KAREN CARPENTER
DIRECTOR - PRODUCER - SCRIPT CONSULTANT
"Karen Carpenter has directed with flawless timing."
~The New York Times
KAREN CARPENTER
PRODUCER
PRODUCING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Inge Center for the Arts and the William Inge Theater Festival, Independence, KS
Karen lead the Inge Center for three years, after serving on the Festival board and directing lifetime achievement tributes for previous Inge Festivals for Arthur Kopit, David Henry Hwang, Donald Margulies, and the 100th birthday tribute to William Inge. Among her initiatives there: the addition of the New Play Lab, which gave over 70 new works and hundreds of artists their first exposure to Festival audiences; live-streaming of the Honoree's interview and peer panels through Howlround; partnerships with the Living Room and Kokopelli Theatres of Kansas City, to involve local artists of the region; partnerships with KCAIC and Kansas Health to secure and grow the Playwright Discovery Program for severely emotionally disturbed children; partnerships with the Kennedy Center and the Dramatists Guild to benefit the Playwright Residencies and Writers Write Here, Collegiate and High School 24 Hour Plays; and a new, intensive, two-year multi-disciplinary Theater curriculum for Independence Community College.
ASSOCIATE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
The Old Globe Theater, San Diego, CA
Artistic producer of over 40 plays and musicals, developed financial model and revived the summer Shakespeare Festival, expanded Playwright Discovery Project across the Mexican border, programmed an annual production of La Pastorela, rebranded the Carter Theater for premieres of contemporary fare, initiated hiring of local directors and designers. Representative sampling:
Compleat Female Stage Beauty by Jeffrey Hatcher, (Premiere), Mark Lamos, director
Don Juan*, adapted and directed by Stephen Wadsworth
Resurrection Blues* by Arthur Miller, Mark Lamos, director
The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow* by Rolin Jones, Kirsten Brandt, director
Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All, adapted by Martin Tahse, (Premiere), with Ellen Burstyn, Don Scardino, director,
Knowing Cairo by Andrea Stolowitz, (Premiere), Seret Scott, director
Pentecost* by David Edgar, Mark Lamos, director
Striking 12* (West Coast Premiere) by GrooveLily, Ted Sperling, director
Imaginary Friends* by Nora Ephron, music Marvin Hamlisch, (Premiere), with Swoosie Kurtz & Cherry Jones, Jack O'Brien, director
The Boswell Sisters* by Stuart Ross and Mark Hamilton, (Premiere), Stuart Ross, director
EVENTS PRODUCTION
Dazzle the District, Playhouse Square, Cleveland. Outdoor spectacle featuring a cast of 365 local performers,
including 2 marching bands, 4 choirs, 60 ballet, tap and break dancers, pyrotechnics and fireworks.
Deliver Now for Women & Children, (Global Launch), United Nations/W.H.O., starring Ricki Lake and Chaka Kahn,
featuring first all-female panel in the history of the United Nations.
Women of the Year Awards 20th Anniversary for Glamour Magazine, Carnegie Hall, Editor-in-Chief Cindi Leive, with Arianna Huffington, Diane Sawyer, Katie Couric, Mayor Bloomberg, Kate Hudson, Hilary Swank, Janet Jackson, Stanley Tucci, James Corden, Seth Myers, Chelsea Clinton, Ambassador Susan Rice, Anita Hill, Gabby Giffords, and Oprah Winfrey.
Million Women’s Heart Project (Summit and National Launch), at Urban Zen, N.Y. with Donna Karan, Deborah Roberts, Joni Evans, Pat Mitchell, Nancy Giles, Ali Wentworth, Tovah Feldshuh, Sarah Jones, Cady Huffman
Rin Tin Tin, by Susan Orlean (Book Launch), New York Film Festival, and art cinemas throughout the U.S.
Riot of Spring, (Writer and Director) Starring Roger Rees, with Kaleidescope Dance Company; Hear Art, See Music = Live, featuring artists Andre Miripolsky and Michael Arthur, conceived, staged and scripted for Your Concerts, Your Way, Indianapolis Symphony:
Upfront, The Star Wars, Cartoon Network, featuring George Lucas, at Terminal 51, New York, and the Skirball Center, L.A.
PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR/PROJECT MANAGER - representative sampling:
PM The Lion King (Broadway) Hudson Scenic Studio
PM Jekyll and Hyde (Broadway) Hudson Scenic Studio
PM The King and I (International Tour) Hudson Scenic Studio
PM Beauty and the Beast (South America tour) Hudson Scenic Studio
PM Tommy (South America tour) Hudson Scenic Studio
PS Venus by Suzan-Lori Parks (Premiere) The Public Theater/ Yale Rep, Richard Foreman, director
PS The Green Bird Theatre de la June Lune
PS Le Cirque Invisible Yale Rep, Victoria Chaplin, director
PS Ferno and Caged Mump and Smoot
PS Children of Paradise Theatre de la June Lune
Celebration of Teaching & Learning, Public Broadcasting System (PBS): Pier 51 and the Hilton, New York. featuring Dr. Oz, Brian Williams, Vice Pres. Al Gore, Cynthia McFadden, Walter Dean, Cory Booker
Clinton Global Initiative, special Production Coordinator to President Clinton, for all plenaries in the inaugural year, 2005, and 2006, 2007, Sheraton Hotel, New York
PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER
Broadway/Tours (New York, National and International)
PSM Les Misérables, Broadway and Marius companies, with Colm Wilkinson, et al
PSM Sunset Boulevard, with Betty Buckley
PSM Two Trains Running, by August Wilson, (Premiere), with Laurence Fishburne & Roscoe Lee Brown, Lloyd Richards, director
PSM The Piano Lesson, by August Wilson, (Premiere), with Roc Dutton, S. Epatha Merkerson, Lloyd Richards, director
PSM Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, by August Wilson, (Premiere), with Delroy Lindo and Angela Bassett, Lloyd Richards, director
PSM The Martha Graham Company, tour of Santa Fe, N.M., Aspen, C.O., and Nervi, Italy
Off-Broadway
SM Hang On to the Good Times, by Cryer & Ford, (Premiere), Richard Maltby, director, Manhattan Theater Club
SM Tales of Tinseltown, by Michael Colby, (Premiere), Rick Lombardo, director, New York Stage and Film
Williamstown Theatre Festival
5 seasons - selective credits:
PSM Closer Than Ever, by Richard Maltby and David Shire, (Premiere); Richard Maltby, Director
PSM Nora, with Michael York and Linda Purl; Michael Bloom, director
PSM The Seagull, with Gwyneth Paltrow, Blythe Danner, Christopher Walken; Michael Greif, director
Yale Repertory Theatre
6 seasons - selective credits:
PSM The America Play, by Suzan-Lori Parks, (Premiere), Liz Diamond, director
PSM Pentecost, by David Edgar, (American Premiere), Stan Wodjewodski, director
PSM Slavs! by Tony Kushner, (also for Center Stage, Baltimore) Lisa Peterson, director
PSM Cobb, by Lee Blessing, (Premiere), Lloyd Richards, director
Huntington Theatre Company
PSM 6 Seasons, 27 plays including Shaw, Shakespeare, Stoppard, Pinter, Wilson, Wasserstein, et al
~KC~