Michael W. Halberstam

Michael Halberstam is an American stage actor and director. He co-founded and is Artistic Director of the Writers Theatre in Glencoe, Illinois.

Early career

Halberstam attended University of Illinois, where he had been granted admission to the actor training program. Shortly after graduation in 1986 he moved to Chicago where he was immediately drawn to classics, working almost exclusively on the works of William Shakespeare. He went on to join The Stratford Festival's Young Company in Ontario and spent two years performing in a number of plays including Timon of Athens, The Knight of the Burning Pestle (title role), Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It, and Macbeth.^[1]

Writers Theatre

In 1992, Halberstam (Artistic Director) and Marilyn Campbell (Artistic Associate) founded Writers Theatre to create an environment where the written word and the nurturing of artists were the foundation of all productions. Its first venue was discovered through a mutual friend who knew that the owners of a newly opened bookstore in Glencoe, Books on Vernon, were looking to develop play readings and workshops in their store. The limited space available in the bookstore became Writers Theatre and gave way to a new aesthetic that has been a company hallmark ever since—-intimacy.

Writers Theatre, now in its 22nd Season, has evolved into a sophisticated two-venue organization with award-winning productions, more than 5,700 subscribers and a $4.1 million operating budget.

In its history, Writers Theatre has offered more than 81 productions, including 14 world premieres. As a direct result of the consistent artistic quality of the work, the company has been recognized with numerous awards and accolades: 55 Joseph Jefferson Award nominations, including four nods for Best Production; nine Joseph Jefferson Awards and 12 After Dark Awards, as well as numerous citations to Halberstam for excellence and contributions to the field.

At Writers Theatre, Halberstam has directed Private Lives, Look Back in Anger, Candida, Fallen Angels, The Father,^[2] Rough Crossing, Crime and Punishment, Benefactors, The Doctor's Dilemma, The Seagull, The Duchess of Malfi, Othello, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, and She Loves Me. He also appeared as an actor in the Writers Theatre productions of Richard II and Misalliance.^[3]

A Minister's Wife

In 2005 Halberstam asked composer Joshua Schmidt to compose incidental music for a production of George Bernard Shaw's Candida he was directing at the time. Halberstam was inspired by Schmidt's compositions to commission a full musical adaptation of the play. The composer was soon joined by lyricist Jan Tranen and bookwriter Austin Pendleton, who both subtly added to and reworked Shaw's immaculately conceived text. A Minister's Wife was the result of all four individuals' dedicated collaboration and premiered at Writers Theatre in May 2009 under Halberstam's direction.^[4]

Following its success at Writers Theatre, the new musical was brought to New York City, where Halberstam once again directed the show as part of Lincoln Center Theater's 2010/11 Season.^[5]

Other directing

His forays into opera have included The Rape of Lucretia (Chicago Opera Theater), Francesca da Ramini featuring the Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Christoph Eschenbach and Le Freyschutz, a Berlioz adaptation of the Weber opera conducted by Christoph Eschenbach in its North American Premiere (Ravinia Festival).

Recognition

He received awards for excellence in theatre management and artistic achievement from The Chicago Drama League, The Arts & Business Council and the Chicago Lawyers for the Creative Arts.^[6] He received the 2010 Zelda Fichandler Award from the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, which recognizes an outstanding director or choreographer who is transforming the regional arts land scape through singular creativity and artistry in theatre.^[7]

References