Terrence O'Brien (director)
Encyclopedia
Terrence O'Brien is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, and received advanced training in acting and directing at American Conservatory Theatre, A.C.T. in San Francisco. He is the Founding Artistic Director of the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival
, which began in 1987 with a modest outdoor production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, produced in cooperation with the 29th Street Project. In 1988, the Festival moved to Boscobel
, a Hudson River museum estate in Garrison, New York
. Once in its new home and under a big tent, the festival grew dramatically, from its first season audience of 230 to 37,000 in 2010. Dedicated to producing the plays of Shakespeare with an economy of style that focuses its energy and resources on script, actors, and audience, the festival draws theater-goers from the tri-state area and beyond.
As noted by Terry Teachout
in 2008, "Mr. O'Brien keeps things simple and light, letting the verse speak for itself, and the result is a staging that makes perfect sense of a play that long was thought to be one of Shakespeare's weakest efforts. It is, in fact, a masterpiece worthy of direct comparison with "The Tempest," and this unassuming production makes plain its virtues." Anita Gates also noted O'Brien's leaned down approach, "you always know what you’re going to get: spare, streamlined, playful Shakespeare with laughs (even in the tragedies)."
Among the twenty-six productions O'Brien has directed at Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival: Hamlet
, Troilus and Cressida
, Pericles
, All's Well That Ends Well
, Henry V
, The Merchant of Venice
, Measure for Measure
, Titus Andronicus
, Macbeth
, The Merry Wives of Windsor
, The Taming of the Shrew
, Romeo and Juliet
, Much Ado About Nothing
, Twelfth Night, As You Like It
, A Midsummer Night's Dream
, Tartuffe
, Cymbeline
, and The Winter's Tale
. He directed A Midsummer Night's Dream
for the first annual Stratford Arts Commission Shakespeare Season in Stratford, Connecticut
.
In 2008, The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival was the subject of a PBS documentary, which focused on the staging of a production of Twelfth Night.
O'Brien is the founder and director of the New World Shakespeare Lab, a New York City group which experiments with rehearsal techniques and seeks to find a more spontaneous way of acting Shakespeare.
Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival
The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival is a regional, nonprofit theater company that performs at Boscobel in Garrison, NY. It produces classic works with an economy of style, focusing on script, actors and audience with the Hudson River and Hudson Highlands as its set and setting...
, which began in 1987 with a modest outdoor production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, produced in cooperation with the 29th Street Project. In 1988, the Festival moved to Boscobel
Boscobel
Boscobel is a very small civil parish in the east of Shropshire, England, on the border with Staffordshire. To the north is the Staffordshire village of Bishops Wood....
, a Hudson River museum estate in Garrison, New York
Garrison, New York
Garrison is a hamlet in Putnam County, New York, United States. It is part of the town of Philipstown and is on the east side of the Hudson River, across from the United States Military Academy at West Point...
. Once in its new home and under a big tent, the festival grew dramatically, from its first season audience of 230 to 37,000 in 2010. Dedicated to producing the plays of Shakespeare with an economy of style that focuses its energy and resources on script, actors, and audience, the festival draws theater-goers from the tri-state area and beyond.
As noted by Terry Teachout
Terry Teachout
Terry Teachout is a critic, biographer and blogger. He is the drama critic of The Wall Street Journal, the chief culture critic of Commentary, and the author of "Sightings," a column about the arts in America that appears biweekly in the Friday Wall Street Journal...
in 2008, "Mr. O'Brien keeps things simple and light, letting the verse speak for itself, and the result is a staging that makes perfect sense of a play that long was thought to be one of Shakespeare's weakest efforts. It is, in fact, a masterpiece worthy of direct comparison with "The Tempest," and this unassuming production makes plain its virtues." Anita Gates also noted O'Brien's leaned down approach, "you always know what you’re going to get: spare, streamlined, playful Shakespeare with laughs (even in the tragedies)."
Among the twenty-six productions O'Brien has directed at Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival: Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
, Troilus and Cressida
Troilus and Cressida
Troilus and Cressida is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1602. It was also described by Frederick S. Boas as one of Shakespeare's problem plays. The play ends on a very bleak note with the death of the noble Trojan Hector and destruction of the love between Troilus...
, Pericles
Pericles
Pericles was a prominent and influential statesman, orator, and general of Athens during the city's Golden Age—specifically, the time between the Persian and Peloponnesian wars...
, All's Well That Ends Well
All's Well That Ends Well
All's Well That Ends Well is a play by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1604 and 1605, and was originally published in the First Folio in 1623....
, Henry V
Henry V (play)
Henry V is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to be written in approximately 1599. Its full titles are The Cronicle History of Henry the Fifth and The Life of Henry the Fifth...
, The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice is a tragic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic...
, Measure for Measure
Measure for Measure
Measure for Measure is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604. It was classified as comedy, but its mood defies those expectations. As a result and for a variety of reasons, some critics have labelled it as one of Shakespeare's problem plays...
, Titus Andronicus
Titus Andronicus
Titus Andronicus is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, and possibly George Peele, believed to have been written between 1588 and 1593. It is thought to be Shakespeare's first tragedy, and is often seen as his attempt to emulate the violent and bloody revenge plays of his contemporaries, which were...
, Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
, The Merry Wives of Windsor
The Merry Wives of Windsor
The Merry Wives of Windsor is a comedy by William Shakespeare, first published in 1602, though believed to have been written prior to 1597. It features the fat knight Sir John Falstaff, and is Shakespeare's only play to deal exclusively with contemporary Elizabethan era English middle class life...
, The Taming of the Shrew
The Taming of the Shrew
The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1591.The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the Induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken tinker named Sly into believing he is actually a nobleman himself...
, Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
, Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....
, Twelfth Night, As You Like It
As You Like It
As You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 or early 1600 and first published in the folio of 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility...
, A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
, Tartuffe
Tartuffe
Tartuffe is a comedy by Molière. It is one of his most famous plays.-History:Molière wrote Tartuffe in 1664...
, Cymbeline
Cymbeline
Cymbeline , also known as Cymbeline, King of Britain or The Tragedy of Cymbeline, is a play by William Shakespeare, based on legends concerning the early Celtic British King Cunobelinus. Although listed as a tragedy in the First Folio, modern critics often classify Cymbeline as a romance...
, and The Winter's Tale
The Winter's Tale
The Winter's Tale is a play by William Shakespeare, originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, some modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some critics, among them W. W...
. He directed A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
for the first annual Stratford Arts Commission Shakespeare Season in Stratford, Connecticut
Stratford, Connecticut
Stratford is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located on Long Island Sound at the mouth of the Housatonic River. It was founded by Puritans in 1639....
.
In 2008, The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival was the subject of a PBS documentary, which focused on the staging of a production of Twelfth Night.
O'Brien is the founder and director of the New World Shakespeare Lab, a New York City group which experiments with rehearsal techniques and seeks to find a more spontaneous way of acting Shakespeare.