Oskar Eustis
Encyclopedia
Oskar Eustis is the artistic director
at the Public Theater
and has worked as a director, dramaturg, and artistic director for theaters around the country.
He was a professor of Theatre, Speech and Dance at Brown University
, where he founded and chaired the Trinity Rep/Brown University Consortium for professional theater training. He also served on the faculty of The Bread Loaf School of English at Middlebury College
. He received an honorary doctorate from Brown in 2001 and currently serves as Professor of Dramatic Writing and Arts and Public Policy at New York University
.
Eustis describes his role at the Public as both producer and dramaturge. In a conversation with set designer David Korins for BOMB Magazine
, Eustis said, “The producer gives me the power; the dramaturgy gives me the brains.”
by Tony Kushner
and The Kentucky Cycle
, won Pulitzer Prize
s. At The Public he directed the New York premiere of Rinne Groff's The Ruby Sunrise. At Trinity Rep, he directed the world premiere of Anthony Clarvoe
's Ambition Facing West; the world premiere of Paula Vogel
's The Long Christmas Ride Home (Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Production); Homebody/Kabul (Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Production); the world premiere of Rinne Groff's The Ruby Sunrise; Angels in America, Part I: Millennium Approaches (Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Director); Angels in America, Part II: Perestroika; as well as world premieres of plays by Philip Kan Gotanda, David Henry Hwang, Emily Mann, Suzan-Lori Parks, Ellen McLaughlin, and Eduardo Machado. He commissioned Tony Kushner's Angels in America at the Eureka Theatre Company in San Francisco and directed its world premiere at the Mark Taper Forum.
and the theatre of Bertolt Brecht
.
Artistic director
An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company, that handles the organization's artistic direction. He or she is generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the organization is generally a non-profit organization...
at the Public Theater
Public Theater
The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as The Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers. It is headquartered at 425 Lafayette Street in the former Astor Library in the East Village...
and has worked as a director, dramaturg, and artistic director for theaters around the country.
Career
From 1981 through 1986 he was resident director and dramaturg at the Eureka Theatre Company in San Francisco, and Artistic Director until 1989, when he moved to the L.A.'s Mark Taper Forum as Associate Artistic Director until 1994. Mr. Eustis then served as Artistic Director at Trinity Rep in Providence, Rhode Island for eleven years. In 2005 he took the helm at New York's Public Theater.He was a professor of Theatre, Speech and Dance at Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
, where he founded and chaired the Trinity Rep/Brown University Consortium for professional theater training. He also served on the faculty of The Bread Loaf School of English at Middlebury College
Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college located in Middlebury, Vermont, USA. Founded in 1800, it is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges in the United States. Drawing 2,400 undergraduates from all 50 United States and over 70 countries, Middlebury offers 44 majors in the arts,...
. He received an honorary doctorate from Brown in 2001 and currently serves as Professor of Dramatic Writing and Arts and Public Policy at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
.
Eustis describes his role at the Public as both producer and dramaturge. In a conversation with set designer David Korins for BOMB Magazine
Bomb Magazine
BOMB is a quarterly magazine edited by artists and writers. It is composed, primarily, of interviews between creative people working in a variety of disciplines — visual art, literature, music, film, theater and architecture....
, Eustis said, “The producer gives me the power; the dramaturgy gives me the brains.”
Achievements
Throughout his career, Mr. Eustis has been dedicated to the development of new plays as both a director and a producer. Two plays that he helped develop, Angels in AmericaAngels in America
Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes is the 1993 Pulitzer Prize winning play in two parts by American playwright Tony Kushner. It has been made into both a television miniseries and an opera by Peter Eötvös.-Characters:...
by Tony Kushner
Tony Kushner
Anthony Robert "Tony" Kushner is an American playwright and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1993 for his play, Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, and co-authored with Eric Roth the screenplay for the 2005 film, Munich.-Life and career:Kushner was born...
and The Kentucky Cycle
The Kentucky Cycle
The Kentucky Cycle is a series of nine one-act plays by Robert Schenkkan that explores American mythology, particularly the mythology of the West, through the intertwined histories of three fictional families struggling over a portion of land in the Cumberland Plateau...
, won Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
s. At The Public he directed the New York premiere of Rinne Groff's The Ruby Sunrise. At Trinity Rep, he directed the world premiere of Anthony Clarvoe
Anthony Clarvoe
Anthony Clarvoe is an American playwright born in 1958.- Play commissions and productions :THE JUST , commission from Chautauqua Theatre Co. 2007 Chautauqua Theatre Company, Ethan McSweeny, dir....
's Ambition Facing West; the world premiere of Paula Vogel
Paula Vogel
Paula Vogel is an American playwright and university professor. She received the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play, How I Learned to Drive.-Early years:...
's The Long Christmas Ride Home (Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Production); Homebody/Kabul (Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Production); the world premiere of Rinne Groff's The Ruby Sunrise; Angels in America, Part I: Millennium Approaches (Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Director); Angels in America, Part II: Perestroika; as well as world premieres of plays by Philip Kan Gotanda, David Henry Hwang, Emily Mann, Suzan-Lori Parks, Ellen McLaughlin, and Eduardo Machado. He commissioned Tony Kushner's Angels in America at the Eureka Theatre Company in San Francisco and directed its world premiere at the Mark Taper Forum.
Personal
His real first name is Paul, but Eustis adopted the name "Oskar" in part because of his affinity for German cultural and political history, especially the theories of Karl MarxKarl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
and the theatre of Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
.