The Zelda Fichandler Celebrations

Arena Stage and the Fichandler family hosted two public celebrations of life for Zelda Fichandler on livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Sunday 23 October and Monday 24 October. Follow @HowlRoundTV on Twitter and share your thoughts with #howlround.

Zelda Fichandler, Arena Stage’s Co-Founder and Founding Artistic Director, passed away July 29, 2016, at the age of 91. She was a trailblazer who transformed American theatre through her vision, artistry, and mentorship. 

The Words of a Visionary
Sunday 23 October
2 p.m. EDT-7 p.m. EDT (Washington, DC) / 11 a.m. PDT-4 p.m. PDT (Los Angeles)

Zelda had a gift with words—she inspired thousands with her ideas. As a director, she knew how to help guide a working playwright and bring the text to life for her actors and audiences. As a pioneering theatre leader, the speeches she gave and letters she wrote literally shaped the landscape of what would become the regional theatre movement. She empowered others to lead, think, act, dream, and ultimately create communities of high-quality theatre outside of New York City. Theatre is for everyone, and her words always echoed that. During this time, the public is invited to read from, listen to, and reflect on some of Zelda’s most memorable speeches during her career.  

Molly Smith and Edgar Dobie will be joined by artistic leaders from the arts community to take part in the event, including former Studio Theatre Artistic Director and Founder Joy Zinoman, Artistic Directors Michael Kahn (Shakespeare Theatre Company), Howard Shalwitz (Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company), Eric Schaeffer (Signature Theatre), and Paul Tetrault (Ford’s Theatre), as well as Peter Marks, chief theatre critic of The Washington Post, among others. 

Public Memorial Service
Monday 24 October
2 p.m. EDT-4 p.m. EDT (Washington, DC) / 11 a.m. PDT-1 p.m. PDT (Los Angeles)

A celebration of Zelda Fichandler’s legacy, life, and accomplished career featuring special performances and remarks from a number of her esteemed colleagues, students, family, and friends.

To read more about Zelda’s career, groundbreaking milestones, awards, and honors, visit arenastage.org/zelda

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater, under the leadership of Artistic Director Molly Smith and Executive Director Edgar Dobie, is a national center dedicated to American voices and artists. Arena Stage produces plays of all that is passionate, profound, deep, and dangerous in the American spirit, and presents diverse and ground-breaking work from some of the best artists around the country. ArenaStage is committed to commissioning and developing new plays and impacts the lives of over 10,000 students annually through its work in community engagement. Now in its seventh decade, Arena Stage serves a diverse annual audience of more than 300,000. arenastage.org

About HowlRound TV

HowlRound TV is a global, commons-based peer produced, open access livestreaming and video archive project stewarded by the nonprofit HowlRound. HowlRound TV is a free and shared resource for live conversations and performances relevant to the world's performing arts and cultural fields. Its mission is to break geographic isolation, promote resource sharing, and to develop our knowledge commons collectively. Participate in a community of peer organizations revolutionizing the flow of information, knowledge, and access in our field by becoming a producer and co-producing with us. Learn more by going to our participate page. For any other queries, email [email protected], or call Vijay Mathew at +1 917.686.3185 Signal/WhatsApp. View the video archive of past events.