Mary Schmidt Campbell, dean of the Tisch School of the Arts, New York University, today announced that the British actor, director, and teacher Mark Wing-Davey has been named chair of and arts professor in the School s Graduate Acting Program. Wing-Davey will begin his appointment September 1, 2008.
Mary Schmidt Campbell, dean of the Tisch School of the Arts, New York University, today announced that the British actor, director, and teacher Mark Wing-Davey has been named chair of and arts professor in the Schools Graduate Acting Program. Wing-Davey will begin his appointment September 1, 2008. Zelda Fichandler, a National Medal of Arts winner who served as chair from 1984 to 2007, remains on faculty as artistic director of the Graduate Acting Program.
Mark Wing-Davey is a talented actor, accomplished director, and gifted teacher who has worked with many of the emerging and leading theatrical voices in the United States, said Dr. Campbell. He brings to the Graduate Acting Program a wealth of talent and experience in the theatre, not to mention an international reputation. We are delighted to welcome him to the Tisch School and the NYU community.
I would also like to take this opportunity to salute Zelda Fichandler, who has inspired the students and faculty of the Graduate Acting Program for over 25 years. I am deeply grateful that she will include the School and its alumni in her future plans for the creation of a new theatre company that will embody the ideals and vision that she has brought to the Tisch School.
Wing-Davey first came to prominence in the United States with his highly acclaimed, award-winning production of Caryl Churchills Mad Forest at New York Theatre Workshop. The 1992 production was nominated for numerous major awards, as well as earning him an OBIE Award as Outstanding Director.
An accomplished director of international stature and repute, he has had his work featured at Lincoln Center Theatre, American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, the New York Shakespeare Festival, and the Royal National Theatre in London. His 1996 production of Churchills The Skriker was nominated for six 1997 Drama Desk Awards including best director. This fall he will direct Sarah Ruhls Passion Play for Yale Repertory Theatre.
As a teacher, Wing-Davey was artistic director of the Central School of Speech and Drama in London where he originated Mad Forest. He has been a frequent visitor to the Graduate Acting Program since 1993, most recently directing Euripides Women of Troy in 2002. He has given master classes and workshops at Yale, Princeton, Columbia, and UC Berkeley, as well as at the Actors Center and the British American Drama Academy, both in London.
Wing-Davey earned an MA from Cambridge University, where he is an alumnus of Gonville and Caius College.