DIRECTING EXPERIENCE:
SJ "Shakespeare on the Square" Fest. 2011 Much Ado About Nothing Theatre on San Pedro Square Directed by David Koppel 2009 A Midsummer Night's Dream Theatre on San Pedro Square Directed by David Koppel 2008 Twelfth Night Theatre on San Pedro Square Directed by David Koppel 2006 As You Like It Altarena Playhouse Directed by David Koppel ARCLIGHT REPERTORY THEATRE & San Jose "Shakespeare on the Square" Festival 2016 Brutal Mandate by Craig Pettigrew Directed by David Koppel Cafe Stritch - San Jose 2012 Stuff Happens by David Hare San Pedro Square Market Theatre Directed by Jenny Hollingworth 2011 Much Ado About Nothing Directed by David Koppel Theatre on San Pedro Square San Jose 2011 Strange Times: Sparklight One Act Festival Directed by Jenny Hollingworth Theatre on San Pedro Square San Jose 2011 The Zahsman Murders by Jim Colgan Directed by Jenny Hollingworth WORKS/SAN JOSE 2010 The Taming of the Shrew Directed by Kristin Clippard Theatre on San Pedro Square San Jose 2010 Take A Walk on the Wild Side: Sparklight One Act Festival Directed by Jenny Hollingworth Lincoln Glen Church, San Jose 2010 Persimmons in Winter by Vivian Keh Directed by David Koppel Castellano Playhouse 2009 The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later by Moises Kaufman Directed by David Koppel City Lights Theater / San Jose 2009 Hamlet: A Radio Play Directed & Adapted by Jenny Hollingworth Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library San Jose 2008 Twelfth Night Directed by David Koppel Theatre on San Pedro Square San Jose 2007 Measure for Measure Directed by Donna Foley Theatre on San Pedro Square San Jose 2006 As You Like It Directed by David Koppel Altarena Playhouse / Alameda ___________________________________ REVIEWS: SJ SHAKESPEARE ON THE SQUARE FEST. 'Twelfth Night': a multicultural, lively romp By Karen D'Souza / Mercury News / 06/10/2008 "SHAKESPEARE ON THE SQUARE IS OFF TO A PROMISING START" "David Koppel's spirited production maintains the purity of the verse but dots the text with nods to the ancient....The director also evokes the sensuality of India in graceful sitar riffs (music by Bob Crabb), gossamer silks (costumes by Alyssa Lichtenstein) and sandstone friezes (sets by Gavin O. Takase-Sanchez). "TAMING OF THE SHREWISH SHAKESPEAREAN HONEYMOONERS" By Karen D'Souza / Mercury News / 5-26-10 Katharina sports bobby sox and a string of pearls, Petruchio is a John Wayne-style cowboy, and Hortensio is a beat poet with a goatee in Arclight Repertory Theatre's cheeky "The Taming of the Shrew." Shakespeare gets mashed up with a cheesy '50s TV sitcom as part of the Third Annual Shakespeare on the Square Festival. It's high time San Jose had its own Shakespeare festival, and with "Shrew," Arclight Rep strikes a nice balance between ambition and accessibility. Directed with whimsy by Kristin Clippard, the production is framed by a massive, old-fashioned TV set. Before the show and during the intermission, the audience is regaled with vintage commercials and ad jingles that set the tone of the Eisenhower era. "Often-delightful 'Midsummer Night's Dream' kicks off Shakespeare on the Square" By Colin Seymour / Mercury News / 06/14/2009 A romantic trip to Chichen Itza is the often-delightful result of Arclight Repertory Theatre's marriage with the Mexican Heritage Corporation. The collaborators have given Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" a Mayan love quadrangle, Mayan "rude mechanicals'' and Puck — the rudest Mayan you'll ever encounter. They coalesce persuasively at the Shakespeare on the Square Festival in downtown San Jose, as the Ushmal variety of fairy spellbinding enhances the familiar charms of one of literature's most beloved comedies. ...Anyone who doesn't think Shakespeare would have loved seeing these characters thus portrayed doesn't understand the transmutability of his art. Taking The Bard's Measure, Arclight Rep finds revelations in a problem play By Marianne Messina BRAVO to Arclight Repertory Theatre not only for giving downtown San Jose summer Shakespeare without the commute but also for taking on one of Shakespeare's "problem" children, Measure for Measure. Pushing creatively on the text, Arclight's production adds revelation between the spoken lines, which makes it full of surprises: a bluesy ballad to open Act 2, a woman in the role of Escalus (Carrie Madsen) and an interesting call regarding the duke's marriage proposal to Isabella. The play starts out with abuse of power and hypocrisy, but comes to rest at forgiveness—and Arclight's touching ending, a kind of bonus dumb show, gives this problem play a soft landing. 
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FEATURE ARTICLES:
PERSIMMONS IN WINTER Playwright Vivian Keh tells the story of her mother's generation with her world-premiere play 'Persimmons in Winter' By Heather Zimmerman / Mercury News / 02/22/2010 Major world events shape the lives in the characters in Persimmons in Winter, but the play tells of a part of history that may not be well known in the United States. Many families' histories, including that of the playwright, Vivian Sung Soon Keh, are woven into the story of two Korean sisters who look to build new lives in the United States following the Korean War. Arclight Repertory Theatre presents the play in its world premiere through Feb. 28 at MACLA, 510 S. First St., San Jose. Keh is a Los Angeles-based playwright. She and Arclight Rep's co-founder and artistic director David Koppel attended graduate school together at the Yale School of Drama. In fact, it was there, about 10 years ago, that Keh wrote the first draft of the play that would become Persimmons in Winter. THE LARAMIE PROJECT: 10 YEARS LATER Nationwide readings of 'Laramie Project' invite conversation on killing of gay college studentBy Karen D'Souza / Mercury News / 10/04/2009 During the Depression, theaters across the country banded together for simultaneous productions of hard-hitting dramas probing pressing issues. Now, as the United States claws its way out of the worst economic crisis since those dark days, theaters nationwide are once again joining forces to stage a provocative docudrama on the same night. On Oct. 12, the epilogue to the "Laramie Project" — the story of gay college student Matthew Shepard's grisly 1998 murder as told through the eyes of the small Wyoming town's people — will make its simultaneous debut at about 150 theaters from San Jose to New York.Local staged readings of "The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later" include San Jose's City Lights Theater Company and Arclight Repertory Theatre; Berkeley Repertory Theatre; San Francisco's Magic Theatre; Crystal Springs Theatre in San Mateo; and Pisces Moon in Santa Cruz. Once again, the theater will serve as national town hall where people gather to ponder controversial issues in a time of crisis. __________________________________________________________ ACTING TRAINING Master Acting Teacher: Earle R. Gister Fundamentals of Asian Stage Discipline: Philip Zarrilli Voice: Ruth Rootberg, Karen Ryker (Kristin Linklater Technique) Speech/Shakespeare: Karen Ryker (Shakespeare & Co.) Barbara Somerville (Edith Skinner Method) David Chambers Movement: Wesley Fata Stage Combat: Dale Girard (Armed and Unarmed) Singing: Cara Latham 
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WESTERN STAGE'S 2016 PRODUCTION OF SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION
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