Directors of 2014
Here is the talented roster of directors from the 2014 OC-Centric New Play Festival
Travis Kendrick
Director of "Bender"
Is grateful to be collaborating with such a talented company of artists on an exciting new play! After receiving his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre from Point Park University’s Conservatory of Performing Arts, Travis has worked professionally in New York City and around the country as an actor, director, and choreographer. He wrote the book and lyrics for the new children’s musical, Dotty Dot, which recently had a yearlong run in New York City. Travis is pursuing his MFA in Directing at UCI, where he has directed Oleanna, Happy Journey To Trenton And Camden, Fifth Of July, and Matthew Lopez’s Reverberation. www.traviskendrick.com
Tamiko Washington
Director of "Gray People"
Tamiko is also the artistic director of OC-centric. An AssociateProfessor of Theatre at Chapman University, she has an M.F.A. in Acting from the University of California, Irvine and is considered the originator of American Noh Theatre. In addition to her highly acclaimed one-woman show Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Ann Jacobs (adapted for the stage by Deanna Sidoli and Kent Kirkpatrick), she has also acted at South Coast Repertory, the Old Globe Theatre, the Los Angeles Women’s Shakespeare Company, Shakespeare Orange County, Stages Theatre, the Vanguard Theatre, and Pacific Theatre Ensemble. Her television credits include co-starring and guest artist roles in Pensacola, Silk Stalkings and two Lifetime Movie Network films, Two Small Voices and Kidnapped. In 2005, she was awarded the Kennedy Center American/College Theatre Excellence in Education for her work at Chapman University. Directing credits at Chapman University include The Trojan Women, The School for Scandal, A Night of Noh Theatre, He Who Gets Slapped, Ragged Dick, Marisol, Waiting for Godot (XXXV KC/ACTF finalist production), A Streetcar Named Desire and Atsumori & Ikuta (XXXII KC/ACTF finalist production).
Phyllis Gitlin
Director of "Saint or Sinner?"
Phyllis is honored to be a part of the 2014 OC-centric Theatre Festival. She has been an accomplished director of over 200 plays and a theatre educator for over thirty years. She has been on the faculties of numerous educational venues, from North Carolina Wesleyan College, the Boston Actors Workshop to California State University, Stanislaus. Currently, she is on faculty at Orange Coast College. She has served as guest director for the University of California, Irvine Extension Screen Writing Presentation. She presently is a private consultant and coach for actors of all disciplines of acting performance. Phyllis earned her B.F.A. in Drama/Musical Theatre from the Boston Conservatory of Music, and her M.F.A. in Directing/Theatre Education from Boston University and University of London, Chelsea. Phyllis is listed in the American Association of University Women, Who’s Who Among American Teachers and has been an adjudicator for the American College Theatre Festival. This project is dedicated to Sandy, the man that waits up for me at nite.
Richard Stein
Director of "The Rothko"
Richard has been the Executive Director of Laguna Playhouse for 17 years, where he directed Shmuel Hasfari’s The Master of the House (U.S. premiere), Bryony Lavery’s Last Easter (West Coast premiere), Jon Marans’ Jumping for Joy (world premiere) and Old Wicked Songs, Michael Weller’s What the Night Is For (U.S. premiere), Travels With My Aunt adapted by Giles Havergal from Graham Greene (L.A.-area premiere), Neil LaBute’s The Shape of Things (West Coast premiere), Richard Dresser’s Gun-Shy (Southern California premiere) and Arthur Miller’s The Price (LA Robby Award-Best Dramatic Production) among other productions. Other directing credits include Taher Najib’s In Spitting Distance (staged reading, Theatre J), Michel Tremblay’s Damnée Manon, Sacrée Sandra (Monkey Wrench Collective), Colleen Bevacqua's Obsession (OC-centric), Edward Albee’s Seascape (Year’s Top Ten, Variety), Isaac Bashevis Singer & Eve Friedman’s Teibele and Her Demon and Megan Terry’s Ex-Miss Copper Queen on a Set of Pills. He is Executive Director of Arts Orange County and a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.
