Oskar Eustis on Discovering a New Talent

Oskar Eustis on Discovering a New Talent October 12, 2011 Oska Eustis It must have been the fall of 1985. I was living in San Francisco, running the Eureka Theatre, and visiting NY. As always, I was trying to cram in as much theater as I could, and I was frustrated because I had arrived late at the Public Theater for some show (I don't remember which one) with an 8 o'clock curtain. There was a no-late-seating policy, and I thought I was out of luck."Actually," said my friend David Brisbin, "this is a great opportunity. Remember that kid, the NYU student I've been telling you about? He's got a show going up tonight in Chelseaand it's an 8:30 curtain."I grumbled all the way to 23rd Street, disgruntled at wasting one of my precious nights in NY on a play by a student writer-director. We arrived, sat down, and within half an hour I knew I was at a life-changing event. The play was "A Bright Room Called Day" the writer and director was Tony Kushner.Towards the end of the first act, several of the characters (including Husz, the one-eyed Hungarian cameraman) joined together in a spirited rendition of "The Internationale," the international communist anthem.Tony later told me that at intermission, the cast members were asking each other, "Who is that singing along in the audience?" It was me, of course. I had found a writer who not only was more brilliant and exciting than any I had ever encountered, but who shared my concerns, traditions, and values in a way that I had not thought possible.Many things have happened to Tony and me in the quarter-century since, but I have always been grateful for the Public's no-late-seating policy.Oskar Eustis is the artistic director of the Public Theater in NY and has worked as a director, dramaturge, and artistic director for theaters around the country. From 1981 through 1986, he was resident director and dramaturge at the Eureka Theatre Company in San Francisco, and artistic director until 1989, when he moved to L.A.'s Mark Taper Forum as associate artistic director until 1994. Eustis then served as artistic director at Trinity Repertory Company in Providence, R.I., for 11 years. In 2005, he took the helm at the Public Theater. Oskar Eustis on Discovering a New Talent October 12, 2011 Oska Eustis It must have been the fall of 1985. I was living in San Francisco, running the Eureka Theatre, and visiting NY. As always, I was trying to cram in as much theater as I could, and I was frustrated because I had arrived late at the Public Theater for some show (I don't remember which one) with an 8 o'clock curtain. There was a no-late-seating policy, and I thought I was out of luck."Actually," said my friend David Brisbin, "this is a great opportunity. Remember that kid, the NYU student I've been telling you about? He's got a show going up tonight in Chelseaand it's an 8:30 curtain."I grumbled all the way to 23rd Street, disgruntled at wasting one of my precious nights in NY on a play by a student writer-director. We arrived, sat down, and within half an hour I knew I was at a life-changing event. The play was "A Bright Room Called Day" the writer and director was Tony Kushner.Towards the end of the first act, several of the characters (including Husz, the one-eyed Hungarian cameraman) joined together in a spirited rendition of "The Internationale," the international communist anthem.Tony later told me that at intermission, the cast members were asking each other, "Who is that singing along in the audience?" It was me, of course. I had found a writer who not only was more brilliant and exciting than any I had ever encountered, but who shared my concerns, traditions, and values in a way that I had not thought possible.Many things have happened to Tony and me in the quarter-century since, but I have always been grateful for the Public's no-late-seating policy.Oskar Eustis is the artistic director of the Public Theater in NY and has worked as a director, dramaturge, and artistic director for theaters around the country. From 1981 through 1986, he was resident director and dramaturge at the Eureka Theatre Company in San Francisco, and artistic director until 1989, when he moved to L.A.'s Mark Taper Forum as associate artistic director until 1994. Eustis then served as artistic director at Trinity Repertory Company in Providence, R.I., for 11 years. In 2005, he took the helm at the Public Theater.