Stephen Sachs
Encyclopedia
Stephen Sachs is an award-winning stage director and playwright. He is currently the Co-Artistic Director of The Fountain Theatre
in Los Angeles, which he co-founded in 1990.
. He graduated from Los Angeles City College
Theatre Academy in 1980 and worked as an actor at many theaters in Los Angeles, including the Mark Taper Forum
. He made his debut as a professional stage director in 1987 with his own adaptation of The Baron in the Trees at the Ensemble Studio Theatre
in Los Angeles, to rave reviews.
) for "Best Production of a Play" four times. For the 2009 Ovation Awards, the Fountain has again been nominated for "Best Production of a Play", and for the newly added category of "Best Season".
Arthur Miller
personally gave Sachs exclusive permission to direct his rarely seen After the Fall (3 L.A. Ovation Awards including Best Production and Best Director). Named “Critics’ Choice” (LA Times) and ran for 7 sold-out months.
He has won many theater awards for directing such plays as the Los Angeles premiere of Fugard’s The Road to Mecca, After the Fall, the West Coast premiere of String of Pearls, Sweet Nothing in my Ear (Fountain Theatre, Victory Gardens Theatre in Chicago, Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis), the LA premiere of Steven Dietz’s Lonely Planet (starring Philip Anglim), The Seagull (starring Salome Jens, Philip Baker Hall and Bud Cort), the celebrated 20th Anniversary production of The Boys in the Band, the west coast premiere of Rommulus Linney’s Unchanging Love, and many others.
In February 2007 Sachs directed the world premiere of his own new adaptation of Strindberg’s Miss Julie at the Fountain in Los Angeles. The production was named “Critics’ Choice” in the Los Angeles Times and ran for 4 sold-out months.
Regional theatre directing credits include: Primary Stages (New York), Zephyr Theatre (San Francisco), Santa Barbara Theatre, the Tony-winning Victory Gardens Theatre (Chicago), Mixed Blood Theatre (Minneapolis), New Jersey Repertory, Florida Stage, Assembly Rooms (Edinburgh, Scotland), Canadian Stage Company (Toronto) and the Vancouver Playhouse (Vancouver).
as one of the few directors in the United States to premiere his new plays. The collaboration between Fugard and Sachs goes back nearly a decade when Sachs directed the Los Angeles premiere of Fugard’s The Road to Mecca in 2000.
In 2004, Mr. Sachs had the privilege of being the first person, apart from the playwright, selected to direct the world premiere of a new play by Athol Fugard. Sachs directed the world premiere of Fugard’s Exits and Entrances in Los Angeles (3 LA Ovation Awards including Best World Premiere of a New Play and Best Director, 5 LA Drama Critics Circle Awards including Best Production and Best Director). He directed acclaimed regional productions of the play around the country. And he directed the Off-Broadway production at Primary Stages in New York in 2007(New York Outer Critics’ Circle Award nomination for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play, selected as "Ten Best" Productions of 2006/2007 by New York Theatre Writers). He also directed the UK premiere at the 2007 International Edinburgh Festival in Scotland.
In 2008, Fugard gave Sachs the exclusive United States rights to his play, Victory. Sachs directed the United States premiere in Los Angeles and the production was named “Critic’s Choice” and “Best of 2008” in the Los Angeles Times.
Fugard chose Sachs to direct the West Coast premiere of his new play, Coming Home (“Critic’s Choice” Los Angeles Times) in 2009. The production has been nominated for a 2009 Ovation Award for "Best Production of a Play". Fugard has given Sachs his newest play, The Train Driver, which Sachs will direct as the U.S. premiere in the coming 2010 season.
for its acclaimed ASL-version of Big River
on Broadway in 2003. His play about deafness and cochlear implant
s, Sweet Nothing in My Ear
, was recently made into a television movie
starring Jeff Daniels
and Marlee Matlin
, and presented on the Hallmark Hall of Fame
on April 20, 2008. The teleplay and adaptation are by Mr. Sachs himself, and the film was directed by Joseph Sargent
.
Sachs' play about deafness and language
, Open Window, had its world premiere at the Pasadena Playhouse
in 2005, winning the California Governor’s Media Access Award for Theatre Excellence.
He directed the world premiere of his own stage adaptation of Stephen Mitchell’s version of Gilgamesh at Theatre@Boston Court in Pasadena in 2007, and directed his own adaptation Miss Julie:Freedom Summer at Canadian Stage Company in Toronto and at the Vancouver Playhouse in 2008/2009.
Also in 2009, Mr. Sachs directed the Los Angeles premiere of Irish playwright Conor McPherson’s Tony-nominated play, Shining City, to rave reviews. "One of the best productions the west coast theater has ever seen." - BroadwayWorld
) for Best Director of a Play twice.
as Director
as Playwright
For his work as director and playwright, Sachs has been featured in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle
, the Chicago Tribune
, American Theatre Magazine, Los Angeles Magazine, Back Stage, Variety
, Hollywood Reporter, L.A. Stage Magazine, The Times
, The Wall Street Journal, and National Public Radio.
The Fountain Theatre
The Fountain Theatre is one of the premier intimate theatres in Los Angeles. Along with its programming of live theatre, it's also the foremost producer of Flamenco on the West Coast.-History:...
in Los Angeles, which he co-founded in 1990.
Biography
Sachs was born in San Francisco and grew up in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. He graduated from Los Angeles City College
Los Angeles City College
Los Angeles City College, known as LACC, is a public community college in the East Hollywood section of Los Angeles, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard...
Theatre Academy in 1980 and worked as an actor at many theaters in Los Angeles, including the Mark Taper Forum
Mark Taper Forum
The Mark Taper Forum is a 739 seat thrust stage at the Los Angeles Music Center built by Welton Becket and Associates on the Bunker Hill section of downtown Los Angeles...
. He made his debut as a professional stage director in 1987 with his own adaptation of The Baron in the Trees at the Ensemble Studio Theatre
Ensemble Studio Theatre
The Ensemble Studio Theatre is a membership-based, developmental theatre located in New York City. It has a dual mission of nurturing individual theatre artists and developing new American plays.-Overview:...
in Los Angeles, to rave reviews.
The Fountain Theatre
Sachs co-founded the Fountain Theatre in 1990 with Deborah Lawlor. For twenty years, Sachs has guided the Fountain Theatre as Co-Artistic Director and has directed and written many of their acclaimed productions. Over two decades, The Fountain Theatre has won 200 awards for theatre excellence and has been honored by the Los Angeles City Council for "enhancing the cultural life of the City of Los Angeles." It is the only intimate theatre in Los Angeles to have won the Ovation Award (L.A.'s version of the Tony AwardTony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
) for "Best Production of a Play" four times. For the 2009 Ovation Awards, the Fountain has again been nominated for "Best Production of a Play", and for the newly added category of "Best Season".
Arthur Miller
Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American theatre, writing dramas that include plays such as All My Sons , Death of a Salesman , The Crucible , and A View from the Bridge .Miller was often in the public eye,...
personally gave Sachs exclusive permission to direct his rarely seen After the Fall (3 L.A. Ovation Awards including Best Production and Best Director). Named “Critics’ Choice” (LA Times) and ran for 7 sold-out months.
He has won many theater awards for directing such plays as the Los Angeles premiere of Fugard’s The Road to Mecca, After the Fall, the West Coast premiere of String of Pearls, Sweet Nothing in my Ear (Fountain Theatre, Victory Gardens Theatre in Chicago, Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis), the LA premiere of Steven Dietz’s Lonely Planet (starring Philip Anglim), The Seagull (starring Salome Jens, Philip Baker Hall and Bud Cort), the celebrated 20th Anniversary production of The Boys in the Band, the west coast premiere of Rommulus Linney’s Unchanging Love, and many others.
In February 2007 Sachs directed the world premiere of his own new adaptation of Strindberg’s Miss Julie at the Fountain in Los Angeles. The production was named “Critics’ Choice” in the Los Angeles Times and ran for 4 sold-out months.
Regional theatre directing credits include: Primary Stages (New York), Zephyr Theatre (San Francisco), Santa Barbara Theatre, the Tony-winning Victory Gardens Theatre (Chicago), Mixed Blood Theatre (Minneapolis), New Jersey Repertory, Florida Stage, Assembly Rooms (Edinburgh, Scotland), Canadian Stage Company (Toronto) and the Vancouver Playhouse (Vancouver).
Sachs and Fugard
Sachs has the honor of being chosen by playwright Athol FugardAthol Fugard
Athol Fugard is a South African playwright, novelist, actor, and director who writes in English, best known for his political plays opposing the South African system of apartheid and for the 2005 Academy-Award winning film of his novel Tsotsi, directed by Gavin Hood...
as one of the few directors in the United States to premiere his new plays. The collaboration between Fugard and Sachs goes back nearly a decade when Sachs directed the Los Angeles premiere of Fugard’s The Road to Mecca in 2000.
In 2004, Mr. Sachs had the privilege of being the first person, apart from the playwright, selected to direct the world premiere of a new play by Athol Fugard. Sachs directed the world premiere of Fugard’s Exits and Entrances in Los Angeles (3 LA Ovation Awards including Best World Premiere of a New Play and Best Director, 5 LA Drama Critics Circle Awards including Best Production and Best Director). He directed acclaimed regional productions of the play around the country. And he directed the Off-Broadway production at Primary Stages in New York in 2007(New York Outer Critics’ Circle Award nomination for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play, selected as "Ten Best" Productions of 2006/2007 by New York Theatre Writers). He also directed the UK premiere at the 2007 International Edinburgh Festival in Scotland.
In 2008, Fugard gave Sachs the exclusive United States rights to his play, Victory. Sachs directed the United States premiere in Los Angeles and the production was named “Critic’s Choice” and “Best of 2008” in the Los Angeles Times.
Fugard chose Sachs to direct the West Coast premiere of his new play, Coming Home (“Critic’s Choice” Los Angeles Times) in 2009. The production has been nominated for a 2009 Ovation Award for "Best Production of a Play". Fugard has given Sachs his newest play, The Train Driver, which Sachs will direct as the U.S. premiere in the coming 2010 season.
ASL Theatre & Film
Sachs was instrumental in launching and supporting the Deaf West Theatre Company at the Fountain Theatre in 1991. The company won the Tony AwardTony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for its acclaimed ASL-version of Big River
Big River (musical)
Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a musical with a book by William Hauptman and music and lyrics by Roger Miller.Based on Mark Twain's classic 1884 novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, it features music in the bluegrass and country styles in keeping with the setting of the novel...
on Broadway in 2003. His play about deafness and cochlear implant
Cochlear implant
A cochlear implant is a surgically implanted electronic device that provides a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing...
s, Sweet Nothing in My Ear
Sweet Nothing in My Ear
Sweet Nothing in My Ear is a television movie that debuted on the CBS television network as a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie on April 20, 2008. The film is directed by Joseph Sargent, and is based on a 1998 play of the same name by Stephen Sachs, who also wrote the teleplay...
, was recently made into a television movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
starring Jeff Daniels
Jeff Daniels
Jeffrey Warren "Jeff" Daniels is an American actor, musician and playwright. He founded a non-profit theatre company, the Purple Rose Theatre Company, in his home state of Michigan...
and Marlee Matlin
Marlee Matlin
Marlee Bethany Matlin is an American actress. She is the only deaf actress to win the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, which she won for Children of a Lesser God. Her work in film and television has resulted in a Golden Globe award, with two additional nominations, and four Emmy...
, and presented on the Hallmark Hall of Fame
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Hallmark Hall of Fame is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City based greeting card company. The second longest-running television program in the history of television, it has a historically long run, beginning in 1951 and continuing into 2011...
on April 20, 2008. The teleplay and adaptation are by Mr. Sachs himself, and the film was directed by Joseph Sargent
Joseph Sargent
Joseph Sargent is an American film director. He has directed many television movies, but his best known feature film works are probably White Lightning, MacArthur, Nightmares and Jaws: The Revenge, with his most popular film being The Taking of Pelham One Two Three. He has won four Emmy Awards...
.
Sachs' play about deafness and language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
, Open Window, had its world premiere at the Pasadena Playhouse
Pasadena Playhouse
The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engagements each year.-History:...
in 2005, winning the California Governor’s Media Access Award for Theatre Excellence.
Recent Stage Productions
In 2006, the J. Paul Getty Museum selected Sachs to direct the inaugural production to launch the opening of their new 450-seat outdoor classical theatre at the Getty Villa in Malibu. For The Getty, Sachs directed the critically acclaimed sold-out world premiere of a new translation of Euripides’ Hippolytos starring Linda Purl.He directed the world premiere of his own stage adaptation of Stephen Mitchell’s version of Gilgamesh at Theatre@Boston Court in Pasadena in 2007, and directed his own adaptation Miss Julie:Freedom Summer at Canadian Stage Company in Toronto and at the Vancouver Playhouse in 2008/2009.
Also in 2009, Mr. Sachs directed the Los Angeles premiere of Irish playwright Conor McPherson’s Tony-nominated play, Shining City, to rave reviews. "One of the best productions the west coast theater has ever seen." - BroadwayWorld
Director
- Side ManSide ManSide Man is a memory play by Warren Leight. His inspiration was his father Donald, who worked as a sideman, in jazz parlance a musician for hire who can blend in with the band or star as a solo performer, according to what is required by the gig.-Plot:...
(2010) starring Christine LahtiChristine LahtiChristine Lahti is an American actress and film director. Lahti has had a successful career in television and film. Throughout her career she has garnered 2 Golden Globe Awards from 8 Nominations, An Emmy Award from 6 Nominations and 2 Academy Award nominations...
, LA Theatre Works - Shining City (2009) Los Angeles premiere
- Coming Home (2009) West Coast premiere
- Victory (2008) United States premiere
- Exits and Entrances (2007) Off-Broadway, NYC
- Miss Julie:Freedom Summer (2007) world premiere, Los Angeles
- Gilgamesh (2007) world premiere adaptation
- Hippolytos(2006) Getty Villa, Malibu, world premiere translation
- String of Pearls (2006) Los Angeles premiere
- Exits and Entrances (2004) world premiere, Los Angeles
- After the Fall (2002) Los Angeles
- Sweet Nothing in my Ear Victory Gardens, Chicago
- The Road to Mecca (2000) Los Angeles premiere
- Lonely Planet Los Angeles premiere
- The Seagull
- The Boys in the Band 20th Anniversary production
Playwright
- Miss Julie:Freedom Summer (2007) new version of Strindberg's Miss Julie
- Gilgamesh (2007) adaptation
- Open Window (2005) Pasadena Playhouse
- Central Avenue (2001)
- Mother's Day (1999)
- Sweet Nothing in my Ear (1998)
- The Golden Gate (1991)
- The Baron in the Trees (1987) adaptation
Awards
Sachs has won every major theatre award in Los Angeles and is the only director in Los Angeles to have won the Ovation Award (L.A.’s version of the Tony AwardTony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
) for Best Director of a Play twice.
as Director
- 2009 Zelda Fichandler Award - SSDC Foundation, to recognize an outstanding director who is making a unique and exceptional contribution to the theatre in their region. (nomination)
- Best Director, 2009 (Coming Home) - LA Weekly Award
- Best Director, 2008 (Victory) - NAACP Theatre Award
- Best Director, 2005 (Exits and Entrances) – Carbonell Award nomination, Florida
- Best Director, 2004 (Exits and Entrances) - Ovation Award, Los Angeles
- Best Director, 2004 (Exits and Entrances) - Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award
- Best Director, 2004 (Exits and Entrances) - L.A. Weekly Award nomination
- Best Director, 2004 (Exits and Entrances) - Maddy Award, Los Angeles
- Best Director, 2003 (Sweet Nothing in my Ear) - Minneapolis
- Best Director, 2002 (After the Fall) - Maddy Award
- Best Director, 2002 (After the Fall) - Ovation Award
- Best Director, 2000 (The Road to Mecca) - Maddy Award
- Best Director, 2000 (The Road to Mecca) - Robby Award nominee
- Best Director, 1996 (Lonely Planet) - Robby Award nominee
- Best Director, 1994 (‘Night Mother) Drama-Logue Award
- Best Director, 1994 (Ashes) Drama-Logue Award
- Best Director, 1993 (The Seagull) Drama-Logue Award
- Best Director, 1992 (Cuckoo’s Nest) Drama-Logue Award
- Best Director, 1991 (Fanon’s People) Drama-Logue Award
- Best Director, 1990 (Golden Gate) Drama-Logue Award
as Playwright
- Best Adaptation, 2007, (Miss Julie) Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle nomination
- Best Adaptation, 2007, (Miss Julie) L.A. Weekly Theatre Award nomination
- Media Access Award for Theatre Excellence (Open Window)
- Finalist, 2001 (Central Avenue) PEN West Literary Award for Drama
- Finalist, 1998 (Sweet Nothing in my Ear) PEN West Literary Award for Drama
- Best Play, 2001 (Central Avenue) Back Stage Garland Award
- Best Play, 2001 (Central Avenue) Beverly Press Maddy Award
- Best Play, 1999 (Mother's Day) Garland Award Honorable Mention
- Best Playwright, 1990 (Golden Gate) Drama-Logue Award
- California Governor’s Media Access Award for Theatre, 1997 (Sweet Nothing in my Ear)
- Citation of Appreciation, 1996, Los Angeles City Council for "enhancing the cultural life of the City of Los Angeles"
For his work as director and playwright, Sachs has been featured in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
, American Theatre Magazine, Los Angeles Magazine, Back Stage, Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
, Hollywood Reporter, L.A. Stage Magazine, The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, The Wall Street Journal, and National Public Radio.