Randall King is the kind of artistic director that most theater companies dream of having. With a focus on the importance of the midsize theater companies and an ability to work both backstage and front and center, King has transformed San Jose Stage Company into one of the finest theaters in the area. In his 19 years with the company, King has directed nearly 200 plays and musicals, including 39 new works and 9 world premieres. King is also a veteran actor. Although he works mostly on stage, he’s appeared in a number of television series and films, including Mumford and The Rainmaker. Under King’s direction, San Jose Stage’s latest production We Are Proud to Present… is a dark comedy that revolves around the early 20th-century genocide of the Herero and Namaqua peoples in Namibia.
“At our level, if you’re not able to express yourself artistically because you’re stuck in some administrative job—you get frustrated. So I always try to find ways to give everyone in the company creative outlets. Having everyone suggest titles and help formulate the season gets them fired up about the plays we’re going to do. It generates an investment in what we are doing at a whole new level, and I think the audience gets more bang for their buck.”
thestage.org | instagram: sanjosestage
March 30 – April 24, 2022
The Stage’s long-awaited postponed production due to COVID-19.
This Pulitzer Prize-winning play erupts with biting wit. After the disappearance of their alcoholic patriarch, three sisters along with their partners, reunite in AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY to console their razor-tongued, drug-addled mother Violet. As the family careens toward a near-apocalyptic meltdown; old grievances are aired, family secrets unearthed, and new wounds are sowed. This provocative Tony Award-winning play unflinchingly—and uproariously—explores the challenge of escaping the inescapable.
Article originally appeared inIssue 8.4 Profiles (Print SOLD OUT)
