Directing Notes

waiting-for-godot-castThe first play I directed was Waiting for Godot. Yup. I set it in an AIDS hospice. Made Didi & Gogo lovers, Didi on his death bed and Pozzo & Lucky his hallucinations. (I never asked for the rights from the Beckett Estate. It was a completely illegal production.) I won an Honourable Mention from USA Today's College Academic Team for the production and the concept. (They didn't know anything about the Beckett Estate when they published their results. Thankfully, I don't think anyone at the Beckett Estate reads USA Today.)

Everything about that production encapsulates my directing choices and style, wrapped in complete ignorance, unflappable resolve and blind hubris. Thankfully, I've learned a lot since then, but the impulse to subvert pre-conceived ideas about established works, to make theatre not just relevant but imperative, to take huge risks (knowingly and unknowingly) and to unabashedly share that work is still at the core of what I do.

Below are videos and images from a handful of shows I've directed with a full list of credits at the end. You can also read about my work as an actor and instructor and see all of the highlights.  If you're interested in my work, please contact me at stephanie@stephaniecourtney.ie.

Are Our Souls Our Own? An Exploration of Shakespeare's Women

Measure for Measure – Ireland 1916 (Athenry Castle)

  Measure for Measure - Ireland 1916 included in The Shakespeare Lives Initiative, Sponsored by the GREAT campaign & The British Council

 

 

 

As You Like It

Southern California Shakespeare Festival 2016

Not a Traditional Taming of the Shrew

 

 

Much Ado About Nothing

The Iveagh Gardens

2014

   

The Cripple of Inishmaan

The Magic Theatre, San Francisco, 2006

Directing Credits

As You Like It: Southern California Shakespeare Festival

Measure for Measure - Ireland 1916:  Summer Shakespeare Dublin Castle & Ireland National Tour 

A Silence for Frau Schirakesch & A Little Calm Before the Storm: English Premier Staged Readings of Theresia Walser

(Not a Traditional) Taming of the Shrew: Shakespeare in the Iveagh Gardens

Gidion’s Knot : Irish Premier, The Back Loft

Scars: Collaborations Festival 2015, Smock Alley Theatre, Main Space

Much Ado About Nothing: Shakespeare in the Iveagh Gardens

(A Brief) Midsummer Night’s Dream: Bloom Fringe Festival

The Tenaments: Collaborations Festival 2014, Smock Alley Theatre, Main Space

Lost Edens : Irish Premier, Chancery Lane

Various Pieces: Under My Bed 2014, Smock Alley Theatre, Main Space

The Tempest: Shakespeare in the Iveagh Gardens

Romeo & Juliet (Unplugged): Shakespeare in the Iveagh Gardens & Ranelagh Gardens

A Joycean Christmas*: Gaia Arts Center, Bekerkely, CA

The Cripple of Inishmaan: The Magic Theatre, San Francisco

Kimberly Akimbo: Santa Rosa Repertory

Annual Bloomsday Celebration** : Berkeley & San Francisco

Beckett Shorts: San Francisco Beckett Festival

Kid Simple: PCPA New Play Festival

40th Anniversary Gala: PCPA TheatreFest

Ah, Wilderness!: The Western Stage

Encore!: Spring Sirkin Production, US National Tour (3 Annual Tours)

Taming of the Shrew: Shakespeare by the Sea, Los Angeles Tour

Galileo: University Theatre, California State University, Long Beach

A Comedy of Errors: Shakespeare by the Sea, Los Angeles Tour

Waiting for Godot: Actor’s Circle Theatre, Hollywood

 

 

A Joycean Christmas

The Gaia Arts Center, Berkeley

2009

The Tenements

Smock Alley Theatre

2015

(Not a Traditional) Taming of the Shrew

The Iveagh Gardens

2015

The Tempest

The Iveagh Gardens

2012