I began writing this blog in Rijeka, Croatia, a town on the Adriatic Sea, while re-staging a production of TRISTAN AND ISOLDE that premiered shortly before Covid shut down the world.
I graduated from Bard College in 1974 and moved to New York City which, in those days, was still affordable. More than anything in the world I wanted to be a theater director. That was my plan,… more
Recently during a public Zoom conversation with the choreographer Bill T. Jones, I mentioned that his work has always seemed political to me, rooted in the big social issues of the time, including… more
I would like to thank you for your warmth and support regarding SITI Company’s recent announcement outlining our upcoming transition. In two years time, during the 2022-23 season, we will reach our… more
After many years of working with the ensemble, the members of SITI Company recently invited me to join the company and I couldn’t be happier! I wanted to share just a little bit about how I first… more
I travelled from New York to London on March 11, 2020 carrying a small suitcase and expecting to stay for one week with my wife Rena. Now it is mid-August and I am still in the UK with no idea about… more
All philosophical problems are linguistic confusion - Ludwig Wittgenstein Some years ago, my long time friend and SITI Company member Leon described an idea for a book he wanted to make. It was a… more
I am working towards completion of a new book of essays entitled “The Art of Resonance.” As part of the process over the past several months, I have been writing about the centrality of… more
But man, proud man, Drest in a little brief authority, Most ignorant of what he’s most assured, His glassy essence, like an angry ape, Plays such fantastic tricks before high heaven As make the… more
These days you might be experiencing much the same as so many of us, and finding yourself cleaning drawers, pulling shoeboxes out from under the bed, pouring over old photographs, or, like me right… more
For his thesis production, a third-year Columbia director chose to stage T. S. Eliot’s 1935 verse drama Murder in the Cathedral in St. John’s Cathedral on the upper west side of Manhattan. For the… more
I find that one of the best, but most difficult, ways for me to learn is to drop my own defensiveness, at least temporarily, and to try to understand the way in which his experience seems and feels to… more
At the end of the day people won’t remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel. (Maya Angelou) Until a recent conversation with my colleague and friend Leon… more
Singer-songwriter Ben Folds recently wrote a memoir entitled A Dream About Lightning Bugs. As a child during the summer months, he captured lightning bugs, also known as fireflies, to put into glass… more
There are always flowers for those who want to see them. (Henri Matisse) As a theater director, my job is to watch over, to pay attention, to bring empathy and quick thinking to each rehearsal; to be… more
While studying at Bard College in the early 1970’s I joined Via Theater, a group of likeminded theater majors founded by fellow student Ossian Cameron. The company began as an active investigation… more