Bob Krakower - Theatre

Theatre

For his first professional experience, Krakower applied for a position as a stage management intern at the famed American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, California. In another lucky break, he was hired as an employee after the theatre had an internal misunderstanding and took on more interns than they needed. The company's founder and Artistic Director (William Ball) and the Conservatory Director (famed acting teacher Allen Fletcher), took their new employee under their wing. By the age of 24, Krakower was teaching first year graduate acting, directing projects, and most impressively, held the title of Associate Director of the Conservatory, making him the youngest person to hold that post at a major Theatre Conservatory in the United States.

When Allen Fletcher left A.C.T., he asked Krakower to go with him. Together they started the National Theatre Conservatory, a graduate program created by Act of Congress and Presidential designation in association with the American National Theatre and Academy. Fletcher died at the end of the first year, and Krakower returned to the East Coast, mourning his mentor. But it was not long before he was involved with yet another landmark institution: a few months later, Jon Jory, Producing Director of the Tony Award winning Actors Theatre of Louisville, asked him to come to the theatre and revive its Student Company. For six years, Bob was the Director of Actor Training and Master Acting Teacher, shepherding the school into the national spotlight. In a 1988 exchange program, he taught with the Moscow Art Theatre's famed Studio Chelovek . Along with Jory and Michael Bigelow Dixon, he was also a creative force behind the bi-yearly Shorts Festivals of New American Plays, producing and/or directing over 100 plays at the theatre by writers such as Howard Korder, Lanford Wilson, Jane Anderson, and Jane Martin, among many others. As a Resident Director, he helmed several productions, including the first regional productions of David Mamet's "Speed-The-Plow" and Craig Lucas' "Prelude To A Kiss."

While at Louisville, he remained involved with his own San Francisco-based theatre company, "Encore" (winner of several Bay Area Theatre Awards for Acting, including Best Ensemble), serving as a founding member, actor, and Artistic Director. Mr. Krakower directed two of the company's most critically acclaimed productions: the sold-out runs of Howard Korder's "Boys Life," and Chekhov's "The Three Sisters." During this time, he also served as Guest Director/Teacher for the Atlantic Theatre Company (founded by David Mamet & William H. Macy). He directed original productions, including Steven Dietz's "Trust," starring Kristen Johnston. In 1996-97, he took over as Director of the Atlantic Theatre Company Acting School, running both the Professional and NYU Undergraduate Divisions. He has been on staff and guest-taught for (among many others), NYU, the Stella Adler Conservatory, The Howard Fine Studio, and The Actor's Center in New York, where he joined Earl Gister (Yale), Lloyd Richards (Broadway), and J. Michael Miller (NYU) as a Founding Faculty Member.