May Adrales Receives The Alan Schneider Director Award

Milwaukee Repertory Theater's Associate Artistic Director May Adrales is the recipient of this year's Alan Schneider Director Award. The award was presented late yesterday at Theatre Communications Group's national conference in St. Louis, MS. The award is designed to identify and assist exceptional directors whose talent has been demonstrated through work in specific regions, but who may not be well known nationally. With it comes a cash prize of $7,500, which may be used for travel, research or other activities specifically focused on the directing craft or related career opportunities.

May Adrales joined Milwaukee Rep as Associate Artistic Director in 2016 directing past season's The Who & The What and Animal Farm. This fall she is directing the much-anticipated musical In The Heights which is a co-production with Seattle Repertory Theater and Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. Adrales has worked nationally, primarily directing new plays including Qui Nguyen's award-winning Vietgone (Manhattan Theatre Club, South Coast Rep, Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Seattle Rep), JC Lee's Luce (LCT3), Katori Hall's Whaddabloodclot!!! (Williamstown Theatre Festival), A. Rey Pamatmat's Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them (Actors Theatre of Louisville), Thomas Bradshaw's Mary (The Goodman Theatre), The Bereaved (Partial Comfort Productions), In This House (Two River Theater Company), Richard Dresser's Trouble Cometh (SF Playhouse), Qui Nguyen's Five Days 'Til Saturday (NYU Tisch) and Tommy Smith's The Wife (Access Theater). She is currently at Oregon Shakespeare Festival directing Idris Goodwin's The Way the Mountain Moved.

The Alan Schneider Director Award was established in honor of Alan Schneider's significant contribution to the American theatre and his lifelong concern for the development of career opportunities for freelance directors. A prolific director and mentor, Alan Schneider was responsible for over one hundred productions in the American theatre, introducing American audiences to playwrights such as Samuel Beckett (Schneider directed the 1956 American premiere of Waiting for Godot); Edward Albee (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?); Michael Weller (Moonchildren and Loose Ends); Harold Pinter (The Birthday Party, The Dumb Waiter and The Collection); and Bertolt Brecht (The Caucasian Chalk Circle). Schneider taught at Catholic University, the Juilliard School, and the University of California at San Diego; was associated with Arena Stage for thirty years; was the co-artistic director of The Acting Company; and at the time of his death was the president of the Board of Directors for Theatre Communications Group. Following his death in a 1984 London traffic accident, the Alan Schneider Memorial Fund was established by TCG, The Acting Company and the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers. Proceeds from the Fund go to the Alan Schneider Director Award, which provides national visibility to the recipient as well as a grant to support activities specifically tied to the development of the craft of directing.

For more information about Milwaukee Repertory Theater, please visit www.MilwaukeeRep.com

Milwaukee, WI Awards - Live Stats

Best Musical - Top 3

1. SISTER ACT (Skylight Music Theatre)

16.8% of votes

2. HAIRSPRAY (Lakeside Players Inc/Rhode Center for the Arts)

16.2% of votes

3. ANASTASIA (Lakeside Players)

7.6% of votes

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