Leonora and Alejandro: La Maga y el Maestro

Stacy Klein founded Double Edge Theatre in 1982 and, under her 35 years of leadership, the company has grown into one of the foremost ensemble theatres and theatre centers in the US. Klein has conceived and directed four original performance cycles, which have earned her international recognition for daring and innovation. In 2013, she was honored with a Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, given to artists of profound influence on the field in this country. Likewise, her work in developing the concept of “living culture,” a term categorizing engagement of communities in the creation of art and culture, has been groundbreaking. Klein’s most recent performance creation, Once a Blue Moon – Cada Luna Azul, premiered at Double Edge’s Center in 2015, and has toured in different manifestations to Jamaica Plain, MA (2016) and Springfield, MA (2016). This performance is part of the Latin American Cycle, Klein’s 5th Double Edge Cycle, and she is presently working on its signature indoor performance set to premiere in 2018/19. Klein conceived and directed The Grand Parade, part of the Chagall Cycle, which premiered at Arena Stage (Washington, DC) in February 2013, followed by tours to The Golden Mask Festival, Moscow (2013), the Redfern Performing Arts Center, New Hampshire (2015); the Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans (2015); ArtsEmerson’s Paramount Center, Boston (2015); Brygga Kultursal, Norway (2015); the PIT Festival, Norway (2015); and Peak Performances @ Montclair State University (2016).

Beginning in 2002, Klein began directing an annual Summer Spectacle series: indoor/outdoor traveling performances that take place throughout the grounds of the Farm Center, drawing on classic novels and legends, and using larger-than-life puppetry, live music, and street theatre techniques to bring audiences on a literal and figurative journey. Recent Spectacles include The Illustrious Return of Don Quixote, The Firebird, The Odyssey, and Shahrazad, A Tale of Love and Magic. These Spectacles have begun touring to engage other communities, including The Odyssey/Shahrazad in Halden, Norway and Amherst, Massachusetts, and The Odyssey at College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine.

Klein’s other projects include the International Womyn’s Theatre Festivals in Boston (1980–81), the US/Latin American Spiral Mirror Project (1996–2001), the summer Ex-CHANGE Program (2002–2004), and, with Poland’s Gardzienice Theatre, the International Consortium for Theatre Practices (1999–2001). The Conversations Series, convened with Philip Arnoult (2006-2010), brought internationally renowned artists, writers, and thinkers to the Farm for wide-ranging discussions, broadcast live over the internet. Klein’s methodology has been profiled in New Theatre Quarterly, American Theater, Theater Heute, TheatreForum, and TDR, and she has written for Theater Topics and The Open Page. Klein received the Outstanding Career Achievement Award from Tufts University (2014), the OTTO award (2006), the MCC Artist Award (1999), an InRoads grant (1998), and was a Mentor in the New Generations Mentorship Program. She holds a PhD in Theatre History and Criticism from Tufts University, an MA in Political Theatre Education from Goddard College, and a BFA in Directing from Boston University.