The Public Theater announced that Barry Edelstein will be
the Director of The Public Theater Shakespeare Lab. The Public is now accepting
applications for the 2008 Shakespeare Lab, a twelve-week acting intensive
scheduled to take place June 2 through August 25, 2008. The application deadline is Friday, March 21.
For information on the Lab and application instructions,
please visit www.publictheater.org or
call (212) 539-8525.
Now entering its 14th year and its first under
newly-appointed Director Barry Edelstein, The Public Theater Shakespeare Lab
presents a unique opportunity for actors to develop the skills necessary for
work on the classical repertoire. Founded by former artistic producer of the
Public Theater, Rosemarie Tichler, the Lab immerses the actor in Shakespeare's
plays and language.
The faculty comprises some of the most respected teachers of
classical theater in New York
and the world. Instructors in previous years have included Christopher Bayes,
Michael Cumpsty, John Dias, Peter Francis James, Ron Van Lieu, J. Steven White,
and Janet Zarish. Major artists, leading industry figures, and Shakespeare
experts have lectured in the Lab, such as Dana Ivey, Kevin Kline, Mark Lamos,
Roger Rees, Liev Schreiber, George C. Wolfe, Public Theater casting directors
Heidi Griffiths and Jordan Thaler, and Columbia University scholar James
Shapiro. The intensity and high caliber
of the Shakespeare Lab's training distinguishes the program as one of the
country's leading conservatories for Shakespearean performance.
Numerous graduates of the Shakespeare Lab have gone on to
secure roles on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and in regional theaters and
Shakespeare Festivals, in addition to work in film and television. Graduates of
the Shakespeare Lab who have subsequently appeared onstage at the Public
Theater include: Maggie Siff (The Ruby
Sunrise); Ryan McCarthy (King Lear
with Kevin Kline); Elena Shaddow, Nana Mensah and Jennifer Kidwell (workshop of
The Bacchae, directed by JoAnne
Akalaitis); and Julio Monge (Antony and
Cleopatra with Vanessa Redgrave).
Barry Edelstein has directed Shakespeare at The Public
Theater and at venues around New York
City and the country.
He staged Julius Caesar
starring Jeffrey Wright at the Delacorte in Cental Park
and The Merchant of Venice, featuring
Ron Leibman's OBIE award-winning portrayal of Shylock at the Public. From 1998-2003 he was Artistic Director of
Classic Stage Company, where he directed Richard
III starring John Turturro and Julianna Margulies and The Winter's Tale starring David Strathairn. At the Williamstown Theater Festival, he
directed As You Like It starring
Gwyneth Paltrow.
