Stan Wojewodski Jr. appointed chair of SMU’s Division Of Theatre

DALLAS (SMU) — Stan Wojewodski Jr., the Distinguished Professor of Directing in the Division of Theatre at Southern Methodist University’s Meadows School of the Arts, has been appointed chair of theatre effective June 1, 2010.

Wojewodski succeeds Cecil O’Neal, who has served as chair for the past four years; O’Neal, a professor of theatre at SMU since 1988, will be on sabbatical in fall 2010 and return to teaching in spring 2011.

Wojewodski joined SMU in 2005 as the Distinguished Artist-in-Residence in theatre, and was named Distinguished Professor two years later.  At SMU he has taught directing and also directed numerous student productions, including Betrayed, Trouble in Mind, The Overwhelming, Fabulation and She Stoops to Conquer.

“Stan has a national reputation in both professional and academic theatre as a producer, artistic director, director and teacher,” said José Bowen, dean of the Meadows School. “It is wonderful to have someone of his caliber and accomplishments as our new chair, but it is even more wonderful to have someone we know so well who is already so dedicated to our programs and students. He is an inspiring artist whose work is well-known and I am delighted that he is willing to add this responsibility to his portfolio.   Ordinarily we would conduct a national search for a new department chair, but with Stan already on board, there was no need to look further.”

From 1991-2002, Wojewodski was artistic director of Yale Repertory Theatre and dean of the Yale School of Drama. During his tenure, he nourished the careers of playwrights Suzan-Lori Parks (winner of the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for drama) and Eric Overmyer and presented innovative dance-theatre by choreographer Ralph Lemon, whose cross-cultural interdisciplinary Geography trilogy received the 1999 Alpert Award. His own productions at Yale included the premieres of David Edgar’s Pentecost, Dawn Powell’s Big Night and Figaro/Figaro, and Eric Overmyer’s adaptations of Beaumarchais and Odon von Horvath.

Prior to Yale, Wojewodski served as artistic director of Baltimore’s Center Stage from 1975 to 1991, directing over 40 productions including the American premieres of plays by Edward Bond, Odon von Horvath, Vaclav Havel and Antonio Buero-Vallejo. While at Center Stage, he also produced over a dozen world premieres by now-established American playwrights including James Yoshimura, Grace McKeaney and Russell Davis.

During his career, Wojewodski has also staged productions at, among others, the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, Guthrie Theater, La Jolla Playhouse, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Dallas Theater Center, Old Globe, Mixed Blood, and Williamstown Theatre Festival, where he was an associate director. He also developed an exhibition and reading series, Lily’s Downfall, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the publication of Edith Wharton’s novel The House of Mirth for the Edith Wharton Restoration and the Museum of the City of New York.

Wojewodski has served on the board of directors for Theatre Communications Group, and he has been a frequent panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts. He has also been a member of the Standards and Membership Committee for the League of Theatre Training Programs.

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