Sharon Ott (director)

Sharon Ott is an award-winning director, producer and educator who has worked in regional theaters and opera throughout the United States. Ms. Ott is currently a Professor in the Performing Arts Department at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Most recently Ms. Ott directed the stage reading of Amy Freed's "You, Nero" at South Coast Repertory's 2008 Pacific Playwrights Festival Isherwood, Charles. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990DE5D6163FF935A35756C0A96E9C8B63&scp=2&sq=you+nero&st=nyt "At a Festival of New Plays, Money Makes Two Plots Go Round"] , "The New York Times", May 6 2008 ] , and will direct the play's world premiere at South Coast Repertory followed by a production at [http://broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=29826 "Berkeley Rep to End 2008/2009 Season with "You, Nero"] , "Broadway World", July 11 2008 ] at the Berkeley Repertory Theater in 2009.

Education and early career as an actor

Ms. Ott received her BA from Bennington College in 1972 with a triple major in theater, anthropology, and music. During her years at Bennington, she received a fellowship from the National Science Foundation to work with a team of anthropologists from the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago and the University of Arizona on an archaeological site in northern Arizona. She also spent one non-resident work term at the Field Museum and one summer with the Seri tribe in northern Mexico. She was accepted into the MFA acting program at California Institute of the Arts under the direction of Dr. Herbert Blau. When Dr. Blau left Cal Arts, his students followed him to Oberlin College, forming the ensemble Kraken under his leadership. This group of young actors included Julie Taymor (director of "The Lion King", "Titus Andronicus", and "Frida",) and noted clown and actor, Bill Irwin.

After two years with Kraken, Ms. Ott joined the ensemble Camera Obscura. Camera Obscura was a resident company at La Mama Experimental Theater Company in New York, and the Mickery Theater in Amsterdam, Holland. Their work was presented at both La Mama and The Mickery as well as in theaters throughout Germany, Belgium, and Holland.

Ms. Ott left Europe to return to the United States where she formed her own theater company, Aleph. Aleph produced work in Los Angeles before being hired as the company in residence at the University of Wisconsin/Milwaukee. At UWM, Ms. Ott directed the Aleph productions, as well as teaching undergraduate acting.

While in Milwaukee, Ms. Ott developed an interest in the work of Theatre X, eventually joined the company, and became an Associate Artistic Director. She directed several productions for Theatre X including "The Wreck: A Romance", based on the poems of Adrienne Rich, and "A Fierce Longing" based on the life and work of Japanese novelist Yukio Mishima. "The Wreck" was presented at theater festivals in the US and Holland, and the company received an Obie award for "A Fierce Longing" after its run at The Performing Garage in New York. Ms. Ott was able to travel to Japan under the auspices of the Japan Society to do research for the project, and this trip started a career long interest in Japanese theater and culture.

Ms. Ott became Resident Director of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater in 1980. During her association with the Milwaukee Rep, she was able to travel three more times to Japan; once to work with Japanese director, Tadashi Suzuki, and, twice with productions she directed. She also directed the world premiere of Amlin Gray’s "How I Got That Story" at the Milwaukee Rep, which won an Obie award after its New York run.

Berkeley Repertory Theater

In 1984, Ms. Ott became Artistic Director of the Berkeley Repertory Theater, in Berkeley, California. During her 13 years as Artistic Director, she increased the company’s budget from $1.5 million to over $5 million, built the audience to 15,000 subscribers, and developed the company’s reputation for innovative programming that resulted in the Tony Award for Excellence of a Regional Theater in 1997. Sharon had the privilege to work with several artists who have gone on to national and international prominence during her years at Berkeley Rep. She nurtured the work of author Phillip Kan Gotanda, directing world premieres of "Yankee Dawg You Die", and "The Ballad of Yachiyo", as well as a production of "The Wash" in New York and Los Angeles. Ms. Ott also directed an adaptation of Maxine Hong Kingston’s "The Woman Warrior" that premiered at Berkeley Rep before moving on to productions in Boston and Los Angeles. She directed the national tour of Anna Deavere Smith’s "Twilight: Los Angeles" which started in San Francisco before touring to Boston, Houston, Seattle, New Haven, and Washington, DC where it was performed at the Ford’s Theater with then President Bill Clinton and Vice-President Al Gore in attendance.

Seattle Repertory Theater

She left Berkeley in 1997 to become the Artistic DirectorBerson, Misha. [http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19961107&slug=2358360 "Seattle Rep Hires Berkeley Rep's Artistic Director"] "The Seattle Times" November 7 1996] of the Seattle Repertory Theatre. Under her leadership, a successful $15 million endowment campaign was initiated and completed, while the Rep’s annual budget grew from $6 million to $ 9 million. She maintained a subscription audience of 14,000 and grew the overall audience for the Rep from 140,400 in the year prior to her arrival to a high of 185,000. She re-introduced the classics to the Seattle Rep audiences, directing Shakespeare and Shaw herself, and producing the work of Stephen Wadsworth, Mary Zimmerman, and Tina Landau. She maintained the Rep’s long term association with August Wilson, producing the world premiere of Mr. Wilson’s "King Hedley II" and "How I Learned What I Learned", Mr. Wilson’s autobiographical solo performance work, and brought the world premiere work of several major new artists to the Rep, such as Ping Chong, Phillip Kan Gotanda, and Nilo Cruz.

Guest directing and opera

Ms. Ott has been a guest director at such theaters as the Arena Stage, the New York Shakespeare Festival, La Jolla Playhouse, the Mark Taper Forum, South Coast Repertory Theatre, the Huntington Theater, the Alliance Theater, Playwrights’ Horizons and the Manhattan Theater ClubGussow, Mel. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE7DA123EF93BA35752C1A966958260 "Wife Is Dutiful Though Separated"] "The New York Times" November 8 1990] . She has also directed several operas; "La Bohème" and "The Conquistador" at San Diego Opera, "Vanessa" and "Salome" at Seattle Opera, "Don Giovanni" at Opera Colorado, and "BlueBeard's Castle" at the Seattle Symphony with sets by Dale Chihuly.