Art Manke

Art Manke is a nationally recognized stage director, choreographer, playwright and teacher. He has directed critically acclaimed productions of classics, musicals and new plays at South Coast Repertory, Pasadena Playhouse, Denver Center Theatre Company, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Mark Taper Forum, American Conservatory Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, California Shakespeare Theatre, Santa Cruz Shakespeare and Artists Repertory Theatre, among others. His work on new plays has included premieres and collaborations with Amy Freed, Lloyd Suh, David Rambo, Jeff Whitty, David Wiener, David Davalos and Itamar Moses. As a Co-Founding Artistic Director of A Noise Within, Manke oversaw more than fifty productions, regional touring and a full roster of  educational programs during the first ten seasons (1991-2001). He is a frequent guest lecturer at leading actor training programs including UC San Diego, The Old Globe/USD, University of North Carolina School of the Arts, the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, DC, and UC Irvine, among others. Manke has directed for television, and is the author of a stage adaptation of D.H. Lawrence’s Women in Love, written with Douglas Langworthy. A five-time winner of the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award, he holds an M.F.A. from the American Conservatory Theatre. He is a proud member of the Directors Guild of America, the Dramatists Guild and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.