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Mike Alfreds

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Michael Alfreds (born 5 June 1934) is an English theatre director, adaptor, translator and teacher.

Biography

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Michael Alfreds was born in London in 1934 and trained as a director at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

He lived in the United States for eight years (1954–1962), during which time he worked for MGM Studios in Hollywood, was artistic director of Theatre West, Tucson, and then of the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. For five years he worked in Israel (1970–1975), where he became the artistic director of the Jerusalem Khan Theatre and contributed immensely to its development.

In the UK, Alfreds founded Shared Experience in 1975 and ran it for thirteen years. He worked as a director at the Royal National Theatre between 1985 and 1988, and was an associate and artistic director of the Cambridge Theatre Company, later renamed Method and Madness, from 1991 to 1999. He has directed for Shakespeare's Globe, Royal Shakespeare Company, and for several regional repertory theatres.

As well as the USA and Israel, Alfreds has worked in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Norway, France, Italy, Mongolia and China. He has staged over two hundred productions, and won awards both internationally and in the UK. He has translated the texts of several of his productions and has also specialised in the adaptation of novels and stories for the stage and has developed techniques for storytelling in the theatre.

Alfreds has written three books on his working methods: Different Every Night, which deals with his rehearsal processes for plays; Then What Happens, concerning his methods of working on adaptations; and What Actors Do, which is a philosophy of his process. He has divided his career between directing and teaching acting and directing. Alfreds is known for his special method of working with actors, inspired amongst others by the principles of Constantin Stanislavski and Rudolf Laban, with emphasis on physical work, scrupulous analysis of text, spontaneity and interaction with others during the play in minimalistic productions.

Teaching

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Alfreds began teaching acting and directing at the London Opera Centre and taught at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) in London from 1965 to 1970. He later served as a senior lecturer in drama at the University of Tel Aviv from 1971 to 1973.

Alfreds has conducted workshops and masterclasses globally, including locations such as St Andrews, Melbourne, Wellington, and Beijing, covering various techniques such as storytelling, melodrama, and the methods of Chekhov and Stanislavski.

He has collaborated with theatre companies like the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre, and worked with the Shakespeare Festival Theatre in Canada and the Actors Studio in New York.

Alfreds has also taught dance and choreography workshops, contributing to theatre education through training courses and workshops for organisations worldwide.

Productions

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Year Production Company / Theatre
1955 Hello From Bertha, Williams Brentwood Playhouse, Los Angeles
1956 The Death of Manolete, Conrad adaptation Brentwood Playhouse, Los Angeles
1956 The Human Voice, Cocteau Brentwood Playhouse, Los Angeles
1956 One, Two, Three, Molnar Brentwood Playhouse, Los Angeles
1957 The Epidemic, Mirbeau Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh
1957 The Tenor, Wedekind Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh
1957 The Understanding, Alfreds Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh
1957 Blithe Spirit, Coward Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh
1957 The Beaux Arts Revue, Alfreds/Cohen Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh
1957 Keep An Eye On Amelie, Feydeau Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh
1958 Montserrat, Robles/Hellman Summer Stock, Kennebunkport, Maine
1958 Guys and Dolls, Loesser Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh
1958 Kiss Me, Kate, Porter Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh
1958 La Perichole, Offenbach Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh
1958 Lakme, Delibes Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh
1958 The Secret Marriage, Cimarsoa Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh
1958 The Land of Smiles, Lehar Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh
1958 Gallantry, Moore Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh
1958 The Merry Wives of Windsor, Nicolai Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh
1959 Annie Get Your Gun, Berlin Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh
1959 Die Fledermaus, Strauss Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh
1959 The Most Happy Fella, Loesser Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh
1959 The Merry Widow, Lehar Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh
1959 Madama Butterfly, Puccini Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh
1960 Thieves' Carnival, Anouilh Winter Stock, Theatre West, Tucson, Arizona
1960 Enrico IV, Pirandello Winter Stock, Theatre West, Tucson, Arizona
1961 Volpone, Romains/Zweig/Jonson Cincinnati Playhouse-In-The Park
1961 A View From the Bridge, Miller Cincinnati Playhouse-In-The Park
1961 Under Milk Wood, Thomas Cincinnati Playhouse-In-The Park
1961 The Seagull, Chekhov Cincinnati Playhouse-In-The Park
1961 La Ronde, Schnitzler Cincinnati Playhouse-In-The Park
1961 The Bald Soprano/The Chairs, Ionesco Cincinnati Playhouse-In-The Park
1962 Hedda Gabler, Ibsen Cincinnati Playhouse-In-The Park
1962 The Servant of Two Masters, Goldoni Cincinnati Playhouse-In-The Park
1962 Heartbreak House, Shaw Cincinnati Playhouse-In-The Park
1962 No Exit, Sartre Cincinnati Playhouse-In-The Park
1962 The Lark, Anouilh/Hellman Cincinnati Playhouse-In-The Park
1962 Here Today, Gone Tomorrow, new play - Shapiro Cincinnati Playhouse-In-The Park
1962 Hamlet, Shakespeare Cincinnati Playhouse-In-The Park
1963 Photo Finish, Ustinov Chruchill, Bromley
1963 Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Laclos Frinton/Cambridge Arts
1964 La Traviata, Verdi Welsh National Opera Tour
1964 Die Fledermaus, Strauss Opera Players
1964 La Boheme, Puccini British Opera Company
1964 La Traviata, Verdi British Opera Company
1967 Busybody, Popplewell Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury
1967 Lady, Be Good, Gershwin Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury
1968 The Government Inspector, Gogol Theatre Royal, Lincoln
1968 A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, Sondheim Theatre Royal, Lincoln
1968 A Day In The Death of Joe Egg, Nichols Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury
1968 The Servant of Two Masters, Goldoni Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury
1968 The Misanthrope, Moliere Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury
1968 Dear Departed Mother In Law, Feydeau Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury
1969 Marriage Cameri Theatre, Tel Aviv, Israel
1970 Mandragola Haifa Theatre, Israel
1971 The House of Bernarda Alba, Lorca Khan Theatre, Jerusalem
1971 Asses, from Platus Haifa Theatre, Israel
1972 1001 Nights Tel Aviv
1972 The Persian Protocols, devised from The Book of Esther Khan Theatre, Jerusalem
1972 Woyzeck, Buchner Khan Theatre, Jerusalem
1973 One City, devised documentary about Jerusalem Khan Theatre, Jerusalem
1973 Fumed Oak, Coward / The Music Cure Shaw Khan Theatre, Jerusalem
1973 The Proposal/The Jubilee, Chekhov Khan Theatre, Jerusalem
1973 The Book of Jonah Israeli Television
1973 Two Hassidic Tales, Buber Israeli Television
1974 Offending The Audience, Handke Khan Theatre, Jerusalem
1974 The Servant of Two Masters, Goldoni Khan Theatre, Jerusalem
1975 The Cherry Orchard, Chekhov Khan Theatre, Jerusalem
1975 - 1977 Arabian Nights Trilogy, stories from the 10001 Nights Shared Experience, (Crucible, Sheffield)
1977 - 1978 Bleak House, 4-part production of novel by Dickens Shared Experience
1978 - 1979 Science Fictions, improvised clown show Shared Experience
1979 Cymbeline, Shakespeare Shared Experience
1981 The Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare Shared Experience
1981 The Seagull, Chekhov Shared Experience
1982 La Ronde, Schnitzler Shared Experience
1982 The Cherry Orchard, Chekhov Shared Experience
1982 A Handful of Dust, novel by Evelyn Waugh Shared Experience
1983 Suitcase Packers, an Israeli play by Hanoch Levine Cameri Theatre, Tel Aviv, Israel
1983 Le Theatre des Nations, Nancy Shared Experience - Performed at the Edinburgh Fringe in 1985
1983 The Comedy Without a Title, 4 plays by Ruzante Shared Experience
1983 False Admissions, Marivaux Shared Experience
1983 Successful Strategies, Marivaux Shared Experience
1984 Marriage, Gogol Shared Experience
1984 1001 Nights Theater der Stadt Heidelberg, Germany
1984 False Admissions, Marivaux Taragon Theatre, Toronto, Canada
1985 The Cherry Orchard, Chekhov Royal National Theatre (Best Director-BTA/DRAMA & Plays and Players Awards)
1986 The Three Sisters, Chekhov Shared Experience
1986 Too True To be Good, George Bernard Shaw Shared Experience
1986 Arabian Nights Nationale Scene, Bergen, Norway
1987 The Wandering Jew, novel by Eugene Sue Royal National Theatre
1987 Countrymania, Goldoni trilogy Royal National Theatre
1988 Blood Wedding, Lorca Tarragon Theatre, Toronto & Banff Centre, Canada
1988 A Streetcar Named Desire, Williams Tianjin People's Art Theatre, China
1989 Ghosts, Ibsen Beersheba Municipal Theatre, Israel
1990 The Miser, Molière Oxford Stage Company
1990 Trouble In Paradise, devised show. Talking Pictures
1991 The Seagull, Chekhov Oxford Stage Company
1991 Marriage, Gogol Theatre der Stadt Heidelberg, Germany
1991 The Country Wife, Wycherley Cambridge Theatre Company
1991 Lady Windermere's Fan, Oscar Wilde Cambridge Theatre Company
1992 The Revenger's Tragedy, Tourneur Cambridge Theatre Company
1992 The Game of Love and Chance, Marivaux Co-Director; Cambridge Theatre Company
1993 The Hypochondriac, Molière Cambridge Theatre Company
1993 The Dearly Beloved, new play by Philip Osment Cambridge Theatre Company
1993 A Flea In Her Ear, Feydeau Theatre Clwyd/West Yorkshire Playhouse
1993 Les Enfants Du Paradis, film of Carné & Prévert. Co-Director; Cambridge Theatre Co.
1994 A Handful of Dust, Evelyn Waugh Revival Cambridge Theatre Company
1994 Uncle Silas, novel by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu Cambridge Theatre Company
1994 Emma, novel by Jane Austen Cambridge Theatre Company
1995 What I Did In The Holidays, new play by Philip Osment Cambridge Theatre Company
1995 Jude The Obscure, novel by Thomas Hardy Method & Madness (Best Director TMA Awards)
1996 Private Lives, Noël Coward Method & Madness (Best Director TMA Awards)
1996 Flesh and Blood, new play by Philip Osment Method & Madness (Best Director TMA Awards)
1996 Ghosts, Ibsen Method & Madness
1997 The Winter's Tale, Shakespeare Method & Madness
1998 Cherry Orchard, Chekhov Method & Madness
1998 Demons & Dybbuks, stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer Method & Madness
1998 The Black Dahlia, novel by James Elroy Method & Madness
1999 Buried Alive, new play by Philip Osment Method & Madness
2000 Demons & Dybbuks, Bashevis Singer Cameri Theatre, Tel Aviv
2001 Buried Alive, Philip Osment Hampstead Theatre
2001 Cymbeline, Shakespeare Shakespeare's Globe
2002 Cymbeline, Shakespeare Brooklyn Academy of Music
2002 A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare Shakespeare's Globe
2002 The Comedy of Errors, Shakespeare Dartmouth College, New Hampshire
2003 Collateral Damage, on the Oklahoma City Bombing; devised with Osment LAMDA
2003 The Black Dahlia, novel by James Ellroy Yale Repertory Theater
2003 Collateral Damage LAMDA
2004 Twelfth Night, Shakespeare Rutgers University at Shakespeare's Globe
2004 Pedro, The Great Pretender, Cervantes Royal Shakespeare Company; The Swan
2005 Troilus and Cressida, Shakespeare Rutgers University at Shakespeare's Globe
2005 Pedro, The Great Pretender, Cervantes Royal Shakespeare Company; The Swan
2006 Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare Rutgers University at Shakespeare's Globe
2007 The Winter's Tale, Shakespeare Rutgers University at Shakespeare's Globe
2008 Cymbeline, Shakespeare Rutgers University at Shakespeare's Globe
2011 The Tin Ring, Zdenka Fantlova Erlich/Jane Arnfield Northern Stage/Lowry Centre/The Houses of Parliament/World Tour
2014 Blood Wedding, Lorca East 15 School of Acting
2014 The Comedy of Errors, Shakespeare Guildhall School of Music & Drama
2015 Twelfth Night, Shakespeare Guildhall School of Music & Drama
2016 Dealer's Choice, Patrick Marber Guildhall School of Music & Drama
2016 The Crucible, Miller Guildhall School of Music & Drama
2018 The Three Sisters, Chekhov Central School of Speech & Drama
2018 Year of Wonders, Geraldine Brooks Lowry Centre
2023 Five Characters in Search of a Good Night's Sleep, devised with the company Visible Theatre, Southwark Playhouse

Awards

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Bibliography (selection)

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  • A Shared experience: The actor as story-teller Series: Theatre papers. Published 1980 by Dartington College of Arts
  • The Wandering Jew by Michelene Wandor, Mike Alfreds. Published 27 May 1988 by Heinemann Educational Books.
  • Different Every Night: Freeing the Actor, Published 1 April 2008 by Nick Hern Books ISBN 978-1-85459-967-4
  • Then What Happens? Storytelling & Adapting for Theater. Published 2013 by Nick Hern Books, ISBN 978-1-84842-270-4 Published 21 August 2014 by Nick Hern Books.
  • The Surprise of Love by Pierre Carlet De Marivaux, translated by Mike Alfreds. Published 2011 by Oberon Books, ISBN 978-1-84943-183-5.
  • What Actors Do, Published 2024 by Nick Hern Books.

Books:

  • Different Every Night: Freeing the Actor, Nick Hern Books 2007. An account of his rehearsal processes with actors.
  • Then What Happens? Storytelling & Adapting for the Theatre, Nick Hern Books, 2013. An account of his work on material not originally conceived for the stage.
  • What Actors Do - Advice to the Players in Seven Paradoxes and a Manifesto, Nick Hern Books, 2024.

Translation:

  • The Surprise of Love by Marivaux, published by Oberon Books for The Theatre Royal Bath, 2011.

Adaptation:

  • The Wandering Jew, co-adapted with M. Wandor from the novel by Eugene Sue. Methuen, 1987.

Memberships

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  • Arts Council Drama Panel, 1981–1985
  • Working Party of Gulbenkian Foundation Enquiry into Director
  • Training and Report: "A Better Direction", 1987–1989
  • Management Committee of the Actors Centre, 1988
  • Director:  Board of Almeida Theatre, 1982–1989
  • Director:  Board of Shared Experience, 1975–1998
  • Director:  Board of David Glass Ensemble, 1990–1994
  • Director:  Board of Odyssey Theatre, 1992–1993
  • Member of Council:  Directors Guild of Great Britain, 1995–1996
  • Director:  Board of Unicorn Theatre for Children, 2000–2002
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