L. Peter Callender

Last updated

L. Peter Callender is an American director and actor. Since 2009, he has been the Artistic Director of the African-American Shakespeare Company. He was trained at The Juilliard School.

Contents

Education and influences

Callender was born in Trinidad, West Indies. He grew up in England and New York.

Callender was trained at The Juilliard School, Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in England, and Tadashi Suzuki Company of Toga in Japan. [1]

Career

Callender has directed and acted on numerous major stages in the United States. In 2018, he was among American Theatre’s “Theatre Workers You Should Know”. [2]

Acting

Callender performed on Broadway and off-Broadway. He played Curio in Twelfth Night at Shakespeare in the Park (New York City), directed by Harold Guskin. [3] He was in The Caucasian Chalk Circle at The Public Theater, directed by George C. Wolfe. [4] He played Roscoe in the original cast of Black Eagles by Leslie Lee (1991) at the Manhattan Theatre Club. [5] He was in 'Prelude to a Kiss at Helen Hayes Theater. [6]

He was Associate Artist at California Shakespeare Theater for over twenty years. During that time acted in numerous Shakespearean plays, and he received awards for his roles as Polixenes, Orsino, Laertes, and Caesar. [7] He was in numerous shows directed by Jonathan Moscone [8] [9] [10] and Lisa Peterson. [11] [12] [13]

At American Conservatory Theater, he was in several shows. He played Cleante in Tartuffe , directed by Charles Randolph-Wright. At Berkeley Repertory Theater, he was in several shows, including both The Oresteia [14] and Major Barbara . He worked with Tony Taccone and George C. Wolfe. At Marin Theatre Company, he was in numerous shows including playing Walter in Swimmers [15] and James in Circle Mirror Transformation.

Callender has numerous regional acting credits, including work at San Jose Stage Company, Aurora Theater, Arena Stage, Thick Description, and Portland Stage. He received Helen Hayes Award nominations for his roles in Oak and Ivy [16] and Playboy of the West Indies at Arena Stage. [17] In 1998, at Williamstown Theatre Festival he played Agamemnon in Hecuba with Olympia Dukakis in the title role, directed by Carey Perloff. [18] In 1986, he played Caliban in The Tempest at Classic Stage Company, directed by Julie Taymor, [19] and in 2022, played Prospero at Elm Shakespeare Company in New Haven. [20]

In 2023, he was lauded for playing all three roles in the play, including Louis Armstrong, in Satchmo at the Waldorf , directed by Terry Teachout at San Jose Stage Company. [21]

Directing

He directed Word for Word’s French tour of The Guilded Six Bits, a stage version of the Zora Neale Hurston short story. He has directed shows at San Jose Stage Company and Aurora Theater Company in Berkeley.

At American Stage Company in St. Petersburg, Florida, he has directed mostly contemporary work, including August Wilson’s Jitney (2016), Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (2017), Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun (2018), and Dominique Morisseau’s Pipeline (2019), [22] and Skeleton Crew (2020). In 2021, he directed Romeo & Juliet in America.

African-American Shakespeare Company

At AASC, Callender has directed numerous shows. In 2013, he directed AASC's annual production of Cinderella. [23]

He has directed modern and contemporary plays such as A Raisin in the Sun (2012), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (2013), [24] Jitney (2017), A Streetcar Named Desire (2018), and Black Eagles (2019). [25]

Callender has directed a number of Shakespeare plays, including Twelfth Night (2011), Much Ado About Nothing (2014), The Winter’s Tale (2017), [26] Macbeth (2019) in the modern-verse translation by Migdalia Cruz. [27] and Richard II (2022). [28]

At AASC, he has acted as well. He played the lead in Othello in a modern dress production (2019), [29] Richard III , Antony in Antony and Cleopatra , and Becker in Jitney . In 2023, he was slated to play Willy Loman in the all-Black production of Death of a Salesman (directed by Ted Lange), but the production was canceled on the day of its first performance when actor Richard D. May (who was playing Uncle Ben) was killed. [30]

Playwriting

In 2020, he debuted his first play, Strange Courtesies, at a reading in the New Play Festival at American Stage in Florida. [31] It had its first bull production in 2023 at San Jose Stage, directed by Greg Homann. [32]

Teaching

Callender is also a Visiting Instructor at Stanford University teaching Acting Shakespeare and Fundamentals of Directing. [33] He has also taught a Master Class at Emory University. At San Francisco School of the Arts, he directed Dinner at Eight and Glengarry Glen Ross .

Awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Jose Repertory Theatre</span>

The San Jose Repertory Theatre was the first resident professional theatre company in San Jose, California. It was founded in 1980 by James P. Reber. In 2008, after the demise of the American Musical Theatre of San Jose, the San Jose Rep became the largest non-profit, professional theatre company in the South Bay with an annual operating budget of $5 million. In 2006, it was saved from impending insolvency by a $2 million bailout loan from the city of San Jose; this was later restructured into a long-term loan similar to a mortgage.

<i>Jitney</i> (play) 1982 play by American playwright August Wilson

Jitney is a play by American playwright August Wilson. The eighth in his "Pittsburgh Cycle", this play is set in a worn-down gypsy cab station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in early autumn 1977. The play premiered on Broadway in 2017.

<i>The Lieutenant of Inishmore</i> Comedic stage play by Martin McDonagh

The Lieutenant of Inishmore is a black comedy by Martin McDonagh, in which the 'mad' leader of an Irish National Liberation Army splinter group discovers that his cat has been killed. It has been produced twice in the West End and on Broadway, where it received a Tony Award nomination for Best Play. In 2014, The Lieutenant of Inishmore was ranked in The Daily Telegraph as one of the 15 greatest plays ever written.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Moorer</span> American theater actor, director, and producer (born 1961)

Stephen Moorer is a stage actor, director, producer and non-profit administrator based on the Central California Coast. He founded the only year-round professional theatre in Monterey County, GroveMont Theatre in 1982, renaming the non-profit organization Pacific Repertory Theatre in 1994, when the group acquired the Golden Bough Playhouse in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Page</span> American actor and singer

John Patrick Page is an American actor, low bass singer, and playwright. He originated the roles of the Grinch in Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical (2006), Norman Osborn/Green Goblin in Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark (2011), and Hades in Hadestown (2019–2022), the last of which earned him a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.

Lillian Groag is an Argentine-American playwright, theater director, and actress. Her plays include The Ladies of the Camellias, The Magic Fire, and The White Rose.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magic Theatre</span>

The Magic Theatre is a theatre company founded in 1967, presently based at the historic Fort Mason Center on San Francisco's northern waterfront. The Magic Theatre is well known and respected for its singular focus on the development and production of new plays. Sean San José is the Artistic Director.

Tony Taccone is an American theater director, and the former artistic director of Berkeley Repertory Theatre in Berkeley, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marion McClinton</span> American theatre director (1954–2019)

Marion Isaac McClinton was an American theatre director, playwright, and actor. He was nominated for the Tony Award for King Hedley II. He won the 2000 Vivian Robinson Audelco Black Theatre Awards, Director/Dramatic Production and the 1999–2000 Obie Awards, Direction, for Jitney, and was nominated for the Drama Desk Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California Shakespeare Theater</span>

California Shakespeare Theater is a regional theater located in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. Its performance space, the Lt. G. H. Bruns III Memorial Amphitheater, is located in Orinda, while the administrative offices, rehearsal hall, costume and prop shop are located in Berkeley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lorraine Hansberry Theatre</span> African American art institution in San Francisco, California

The Lorraine Hansberry Theatre is an African-American arts institution located in downtown San Francisco. It is named after Lorraine Hansberry, who wrote A Raisin in the Sun while living in Bay Area. Since being founded in 1981, The Lorraine Hansberry Theatre has mounted productions that have included performances by Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis, Danny Glover and Ntozake Shange.

Liz Duffy Adams is an American playwright who has written many plays including Born With Teeth; Or,; Dog Act; The Salonnieres; A Discourse on the Wonders of the Invisible World; The Broken Machine, and others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">André Holland</span> American actor

André Holland is an American actor, widely known for his 2016 performance as Kevin in the Academy Award-winning film Moonlight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Francisco Playhouse</span> Non-profit theater company in California, U.S.

San Francisco Playhouse is a non-profit theater company in San Francisco, California, founded in 2003 by Bill English and Susi Damilano. The theater stages nine plays yearly, including Broadway plays, musicals, and world and regional premieres.

Sharr White is an American playwright and screenwriter. He's known for his Broadway plays The Other Place (2011), The Snow Geese (2013), and Pictures From Home (2023). He's also known as a producer and writer for Showtime series The Affair (2015–2019), the Starz series Sweetbitter (2019), the HBO Max series Generation (2021), and the Netflix limited series Halston (2021).

Between Riverside and Crazy is a 2014 play by playwright, screenwriter, director, and actor Stephen Adly Guirgis. The play won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the 2015 New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play, the 2015 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play, the 2015 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play and the 2015 Off Broadway Alliance Award for Best New Play.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucas Hnath</span> American playwright

Lucas Hnath is an American playwright. He won the 2016 Obie Award for excellence in playwriting for his plays Red Speedo and The Christians. He also won a Whiting Award.

Lauren Yee is an American playwright.

The African-American Shakespeare Company (AASC) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit professional regional theatre company in San Francisco, California. Since its founding in 1994 Sherri Young has been its Executive Director and in 2009 L. Peter Callender joined as its Artistic Director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colman Domingo on screen and stage</span>

Colman Domingo is an American actor, writer, and director.

References

  1. ↑ "About". L Peter Callender. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  2. ↑ "6 Theatre Workers You Should Know". American Theatre. February 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  3. ↑ Rich, Frank (1989-07-10). "REview/Theater; Night of Stars, and Also Shakespeare". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  4. ↑ Rich, Frank (1990-12-03). "Review/Theater; A Brecht Parable, Transplanted to the Tropics". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  5. ↑ "Black Eagles". Internet Off-Broadway Database. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  6. ↑ Rich, Frank (1990-03-15). "Review/Theater; 'Prelude to a Kiss,' a Fairy Tale Of Souls in Love and in Flight". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  7. ↑ "L. Peter Callender". African-American Shakespeare Company. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  8. ↑ Kruger, Charles (9 August 2014). "Review: Pygmalion at California Shakespeare Theater". Theatre Storm. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  9. ↑ Veltman, Chloe. "A Trump-Tinged 'Julius Caesar': What Now?". KQED. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  10. ↑ Hurwitt, Robert. "What mortals these fools be". Sfgate. Retrieved 26 May 2002.
  11. ↑ Hurwitt, Robert. "Bohemia a nonstop rave in 'Winter's Tale' / Cal Shakespeare version is moving". Sfgate. Retrieved 16 September 2002.
  12. ↑ Jones, Chad (21 September 2004). "Odd 'All's Well' ends Cal Shakes season well". East Bay Times. Retrieved 21 September 2004.
  13. ↑ Hurwitt, Sam. "Jeffrey DeMunn finally ready to play Lear". Sfgate. Retrieved 13 September 2007.
  14. ↑ Hurwitt, Robert. "Ambitious, Stark 'Agamemnon' / First part of ancient trilogy opens new Berkeley Rep theater". Sfgate. Retrieved 15 March 2001.
  15. ↑ "Swimmers". Marin Theatre Company. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  16. ↑ Horwitz, Jane. "The Audience is All Ears". The Washington Post. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  17. ↑ Brown, Joe (May 22, 1989). "Arena Top Hayes Nominee;Local Theater Awards Contenders Announced". The Washington Post . pp. D01.
  18. ↑ "Hecuba". Williamstown Theatre Festival. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  19. ↑ Bruckner, DJR (27 March 1986). "Stage: 'The Tempest' At New Audience". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  20. ↑ Goldberg, Bonnie (24 August 2022). "Theater Review: Elm Shakespeare Co.'s 'Tempest' Weaves Web of Enchantment in New Haven". The Middletown Press. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  21. ↑ Chávez, David John (8 February 2023). "L. Peter Callender Delivers Tour de Force in 'Satchmo'". The Mercury News. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  22. ↑ Rife, Susan L. "WBTT's 'Pipeline' Hits Timely Message on Equality". Herald-Tribune. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  23. ↑ Sabir, Wanda (18 December 2013). "African American Shakespeare Company's 'Cinderella' through Dec. 22 at AAACC in San Francisco". SF Bay View. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  24. ↑ Trevenon, Stacy (27 January 2013). "A Sobering and Substantial Cat". Stage and Cinema. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
  25. ↑ Elinson, Elaine. "Review: Tuskegee Airmen Take Flight Again in 'Black Eagles'". 48 Hills. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  26. ↑ "A Shakespeare Tale for Winter, Told in Summer". Folger Shakespeare Library. 6 June 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  27. ↑ Sokol, Robert (17 July 2019). "African-American Shakespeare Co. Sharpens Macbeth's Dagger". San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  28. ↑ Hurwitt, Sam (13 April 2022). "African-American Shakes Hits Stage with Revamped 'Richard II'". The Mercury News. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  29. ↑ Schiffman, Jean (14 October 2019). "Lead Actors Light Up African-American Shakes' 'Othello'". San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  30. ↑ Janiak, Lily. "Bay Area Theater Company Cancels 'Death of a Salesman' After Key Actor Was Killed in S.F." San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  31. ↑ DeYoung, Bill (18 February 2020). "American Stage's New Play Festival: A Portal into the Creative Process". Catalyst. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  32. ↑ Rosky, Nicole (16 February 2022). "San Jose Stage Company Reschedules Strange Courtesies for Spring 2023". The Stage. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  33. ↑ "L. Peter Callender". Alter Theater. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  34. ↑ "Theatre Tampa Bay". Facebook. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  35. ↑ Warner, David. "Theatre Tampa Bay Gala honors local pros and a bunch of talented kids". Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  36. ↑ DeYoung, Bill (12 October 2020). "Theatre Tampa Bay honors 2019-2020 season". St. Pete Catalyst. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  37. ↑ "Resume". L Peter Callender. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  38. ↑ "Proof" (PDF). Encore Spotlight. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  39. ↑ "L. Peter Callender". About the Arts. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  40. ↑ "TBA Awards Celebrate 2016 Bay Area Theatre". American Theatre. 7 December 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  41. ↑ "TBA Awards Celebrate 2016 Bay Area Theatre". American Theatre. 7 December 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  42. ↑ "Indian Ink, Cabaret Lead 2000 Helen Hayes Award Winners". Playbill. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  43. ↑ Brown, Joe. "Arena Top Hayes Nominee". The Washington Post. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.