Zelda Fichandler (née Diamond; September 18, 1924 – July 29, 2016) was an American stage producer,

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 educator.

Life and career

Zelda Fichandler came from a family that emigrated from Russia when she was an infant. Her father, Harry Diamond, was a brilliant scientist who created the

proximity fuse A Proximity Fuse (also VT fuse or "variable time fuze") is a fuse that detonates an explosive device automatically when it approaches within a certain distance of its target. Proximity fuses are designed for elusive military targets such as air ...

. Zelda started working in pursuing sciences until the day that she spilled

hydrochloric acid Hydrochloric acid, also known as muriatic acid or spirits of salt, is an aqueous solution of hydrogen chloride (HCl). It is a colorless solution with a distinctive pungency, pungent smell. It is classified as a acid strength, strong acid. It is ...

down her shirt and burned herself; she decided to pursue acting instead. At age 4, she moved from Boston area to

Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

as her father accepted a job at the

National Bureau of Standards The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce whose mission is to promote American innovation and industrial competitiveness. NIST's activities are organized into physical sc ...

. Aged 8, she performed as Helga in ''Helga and the White Peacock'' at the Rose Robison Cowen’s Studio for Children's Theatre. Zelda Diamond's husband, Thomas C. Fichandler (August 9, 1915 – March 16, 1997), along with Edward Mangum, a professor of theater at George Washington University and Zelda's teacher, cofounded the Arena Stage theatre in 1950 in Washington. It was the city's first integrated theater, she hired actors and performers regardless of race or color. In the 1950s this was a huge statement as segregation was the norm. The first location for the Arena was at the Hippodrome, at Ninth Street and New York Avenue NW in a tiny former art-film cinema. The first production the company staged, was Oliver Goldsmith’s eighteenth-century comedy, “She stoops to Conquer”. Her first play started out as simply a play for the sake and admiration for the arts, turned to more influential and statement making topics – such as racism – as they gained a reputation. A list of her earlier premiers that got her to that point include: ''She Stoops to Conquer'' (1950), ''The Great White Hope'' (1967), ''Indians'' (1969), ''Moonchildren'' (1971), ''Tintypes'' (1979). As time passed, the company developed a dedicated audience and it quickly outgrew its initial space. As audiences grew, the theatre moved to "The Old Vat Theatre" which the company created in an abandoned distillery on the Potomac riverside. Then they eventually went to a larger theatre complex to get even more room in order to house the company. Harry Weese, FAIA and legendary designer of Washington, D.C.'s Metro System and stations designed the purpose built theater complex on Maine Avenue in 1961 and added to in 1972. Zelda Fichandler served as Arena's artistic director from the theatre's inception until her retirement at the end of the 1990–91 season. During that time, Arena Stage became known as one of America's premier regional theatres. In 1961, she was able to direct Howard Sackler’s interracial drama “The Great White Hope,” which starred then-newcomers James Earl Jones and Jane Alexander. It was the first play to start as a regional theatre production, then transfer to Broadway. The Broadway performance won The Tony Award and the Best Pulitzer Prize for drama. The Arena Theatre Company in 1976 also won the Tony for Outstanding Regional Theatre. In 1973, the Arena became the first regional Theatre to be chosen by the US Department of state to perform in the Soviet Union. She showed her production of Inherit the Wind, a play beginning with a man who is thrown into jail for teaching evolution. Fichandler directed numerous plays at Arena Stage including ''

Death of a Salesman ''Death of a Salesman'' is a 1949 stage play written by the American playwright Arthur Miller. The play premiered on Broadway in February 1949, running for 742 performances. It is a two-act tragedy set in late 1940s Brooklyn told through a ...

'', ''

Uncle Vanya ''Uncle Vanya'' ( rus, Дя́дя Ва́ня, r=Dyádya Ványa, p=ˈdʲædʲə ˈvanʲə) is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1897, and first produced in 1899 by the Moscow Art Theatre, directed by Konstan ...

'', ''

A Doll's House ''A Doll's House'' (Danish language, Danish and ; also translated as ''A Doll House'') is a three-act Play (theatre), play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premiered at the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 De ...

'' and ''

Six Characters in Search of an Author ''Six Characters in Search of an Author'' ( ) is an Italian play by Luigi Pirandello, written and first performed in 1921. An absurdist metatheatric play about the relationship among authors, their characters, and theatre practitioners, it p ...

''. Several of her Arena Stage productions toured internationally, including '' Inherit the Wind'' and ''

The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by the American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay from 1692 to 1693. Miller wrote ...

''. From 1984 until 2009 Fichandler was chair of the graduate acting program and Master Teacher of Acting and Directing at the

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic, and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, as the School of the Arts at New York University, Tisch ...

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

. From 1991–94, she was artistic director of The Acting Company. "Fichandler’s directing is characterized by intensive study and preparation. She all but psychoanalyzes the character she is studying and physically describes the emotions of the characters onstage with the utmost clarity. That is why she was so remarked for her ability to bring the actors to that level of excellence in her productions." Her honors and awards include the Common Wealth Award for distinguished service in the dramatic arts (1985); the Helen Hayes Award for directing ''

'' (1988); and the

National Medal of Arts The National Medal of Arts is an award and title created by the United States Congress in 1984, for the purpose of honoring artists and Patronage, patrons of the arts. A prestigious American honor, it is the highest honor given to artists and ar ...

in 1996. She was inducted into the

American Theatre Hall of Fame American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

in 1999, the first artistic leader outside of New York to be so honored. In 2002, Zelda delivered The Americans for the Arts 15th Annual Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy at the Kennedy Center. In 2009, she received the Foremother Award from the National Center for Health Research Fichandler died in her home on July 29, 2016, in Washington, D.C., due to complications from congestive

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...

. She was 91 years old.

Quote

"There is a hunger to see the human presence acted out. As long as that need remains, people will find a way to do theater."Quotation
thinkexist.com

References

External links/sources

NYU Tisch School of the Arts website; accessed June 16, 2014.

nytimes.com, December 1, 1985.

washingtonpost.com; accessed July 26, 2015.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fichandler, Zelda 1924 births 2016 deaths American theatre directors American theatre managers and producers United States National Medal of Arts recipients Tisch School of the Arts faculty People from Washington, D.C. Cornell University alumni Soviet emigrants to the United States American women theatre directors American women theatre managers and producers

Life and career

Quote

References

Further reading

External links/sources