Schneider, Alan, 1917-1984

Variant names

Hide Profile

Director Alan Schneider was born Abram Leopoldovich Schneider in Kharkov Russia on December 12, 1917 (There is some confusion surrounding the date--the true date being December 11.) He arrived in New York with his parents, Leopold Victorovich Schneider and Rebecka Samilovna Malkin Schneider, both physicians, on July 4, 1923 and spent his childhood in Maryland where his parents worked in tuberculosis sanatoriums. Mr. Schneider received a B.A. magna cum laude in political Science from the University of Wisconsin in 1939 and an M.A. in Dramatic Literature from Cornell University in 1941.

He began his professional career as a teacher and director at Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. in 1941. He served on the faculty (with Walter Kerr) for eleven years and received his first professional directing assignment there for a production of William Saroyan's Jim Dandy . During World War II, he worked for various government agencies and acted in a Broadway flop called Storm Operation by Maxwell Anderson in 1944.

Mr. Schneider maintained a lifelong interest in theater education, subsequently teaching at Boston University, ca. 1970, the Juilliard Theatre Center from 1976-1979, and the University of California, San Diego where he was head of the Graduate Directing Program from 1979 to 1984. His first New York production was A Long Way from Home by Maxim Gorki, adapted by Randolph Goodman and Walter Carroll, which opened at Maxine Elliott's Theatre on February 8, 1948. The only director to receive a Tony Award ( Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, (1963) and an Obie Award ( The Dumb Waiter and The Collection, 1963) in the same year, Mr. Schneider directed well over one hundred works, including the original American productions of such playwrights as Samuel Beckett, Harold Pinter, Edward Albee, Robert Anderson, Joe Orton, and Michael Weller. In addition to the New York theater, he was active in regional theater, especially in his association with The Acting Company and as artistic director of the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. (1951-1953, 1961-1963 and 1973). For the proposed Ithaca Festival, he served as artistic director from 1963 to 1968. Mr. Schneider received several international prizes for his work on Samuel Beckett's Film (1964). He also directed for television.

Mr. Schneider traveled extensively in his professional capacity, especially in Eastern Europe and Russia and also directed productions in England and Israel. In 1949, he received a Rockefeller Foundation grant for a study of European theater and traveled to Eastern Europe as a cultural representative for the U.S. State Department. He toured the U.S.S.R. in1973 with the Arena Stage production of Thornton Wilder's Our Town and was also the U.S. delegate of the International Theatre Institute that year.

He married Eugenie Muckle in 1953; they had a daughter, Viveca and a son, David. Alan Schneider died May 3, 1984 in London from head injuries suffered when he was hit by a motorcycle.

At the time of his death, Mr. Schneider served as the president of Theatre Communications Group and had just completed the first volume of his autobiography, Entrances: An American Director's Journey, published posthumously by Viking in 1986.

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Lucille Lortel papers The New York Public Library. Billy Rose Theatre Division.
creatorOf Two by Samuel Beckett / by Samuel Beckett - reviews and articles University of Guelph. McLaughlin Library
creatorOf Schneider, Alan. Alan Schneider papers, 1923-1984. New York Public Library System, NYPL
referencedIn National Endowment for the Arts. Theatre Advisory Panel. Notebooks, 1976-1978. Wisconsin Historical Society, Newspaper Project
referencedIn Albee, Edward, 1928-. Reminiscences of Edward Albee and Alan Schneider : oral history, [1960-1961?]. Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
referencedIn Moody, Richard, 1911-1996. Moody mss. : papers, 1934-1990. Indiana University
creatorOf Alan Schneider Papers University of California, San Diego, UC San Diego Library; UCSD Library
creatorOf Alan Schneider Papers Wisconsin Historical Society, Newspaper Project
referencedIn Alan Schneider Papers Mandeville Special Collections Library
creatorOf Schneider, Alan, 1917-1984, collector. Alan Schneider theater programs, 1941-1973 Houghton Library
creatorOf Two by Samuel Beckett / Krapp's Last Tape / Not I / directed by Alan Schneider - house program University of Guelph. McLaughlin Library
referencedIn New York Times Company records. A.M. Rosenthal papers, 1955-1994, 1967-1986 New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
referencedIn Kerr, Walter F., 1913-1966. Walter and Jean Kerr papers, circa 1920-1993. Wisconsin Historical Society, Newspaper Project
creatorOf Samuel Beckett Collection Boston College. John J. Burns Library
referencedIn Rabb, Ellis. Ellis Rabb papers, 1930-1995 and undated. New York Public Library System, NYPL
referencedIn Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy Papers Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
creatorOf Schneider, Will. Studio one-- "The years in between" / by Will Schneider and Herman Goldberg. Bowling Green State University, BGSU Libraries
referencedIn Frederick Brisson papers, 1934-1984 The New York Public Library. Billy Rose Theatre Division.
creatorOf The Zoo Story / by Edward Albee ; directed by Leon Major - house program University of Guelph. McLaughlin Library
referencedIn Alix Jeffry additional papers Harvard Theater Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University
referencedIn Ellis Rabb papers, 1930-1995 and undated The New York Public Library. Billy Rose Theatre Division.
creatorOf Alan Schneider papers, 1923-1984 The New York Public Library. Billy Rose Theatre Division.
referencedIn Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy Papers Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Alan Schneider's production of "Waiting for Godot" collection Stanford University. Department of Special Collections and University Archives
referencedIn Richard Barr and Clinton Wilder papers The New York Public Library. Billy Rose Theatre Division.
referencedIn Alan Schneider's Production of "Waiting for Godot" Collection Stanford University. Department of Special Collections and University Archives
referencedIn Samuel Beckett Collection Boston College. John J. Burns Library
referencedIn Ithaca Festival of the Arts. Ithaca Festival of the Arts records, [ca.1965-1966]. Cornell University Library
referencedIn Philippe Halsman theatrical photographs, 1947-1969 The New York Public Library. Billy Rose Theatre Division.
referencedIn Ithaca Festival. Ithaca Festival records, 1962-1984. Cornell University Library
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Acting Company. corporateBody
associatedWith Acting Company (Theatrical group) corporateBody
associatedWith Alan, Schneider person
associatedWith Albee, Edward, 1928- person
associatedWith Aldrich, Richard, 1863-1937. person
associatedWith American Theatre Foundation. corporateBody
associatedWith Anderson, Robert. person
associatedWith Anderson, Robert, 1917-2009, person
associatedWith Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.) corporateBody
associatedWith Barr, Richard person
associatedWith Beckett, Samuel. person
associatedWith Bentley, Eric, 1916- person
associatedWith Brecht, Bertolt, 1898-1956. person
associatedWith Brisson, Frederick, 1912-1984 person
associatedWith CentreStage Theatre Archives (University of Guelph) corporateBody
associatedWith Ciulei, Liviu, 1923-2011. person
associatedWith Crest Theatre. corporateBody
associatedWith Cronyn, Hume. person
associatedWith Cronyn, Hume Blake, 1864-1933 person
associatedWith Fichandler, Zelda, person
associatedWith Ford Foundation. corporateBody
associatedWith Gard, Robert Edward. person
associatedWith Gielgud, John, 1904-2000, person
associatedWith Guthrie, Tyrone, Sir, 1900-1971. person
associatedWith Halsman, Philippe person
associatedWith Harris, Julie. person
associatedWith Heller, Franklin, person
associatedWith Ithaca Festival. corporateBody
associatedWith Ithaca Festival of the Arts. corporateBody
associatedWith Jeffry, Alix. person
associatedWith Kanin, Garson, 1912- . person
associatedWith Kerr, Walter, 1913-1996. person
associatedWith Kerr, Walter F., 1913-1966. person
associatedWith Lortel, Lucille person
associatedWith McCarty, Harold B., 1901-1987. person
associatedWith Moody, Richard, 1911-1996. person
associatedWith National Endowment for the Arts. Theatre Advisory Panel. corporateBody
associatedWith Papp, Joseph. person
associatedWith Peck, Gregory, 1916-2003 . person
associatedWith Pinter, Harold, 1930-2008. person
associatedWith Rabb, Ellis. person
associatedWith Rabb, Ellis, 1930-1998 person
associatedWith Ramsay, Maggy person
associatedWith Ramsay, Margaret. person
associatedWith Rockefeller Foundation. corporateBody
associatedWith Rosenthal, A. M. (Abraham Michael), 1922-2006 person
associatedWith Saddler, Donald person
associatedWith Saroyan, William, 1908-1981. person
associatedWith Susskind, David, 1920-1987. person
associatedWith Tandy, Jessica. Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy papers. 1885-1994 person
associatedWith Theatre Communications Group. corporateBody
associatedWith Tuttle, Frank. person
associatedWith United States. Office of War Information. corporateBody
associatedWith Weber, Sheila. person
associatedWith Weber, Sheila. person
associatedWith Weller, Michael, 1942- person
associatedWith Wilder, Clinton person
associatedWith Wilder, Thornton, 1897-1975. person
associatedWith Williams, Tennessee, 1911-1983. person
associatedWith Yeaton, Kelly person
associatedWith Yeaton, Kelly. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
New York City NY US
Subject
Theater
Theater
Theater
Theater
Theater
Theater
Amateur theater
College theater
Radio writers
Television producers and directors
Theatrical producers and directors
Theatrical producers and directors
World War, 1939-1945
Occupation
Dramatists
Theater directors
Theatre producers and directors
Activity

Person

Birth 1917-12-12

Death 1984-05-03

Americans

English

Information

Permalink: http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6xj0ggs

Ark ID: w6xj0ggs

SNAC ID: 85415776