by Juana Ines de la Cruz and The Heresy of Love by Helen Edmundson. As a freelance director, Nancy's work has included eight Sam Shepard plays (including world premieres of Killer's Head with Richard Gere, Action, Curse of the Starving Class and A Particle of Dread: Oedipus Variations with Stephen Rea); Uncle Vanya at Hampstead Theatre (with Ian Holm, Alison Steadman and Nigel Hawthorne), Dusa, Fish, Stas and Vi by Pam Gems at Hampstead Theatre and in the West End, Sufficient Carbohydrate by Dennis Potter at Hampstead Theatre and in the West End, Buried Child by Sam Shepard at Hampstead Theatre (with Stephen Rea); Rose by Martin Sherman (with Olympia Dukakis) at The National Theatre and on Broadway and King Lear (with Kevin R McNally) at Shakespeare's Globe in 2017.

Her film credits include Sister My Sister for Channel Four (with Julie Walters, Joely Richardson and Jodhi May), Alive and Kicking for Channel Four (with Bill Nighy, Antony Sher, Jason Flemying and Dorothy Tutin) and Groomed by Patrick Sandford.

Nancy's credits in ballet include director and creator of Streetcar Named Desire for Scottish Ballet and dramaturg of Broken Wings for English National Ballet, The Little Prince for BalletX, Frida for Dutch National Ballet and Dona Peron for Ballet Hispanico.

Her awards include the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Visiting Production 2001 for Mill on the Floss at the Kennedy Center; Best Touring Show TMA/Martini 1993, Outstanding Theatrical Event for the Time Out Awards 1992 and Best Foreign Theatre Company, Diario Clarin Buenos Aires 1992, all for Anna Karenina; Best Feature at the Turin Film Festival 1995 and Public Prize, Best New Director and Youth Prize at the Valladolid Film Festival 1994 for Sister My Sister; Opening Film at the Locarno Film Festival 1996, Most Popular Film at the Hamptons Film Festival 1996, Audience Award Best Film at the London Film Festival 1997 and Grand Prix at the Luchon Film Festival 1999, all for Alive and Kicking; Best Dance Production at the Southbank Awards 2012 and Best Dance Production nominee at the Olivier Awards 2012 for Streetcar Named Desire.

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