Barbara Vann (December 12, 1938 - August 26, 2015) was an American

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

and actor, best known for co-founding the Off-Off-Broadway company the Medicine Show Theater Ensemble, one of the longest continually running

experimental theater Experimental theatre (also known as avant-garde theatre), inspired largely by Wagner's concept of Gesamtkunstwerk, began in Western theatre in the late 19th century with Alfred Jarry and his Ubu plays as a rejection of both the age in particular ...

companies in New York City. She was also a founding member of The Open Theater, an early, New York City-based experimental theater group.

Biography

Vann was born Barbara Kutner in 1938 in Brooklyn, and graduated from

Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in South Hadley, Massachusetts, United States. It is the oldest member of the h ...

in 1959. In 1962, Vann and about 20 other former students of acting teacher

Nola Chilton Nola Chilton (; 12 February 1922 – 8 October 2021) was an American-born Israeli theater director and acting teacher. She was a pioneer of socially engaged theater in Israel. In 2013, Chilton was awarded the Israel Prize for theater. Biograph ...

, along with director

Joseph Chaikin Joseph Chaikin (September 16, 1935 – June 22, 2003) was an American theatre director, actor, playwright, and pedagogue. Early life and education The youngest of five children, Chaikin was born to a poor Jewish family living in the Borough Pa ...

, founded The Open Theater, under Chaikin's direction. After The Open Theater dissolved in 1970, she founded The Medicine Show Theatre Ensemble with fellow Open Theater member, James Barbosa, who died in 2003. Vann led the Medicine Show Theatre Ensemble for 45 years until her death in August 2015. At the Medicine Show Theatre, Vann directed ''Bound to Rise'', based on the Horatio Alger story, which led to a 1985 Obie Award in direction. She also contributed reworkings of Alfred Jarry's ''Ubu'' plays; a stage adaption of James Joyce's ''Finnegans Wake''; a translation of Jean Genet's ''The Balcony''; and the original vaudeville piece, "Mr. Shakespeare and Mr. Porter", which incorporated Cole Porter songs into Shakespearean tragedies. She published a series of workshop videos demonstrating the experimental techniques developed for the Medicine Show Theatre Ensemble. Vann directed a 1991 production of E. E. Cummings' play ''Him'' starring John McIlveen, Cori Thomas, and Norton Banks. In addition to her Off-Off-Broadway credits, Vann also directed the live short ''Gandhi, Untouchables and Me ''in 2015 and provided voice talent in the 2014 animated short, ''Privy.'' Vann taught at

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

and

Colgate University Colgate University is a Private university, private college in Hamilton, New York, United States. The Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York ...

. She also taught and led master classes at more than 80 universities in North America and on five European tours. Barbara Vann died on August 26, 2015. She was survived by her daughter, Regan and two grandchildren.

Awards

Barbara Vann was the recipient of the 1985

Obie Award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given since 1956 by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theater artists and groups involved in off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway productions in New York City. Starting just after th ...

for Direction, which she received for her work on the production, ''Bound to Rise'', based on the Horatio Alger story.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vann, Barbara 1938 births 2015 deaths American theatre directors American women theatre directors Artists from New York City Mount Holyoke College alumni