Shakespeare Theatre Company Announces Final MICHAEL KAHN AND FRIENDS: OFF THE RECORD Event

Shakespeare Theatre Company's Artistic Director Michael Kahn invites theatre-lovers to the final evening of intimate conversations about his career in D.C. as he prepares to step down as Artistic Director. Open, unrehearsed and off the record, invited speakers will swap anecdotes and share memories about Michael Kahn's 33 years directing at the Shakespeare Theatre Company. This final Michael Kahn and Friends: Off the Record will focus primarily on the expansion of the Shakespeare Theatre Company in its largest home: Sidney Harman Hall (2007-2019).

On June 3, audiences are invited to join Michael and STC Affiliated Artists: Nancy Robinette, DAVID MUSE and Veanne Cox with moderator Tom Story as they discuss their favorite performances onstage, backstage antics and offstage tales. In October 2007, after three years of construction, Sidney Harman Hall opened with a sold-out gala celebration. Sidney Harman Hall features 761 seats and a flexible stage design for a variety of performances.

Since the start of his tenure as Artistic Director in 1986, Michael Kahn has directed 68 productions at STC, received 28 awards for his artistry and leadership and steered the Company to the 2012 Regional Theatre Tony Award. In 1991 he inaugurated the Free For All, which brings an STC production to audiences completely free of charge each year and has reached 690,000 patrons. He also created the Academy for Classical Acting, an MFA program in partnership with The George Washington University. Since the 1960s Kahn's work has appeared on Broadway, Off-Broadway and in theatres around the United States, in addition to Athens, Cairo, Stratford upon-Avon and Adelaide. He has directed productions for the Houston, Dallas, San Francisco, Washington National and New York City Center Opera companies. Previously Artistic Director of the McCarter Theatre Center, the American Shakespeare Festival, The Acting Company and Chautauqua Theatre and Conservatory, he was a founding faculty member of the Drama Division of The Juilliard School and served as the Richard Rodgers Director of Drama for 15 years. He has also been on the faculties of New York University and the Circle in the Square Theatre School. Honored by numerous awards, including a Tony Award Nomination for Show Boat, Kahn was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame and was recognized as an Honorary Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (C.B.E.) in 2013.

For his final production at Shakespeare Theatre Company, Michael Kahn has brought in a stunning women-led creative team of the foremost theatrical professionals to craft his grand finale. Wishing to stage Aeschylus' Oresteia since his undergraduate years, Michael has been developing this production for several years with acclaimed playwright Ellen McLaughlin and a core cast of devoted actors, including several familiar STC actors.

Please see the website for more information: http://www.shakespearetheatre.org/events/oresteia-18-19/