Rebecca Taichman is an American theatre director. In 2017, she received the

Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play The Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play has been given since 1960. Before 1960 there was only one award for both play direction and musical direction, then in 1960 the award was split into two categories: ''Dramatic'' and ''Musical''. In 1976 ...

for ''

Indecent Inappropriateness refers to standards or ethics that are typically viewed as being negative in a society. It differs from things that are illicit in that inappropriate behavior does not necessarily have any accompanying legal ramifications. Co ...

''.

Life and career

Taichman attended

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Univer ...

, Montreal, and graduated from the

Yale School of Drama The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University is a graduate professional school of Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1924 as the Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts, the school provides training in e ...

. She was the associate artistic director at the Woolly Mammoth Theater in Washington, D.C. for two years. She is an affiliated artist at the

Shakespeare Theatre Company The Shakespeare Theatre Company is a regional theatre company located in Washington, D.C. The theatre company focuses primarily on plays from the Shakespeare canon, but its seasons include works by other classic playwrights such as Euripides, ...

in D.C, where she has directed ''

Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunke ...

'', ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vi ...

'' (2008), ''The Winter's Tale'' and ''

Cymbeline ''Cymbeline'' , also known as ''The Tragedie of Cymbeline'' or ''Cymbeline, King of Britain'', is a play by William Shakespeare set in Ancient Britain () and based on legends that formed part of the Matter of Britain concerning the early Celti ...

'' (2011). The ''Washington Post'' reviewer wrote of her work: "Taichman has a proven knack for framing difficult plays in tantalizing ways. Her saucy, la dolce vita ''The Taming of the Shrew'' in 2007 remains one of the smartest nights of Shakespeare the company has offered."Onofri, Adrienne
"BWW Interview: A Women's History Month Special with 'Familiar' Director Rebecca Taichman"
broadwayworld.com, March 23, 2016 ''Playbill'' noted that Taichman cannot be put in a category: "...her career is marked by an eclectic range of works—from new plays to outdoor operas. Taichman said that 'The end goal of it all...is to open people’s hearts.' ” She has directed several

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

plays at the

McCarter Theatre McCarter Theatre Center is a not-for-profit, professional company on the campus of Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey. The institution is currently led by Artistic Director Sarah Rasmussen and Managing Director Michael S. Rosenberg. ...

, Princeton. New Jersey, including ''

The Winter’s Tale ''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some cr ...

'' in 2013. She said: "With Shakespeare, there's obviously no playwright telling me what he wants to see or how he wants to see it. In a sense, it's extremely liberating, if also lonely. When directing Shakespeare, I'm looking for my deepest, most authentic possible connection to the play and trusting that way in."

Work (selected) as stage director

Sources: Internet Off-Broadway Database; Internet Broadway Database * ''

Dead Man's Cell Phone ''Dead Man's Cell Phone'' is a play by Sarah Ruhl. It explores the paradox of modern technology's ability to both unite and isolate people in the digital age. The play was awarded a Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding New Play. Productions The p ...

'' by

Sarah Ruhl Sarah Ruhl (born January 24, 1974) is an American playwright, professor, and essayist. Among her most popular plays are ''Eurydice'' (2003), ''The Clean House'' (2004), and ''In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play)'' (2009). She has been the reci ...

, 2007 at Woolly Mammoth Theater, DC (world premiere) * '' The Scene'' by

Theresa Rebeck Theresa Rebeck (born February 19, 1958) is an American playwright, television writer, and novelist. Her work has appeared on the Broadway and Off-Broadway stage, in film, and on television. Among her awards are the Mystery Writers of America's ...

, 2007 at

Second Stage Theatre Second Stage Theater is a theater company founded in 1979 by Robyn Goodman and Carole Rothman and located in Manhattan, New York City. It produces both new plays and revivals of contemporary American plays by new playwrights and established wri ...

* ''The Evildoers'' by

David Adjmi David Adjmi (born 1973) is an American playwright. He is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Whiting Award, the inaugural Steinberg Playwright Award, a Bush Artists Fellowship, and the Kesselring Prize for Drama. Life Adjmi grew up in a S ...

, 2008 at Yale Repertory Theatre * ''Orlando'' by Sarah Ruhl, 2010 at CSC Theatre * ''Milk Like Sugar'' by

Kirsten Greenidge Kirsten Greenidge is an American playwright. Her plays are known for their realistic language and focus on social issues such as the intersectionality of race, gender, and class. Her sister is the historian Kerri Greenidge. Career Greenidge ha ...

, 2011 at

Playwrights Horizons Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work. Under the ...

* ''Luck of the Irish'' by Kirsten Greenidge, 2013 at Claire Tow Theater (

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 milli ...

) * ''Marie Antoinette'' by

, 2013 at Soho Repertory Theatre * ''Stage Kiss'' by Sarah Ruhl, 2014 at Playwrights Horizons * ''The Oldest Boy'' by Sarah Ruhl, 2014 at Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater (Lincoln Center) * '' Familiar'' by Danai Gurira, 2016 at Playwrights Horizons * ''Indecent'' by Paula Vogel and Taichman, 2016 at Vineyard Theatre and 2017,

Cort Theatre The James Earl Jones Theatre, originally the Cort Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 138 West 48th Street, between Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue, in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States. It was built in ...

(Broadway) * ''How to Transcend a Happy Marriage'' by Sarah Ruhl, 2017 at Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater * '' Time and the Conways'' by

J.B. Priestley John Boynton Priestley (; 13 September 1894 – 14 August 1984) was an English novelist, playwright, screenwriter, broadcaster and social commentator. His Yorkshire background is reflected in much of his fiction, notably in '' The Good Comp ...

, 2014 at the Old Globe Theatre, San Diego; 2017 at

American Airlines Theatre The American Airlines Theatre, originally the Selwyn Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 227 West 42nd Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Built in 1918, it was designed by George Keister and developed by br ...

(Broadway revival) * ''School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play'' by Jocelyn Bioh, November 2017 at Lucille Lortel Theatre

Work as opera director

* ''Dark Sisters'' by Nico Muhly, 2011 produced by Gotham Chamber Opera * ''Orpheus'' by Telemann, 2012 at

New York City Opera The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through 2013 (when it filed for bankruptcy), and again since 2016 when it was revived. The opera company, du ...

Awards and nominations

* ''Indecent'' — 2017 Lucille Lortel Awards nomination, Outstanding Director; 2017

Outer Critics Circle Award The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. They are presented by the Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of New York theater writers for out-of-town newsp ...

nomination, Outstanding Director of a Play; 2017

Obie Award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the ...

, Directing;"Awards 2017"
obieawards.com, retrieved September 29, 2017 2017 Tony Award Best Direction of a Play winner * ''The Scene'' — 2007 Joseph A. Callaway Award nomination

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taichman, Rebecca Living people American theatre directors Place of birth missing (living people) Tony Award winners MacDowell Colony fellows Women theatre directors Henry Crown Fellows Year of birth missing (living people)