Brendon Fox

For the last fifteen years, Brendon Fox has nurtured powerful theatrical work in three different cities – Chicago, San Diego, and Los Angeles. His experiences in those wonderfully rich arts communities have given him many diverse skills in artistic directing, directing, producing, casting, fundraising, and other areas of leadership. Those unique opportunities have made him the artist and producer that he is, and confirmed for him along the way that leading a theatre is exactly what he wants to do with his life. An experienced artistic and administrative leader, Fox seeks new opportunities to assume greater responsibilities in the artistic and administrative life of a theatre dedicated to service and artistic achievement.

As unusual as it sounds, Mr. Fox has been entranced since high school with the idea of working in not-for-profit theatres. While his peers had their sights set on Broadway, he grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut riveted by the Westport Country Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre and Yale Rep. Fortunately, he has been able to spend most of his career not freelancing, but working for a variety of theatres as a staff member. Three in particular have shaped his artistic identity. Soon after graduating from Northwestern University, he went to work for the Court Theatre at the University of Chicago, a regional theatre specializing in the classics. Fox held a variety of positions there: intern, assistant casting director, and Assistant to the Artistic Director. He arrived when a new Artistic Director was taking over the theatre for the first time in twenty years. Both the incoming and outgoing Artistic Directors loved literature passionately, but they differed strongly on how to present it theatrically. One took a more conservative approach, while the other opened up the text to slightly more radical design and casting choices than the theatre had explored in the past. Their diverse visions helped create his own aesthetic. Fox has an ability to bring to a production a sense of vitality and theatricality while keeping the story in focus for the audience. He respects the script and audience equally and always looks for ways to vividly connect the one with the other. Brendon needs plays to sing, to rise above the mediocre and commonplace and inspire us. Every powerful play needs a powerful vision to bring it to life.

Before he left Chicago he became involved with the Eclipse Theatre Company as a company member and later as Artistic Director. That was his leadership “boot camp”. Like Steppenwolf, Eclipse was an ensemble-based theatre whose focus was much more on new plays, and its budget was significantly smaller than the Court. Everyone wore many hats, and he was plunged into multi-tasking on an extreme level. It reminded him of the high value each staff member holds in the making of a production or a theatre. Those two years showed Fox the precious commodity every staff member is to an organization. Eclipse was his first opportunity to lead a theatre, and while the stakes may vary depending upon the size of the institution, the basic ingredients do not.

After seven wonderfully creative years at the Old Globe Theatre, Fox considers it not only a workplace, but an artistic home where he was able to take risks as a director. He was empowered by Tony Award-winning Jack O’Brien to challenge himself as a member of the Artistic team. At the Globe, he was a part of successfully producing a repertory season of fourteen (14) plays a season. His duties as Associate Director included casting, script selection, directing, and line-producing such productions as The Full Monty and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, directed by Jack O’Brien; and Much Ado About Nothing (with Dana Delany and Billy Campbell), directed by Fox. Over those seven years, Mr. O’Brien’s career in New York and abroad had at times created a gap in communication and artistic producing that Fox had been fortunate enough to fill in his absence. This included: observing other directors’ rehearsals and giving notes, acting as a liaison between the Artistic and Production departments, and keeping the Globe in the loop regarding new plays and up-and-coming directors and designers. He was also closely connected with Board members as a visible presence in the fundraising efforts. Most importantly, the Globe grew out of a local community based organization into one of the leading regional theatres in the country. Its founder Craig Noel, with who Fox worked and established a professional friendship, did this without ever losing sight of that community.

Brendon’s recent position of Associate Producer at the award-winning L.A. Theatre Works included producing (both long-term planning and day-to-day problem solving) of a ten play season of radio plays here in Los Angeles; casting all of the shows; mentoring the Education department to target grants to expand its outreach as well bring students into radio studios to watch actors at work recording the plays themselves; working with Artistic Director Susan Loewenberg on season selection; as well as directing once or twice during that season. Fox also produced nationwide radio play tours, which since the fall of 2005 have performed in over 140 cities with over eighty actors performing five different shows. LATW has not only enabled him to champion up-and-coming playwrights, but also work alongside many actors and directors of note who would be happy to work with him again in the future (in 2006-07 alone he directed Henry Winkler in the new play The Ruby Sunrise, Hector Elizondo in The Prisoner of Second Avenue, and Anne Heche, Jeremy Sisto, and Teri Garr in Arms and the Man).

In Fox’s capacities at the above theatres, he has worked alongside Board members in fundraising efforts, opening nights, and galas. In Chicago he successfully raised the status of the relatively small company among its peers by devoting time and effort to attending more cultural events and forums than they had in the past. The same holds true for his time at the Globe. He served as an outgoing and articulate ambassador both to the S.D. arts community and the city at large. Fox put a great deal of time and energy into building personal relationships with other theatres in town by attending their galas and directing for them occasionally. Fox spearheaded a free town-wide Casting Forum which included six Casting or Artistic Directors from around the city, which was the first of its kind in San Diego. He brought a confidence and savvy to the public face of the Globe, and served as Jack O’Brien’s representative on numerous occasions – from fundraising events to radio call-in shows. He was an active board member of the Actors Alliance of San Diego. His experience brings to the table unique fundraising and programmatic achievements from a range of institutions.

Brendon is a proud member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers and a former Eagle Scout.

Directing Resume

Administrative Resume

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