The 2002 Directors Lab was the largest and most ambitious Lab to date with the participation of almost 200 artists: 70 directors; 135 actors; 25 playwrights; plus designers, composers, music directors, dramaturges, and stage managers working on productions of 16 plays.
After the tragic occurrence of 9/11 disrupted our lives, aesthetic concerns seemed hazy and remote as many young artists re-evaluated their lives and their work during the months that followed. By late December, the Lab had received close to 600 inquiries about the 2002 Lab and there was a collective feeling that this year's session was especially necessary. But in what way? The community of directors in the Lab and the closeness they feel has always been a great asset of the program's work.
In 2002 we decided to capitalize on this by creating a Lab rooted in a sense of community and support, without rushing the directors to make too much sense (perhaps prematurely) of what was happening in the world. The 2002 Lab was conceived in a manner to avoid facile conclusions and a simplistic rush to "understand" a set of events whose consequences may not be understood for years.
In February, we asked directors applying to the Lab to look into their hearts, and to begin reading new plays by writers unknown to them. This process had to be documented in their application. Our goal was to broaden horizons and to nurture new contacts between directors and playwrights. Plays that in some way spoke to what the directors were feeling-without necessarily being "about" 9/11-were solicited as part of their applications. The 2002 Directors Lab produced 26 of these plays, each one staged by the director who had submitted it. Almost all of the playwrights, including those from abroad, participated in the productions. In addition, a corresponding set of 26 incoming Lab members were chosen to act as producers of these plays to foster a sense of support for each others' work. Artistic directors spoke to Lab participants about the ways in which they support the visions of directors who stage productions at their theaters.
Lab Directors
Aleman, Stephen
Armstrong, Mark
Brod, Brooke
Brown, Rebecca
Buckner, Rachael
Bugaj, Katrina
Burgess, Eva
Butler, Maeve Fiona
Butler, Shelley
Calvo, Carlos
Castellano, Anthony
Cejas, Juan
De Michelle, Heather
Dean, Peter
Duncan, Ilesa
Eisenstein, Adam
Fishman, Ben
Fox, Reva
Gellert, Susanna
George, Nadine
Ghachem, Nabil
Grannemann, Hannah
Haffner, James
Hammerstein, Simon
Hart, Jake
Hecht, Josh
Heidt, Jessica
Howard, Heidi
Hundley, Frank
Kershner, Geoffrey
King, Anthony
Kirchner, Andre
Kreith, Ari Laura
Kruszelnicki, Zenon
Lee, Hyunjung
Levie, Philip
Lombardi, Maryann
Maog, Victor
May, Ron
Mead, William
Moore, Kym
Nazarian, Ariel
Palmer, Justin
Parees, Marc
Parness, Eric
Patterson, Meg
Perez, Carlos
Perez, Luis
Petermann, Lori
Petralia, Peter
Pinchin, Katerina
Popescu, Cristian
Priano-Keyser, Gina
Ramos, Lisandra
Rehrmann, Alexis
Robbins, Sonya
Ruiz, Jerry
Ryan, Michael
Seel, Greg
Seiderman, Pamela
Shelton, Brad
St. Clair, Bart
Stancato, Paul
Steindler, Catherine
Stutz, Chad
Sunde, Sarah Cameron
Talis, Allison
Vajraca, Sabina
Vavasseur, Kevin
Voss, Chris
Waldman, Justin
Wallenfels, Jessica
Williams, Mel
Wu, Shihwei
Zambri, Catherine
James Bundy
Shi-Zheng Chen
Sheldon Epps
David Greenspan
George Faison
Adrian Hall
Moises Kaufman
Kristin Marting
Robert Moss
Carey Perloff
Lynn Thomson
Daniel Sullivan
Michael Wilson
Lab Actors
Abraham, Jolly
Amato, Bianca
Aquino, Emilio
Arbuckle, Sean
Bacon, Mary
Baker, Mary Bonner
Bartoffschick, Hannah
Bast, Stephanie
Batra, Taresh
Bauman, Danielle
Bedi, Purva
BenAmor, Tawfik
Bernstei, Samantha
Bevz, Tatyana
Birkeland, Olivia
Bobby, Anne
Brawley, Lucia
Bruce, Jamal
Buddeke, Kate
Burke, Leith
Butkus, Denis
Byrne, Brian Carlos
Cacciato, Sal
Campisi, Toni
Carpenter, Jennifer
Carter, Adrienne
Cerveris, Todd
Chomet, Sun Mee
Debonis, Marcia
Demery, Brendon
Dizzia, Maria
Dodson, Neal
Elam, Genevieve
Emerson, Jeffrey
Erat, Will
Faragallah, Ramsey
Federer, Michelle
Fischer, Julia
Friedman, Michael
Gamble, Julian
Gates, Margaret Ann
Gibson, Meg
Gilsig, Jessalyn
Gilthero, Kyle
Gray, Nicholas
Guilarte, Andrew
Guyton, Kate
Hajj, Edward A.
Harada, Ann
Harrington, Adam
Harrington, Delphi
Horne, Devin
Jhaveri, Sanjiv
Jones, Ty
Kahn, Ian
Kamal, Joseph
Kashani, Dariush
Katdare, Deep
Kava, Caroline
Keller, Deborah
Kenzler, Karl
Kershner, Geoffrey
Konschnick, David
Kulakova, Julia
Lantigua, Vilma
Lautier, Claire
Lin, Jodi
Lisizta, Lorinda
Lopez, Abigail
Lopez, Abigail
Malhotra, Gayatri
Manzay, J. Kyle
Mare, Quentin
McClain, Johnathan
McDonough, Edwin
McFadden, Greg
McGeever, Tim
McVety, Drew
Miller, Erika
Miller, Yusef
Mitchell, Bricine
Monge, Julio
Morrow, Kevyn
Muelder, Caitlin
Nelson, Novella
O'Connell, Patricia
Offner, Deborah
Okin, Justin
Oliveras, Maria Christina
Orban, Alex
Paris, Andy
Parnell, Charles
Parness, Eric
Pearce, Aniel
Perez, Lazaro
Peruo, Derrek
Pietropinto, Angela
Powers, Melle
Pulido, Lacie
Rasheed, A-men
Rauch, Matt
Reed, Angela
Rothman-Hicks, Zach
Ryan, James
Ryan, Marisa
Sajadi, David
Saldivar, Matt
Santiago, Ray
Sedgwick, Rob
Serralles, Jeanine
Shenoy, Nandita
Simmons, Godfrey L.
Solomon, Sid
Staroselski, Dennis
Stauffer, Elenna
Steeves, Finnerty
Stewart, Pamela Holden
Talbott, Daniel
Tisdale, Michael
Tucker, Shona
Tuthill, Charles
Vaughan, Melanie
Vincent, Brian
Viola, Rachel
Walford, Malinda
Wheatley, Kevin
Wilson, Atiba
Wilson, CJ
Winther, Michael
Youmans, Bill
Lab Playwrights
Liz Adams
Marc Ardito
Doyle Avant
Benjamin A. Baker
Stephen Belber
Jay Bernzweig
Sheila Callaghan
Sophia Chapadjiev
Hawa Djabali
Anton Dudley
Marjorie Duffield
Mahmou El Lozy
Christine Evans
Stephanie Fleischmann
Nicholas Gray
David Greenspan
Christopher Hampton
Abhijat Joshi
Nambi E. Kelley
Jeff Kelner
David Lindsay-Abaire
Jason Sinclair Long
Allison Moore
Sarah Morton
Tina Paul
Michael Schuval
Evan Smith
Lab Designers
Abu-Osba, Louai
Brod, Undine
Chalfant, Andromache
Chia, Juliet
Conners, Johen
Cramer, Timothy
Evans, Maruti
Flatmo, Erik
Halas, Brian
Lopez, Martin
Makus, Rebecca
Mooney, Ned
Moore, Michael
Murray, Rich
Rhodes, Elizabeth
Rosa, Sarah
Webb, Chris
Lab Staff
Lab Director: Anne Cattaneo
Lab Coordinator: Janet Takami
Lab Assistant: Amy Conant
How to Support a Director's Vision: James Bundy (Artistic Director, Yale Repertory Theatre), Moises Kaufman (Artistic Director, Tectonic Theatre Project), Sheldon Epps (Artistic Director, Pasadena Playhouse), George Faison (Faison Firehouse Theater)Adrian Hall (Former Artistic Director, Trinity Square Repertory Co. & Dallas Theater Center), Kristin Marting (HERE Arts Center), Robert Moss (Artistic Director, Syracuse Stage), Carey Perloff (Artistic Director, American Conservatory Theatre), Larry Sacharow (AD, River Arts Repertory), Daniel Sullivan (Former Artistic Director, Seattle Repertory Theatre), Michael Wilson (Artistic Director, Hartford Stage).
Lynn Thomson: American Stage Archetypes
Daniel Swee, Mele Nagler: Casting Advice and Counsel
THE ORPHAN OF ZHAO by Ji Jun-Xiang directed by Shi-Zheng Chen in a new adaptation by David Greenspan
New Work by Young Artists: Productions at the HERE Arts Center (June 25 - July 26)
KHMER AMERIKA by Doyle Avant; directed by Kym Moore
JANUARY 1, 2000 by Anton Dudley; directed by Chad Stutz
MEL AND GENE by Stephen Belber; directed by Benjamin Fishman
MATCH by Stephanie Fleischmann; directed by Susanna Gellert
RED RAIN by Nambi E. Kelley; directed by Ilesa Duncan
CYBER-ALICE by Marjorie Duffield and Sunmee Cho; directed by Eva Burgess
NIGHT BLOOMERS by Sarah Morton; directed by Sonya Robbins
DIANA LOVES YOU by Evan Smith; directed by Maeve Fiona Butler
GRAVE SITUATIONS by Tina Paul; directed by Luis Perez
THE CRY OF DESIRE by Hawa Djabali; directed by Nabila Ghachem
SAVAGES by Christopher Hampton; directed by Catherine Steindler
GLANCE AT NEW YORK by Benjamin A. Baker; directed by Bart St. Clair
AND THEN WENT DOWN TO THE SHIP by Mahmou El Lozy; directed by Brad Shelton
POODLE WITH GUITAR AND DARK GLASSES by Liz Adams; directed by Heather de Michelle
RIGHTEOUS ACTS LIKE FILTHY RAGS by Jason Sinclair Long; directed by Lori Petermann
NEWS JUNKIE by Marc Ardito; directed by Justin Waldman
SNOW ANGEL by David Lindsay-Abaire; directed by Jake Hart
ALOHA FLIGHT 243 by Sophia Chapadjiev with music by Allison Leyton-Brown; directed by Pamela Seiderman
KINGDOM OF LOST SONGS by Abhijat Joshi; directed by Brooke Brod
PUBLIC RELATIONS by Jeff Kelner; directed by Anthony Castellano
EXCELSIOR by Jay Bernzweig; directed by Kevin Vavasseur
EIGHTEEN by Allison Moore; directed by Maryann Lombardi
NOISES AND VOICES by Michael Schuval; directed by Hyunjung Lee
DUG OUT by Nicholas Gray; directed by Mark Armstrong
TUMOR by Sheila Callaghan; directed by Catherine Zambri
MOTHERGUN by Christine Evans; directed by Heidi Howard
