This program is virtual
Presented by the Fromm Institute for Lifelong Learning and cosponsored by Mechanics' Institute
Carey Perloff, who ran San Francisco's acclaimed American Conservatory Theater for twenty-five years (1992-2018), will explore the discoveries she has made over two decades of directing the remarkable work of Harold Pinter and Tom Stoppard. These two giants of English playwriting pose special challenges to American actors and American audiences; Perloff had the benefit of working closely with both writers in the rehearsal room and has a wealth of knowledge about how to unlock their work. In particular, Perloff is interested in the Jewish heritage of both Pinter and Stoppard, and how that heritage and their wartime experiences influenced their theatrical work.
Carey Perloff is a director, playwright, producer, book author and educator who served as Artistic Director of the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco for 25 years (1992 to 2018). The youngest person ever chosen to lead a LORT theater, Perloff inherited an earthquake destroyed theater, a huge deficit, a struggling MFA program and a need to completely re-imagine the future of A.C.T. In addition to rebuilding the Geary Theater, reanimating ACT's educational programs and creating decades of vigorous, culturally diverse programming saw ACT's audiences grow and its work presented around the country, Perloff oversaw the creation of ACT's second stage, The Strand, a multi-venue performance space that provides a home for new artists, new work, new audiences, and the many aspects of A.C.T.'s training programs. Her highly acclaimed book Beautiful Chaos: A Life in the Theater (City Lights Press, 2015) explores many of the ideas and issues that emerged during her tenure at A.C.T. and shares the journey of a woman in a leadership field often dominated by men. Beautiful Chaos was selected as the One City One Book “Big Read” by the San Francisco Public Library and was featured in programs and discussions across the Bay Area and around the country throughout 2016. Her new book Pinter and Stoppard: A Director's View (Bloomsbury Methuen, February 2022) reveals the inner workings of the rehearsal process with two master playwrights, gleaned from decades of collaboration with Harold Pinter and Tom Stoppard. http://careyperloff.com/index.html
Buy books online at: Alexanderbook.com
Free to all
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A Director’s View: Collaborating with Pinter & Stoppard in the Rehearsal Room with Carey Perloff
