PJ Paparelli
November 9, 1974 – May 21, 2015
PJ received a BFA in Directing from Carnegie Mellon University and pursued graduate studies in acting at the Moscow Art Theatre School. He was a member of SDC and was represented by Creative Artists Agency in New York. He worked in education/administration at The Public Theater, Pittsburgh Public, and Circle Rep, and has directed and/or taught Shakespeare at DePaul University, The Juilliard School, the Bread Loaf School of English at Middlebury College, North Carolina School of the Arts, University of Alaska, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Catholic University, University of Pennsylvania, and Johns Hopkins University. He served on the artistic advisory board for the Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis. From 1998-2004, he served as the Associate Director of the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, DC. From 2004-07, he was the Artistic Director of Perseverance Theatre in Juneau, Alaska. In 2002, PJ conceived, co-wrote, and directed “columbinus,” a documentary-style play about modern adolescence through the lens of the Columbine Shootings. During PJ's tenure at American Theater Company, he developed and produced many world or regional premieres including Dan LeFranc’s “The Big Meal,” which had its NY premiere Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons, and “Disgraced” by Ayad Akhtar, which received the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Since 2007, ATC received over 15 Joseph Jefferson Award Nominations, two Princess Grace Fellowships, and a TCG/Fox Fellowship. |