The Friends of the Mendocino College Library and the Friends of the Mendocino College Theatre are pleased to announce that theatre director and playwright Carey Perloff will be visiting Mendocino College on Sunday February 21 at 3 PM. The event is part of the college library reading series which brings notable writers to the campus each semester. Perloff, who helms San Francisco’s flagship theatre company, The American Conservatory Theatre (A.C.T.) will speak about her new book Beautiful Chaos which chronicles her past 20 years as A.C.T.’s Artistic Director.
Perloff arrived at A.C.T. in 1992, just following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake which left the company literally in ruins. The company’s home, the historic Geary Theatre, was in rubble and the ensemble’s finances and morale were equally crushed. Perloff set about rebuilding the building and the company which now continues to flourish more than 20 years later.
Perloff has worked extensively with playwright Tom Stoppard, having directed his plays numerous times at A.C.T. This semester the Mendocino College Theatre Arts Department will present Stoppard’s gorgeous play Arcadia (running March 11-20) under the direction of adjunct faculty member Jason Davis. Arcadia figures prominently in Perloff’s book and will surely be a topic addressed in her college talk. According to college theatre director Reid Edelman “attending the Perloff event will be a great way to whet your appetite for Arcadia and to enhance your appreciation of the play.”
Perloff’s dream from a young age was to become an archeologist and discover the next Troy; this led her to study ancient Greek at Stanford and then to migrate to theatre, where she learned to direct by staging Greek tragedies outdoors. At age twenty-seven, she was hired to run New York’s Classic Stage Company. In 1992, A.C.T. hired her to become the company’s third Artistic Director, following founder Bill Ball and Ed Hastings. She has made the company a true destination for passionate, literate and diverse theatre.
Perloff is a recipient of innumerable awards and honors, including two Drama-Logue Awards, an OBIE Award for Artistic Excellence, a Lucille Lortel Award, and the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres from the government of France. She is truly a major figure in American theatre.
Perloff will speak at 3 PM in the Mendocino College Library, room 4210. Her book, Beautiful Chaos, will be on sale starting at 2:30 and also following her lecture at 4 PM. The event will be followed by a reception with food and beverages provided by the Mendocino College Foundation. Perloff will be available to autograph copies of Beautiful Chaos. Earlier in the day, Perloff will offer a master class specifically for college theatre conservatory students, but the book talk at 3 PM is free and open to the public. According to Edelman, “Perloff’s visit is a major event for our town, our college and our theatre community. Please come join us for this very special presentation.”
For more information, please contact Reid Edelman, Theatre Director, at 707.468.3172 or redelman@mendocino.edu.