Biography
Steve witting - Director of Theater & OPera
For nearly 40 years, Steve Witting has thrived as both actor and director. Traveling between New York, Los Angeles, and London, he has directed in the worlds of opera, theatre, film, and television.
Primarily known as a film actor, Steve has appeared in The Post, Game Night, Bad Words, The Wolf of Wall Street, Shutter Island, Catch Me If You Can, and Batman Returns and on the television series Ozark, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, 30 Rock, Arrested Development, and The Hogan Family.
With 20 years of directing experience, he has directed television (Step by Step) and directs annually at the Weathervane Repertory Theatre (Gypsy, To Kill a Mockingbird, Oleanna, God of Carnage, Funny Money, Sylvia, Boeing Boeing, The Norman Conquests - Table Manners, Blithe Spirit, and Picasso At The Lapin Agile).
Pursuing his own creative drive, he has also written and produced a number of his own plays and operatic works; including two children's operas entitled Jack & the Beanstalk (music by Verdi) and The Tortoise & the Hare (Music by Rossini). He also directs for opera companies across NYC, most recently including: Vertical Player Repertory, Opera Company of Brooklyn, New York Lyric Opera Theatre, and Trill Vocal Projects.
Steve had a unique apprenticeship; training in burlesque comedy at the Hampton Playhouse. He learned the craft of directing from his mentor, John Dexter; performing at the Metropolitan Opera (Parade, Stravinsky Triple Bill); observing in London's West End (A Portage to San Cristobal of A.H.); and assisting Dexter on Broadway (The Glass Menagerie). He lives with his writerly wife, Renée Rogers, and his dramaturgically inclined daughter, Olivia.
Experience
Verdi's Macbeth at The Marc A. Scorca Hall at the National Opera Center
September 2017
Directed by Steve Witting
A cast of eight in Giuseppe Verdi's Macbeth in Italian with English Translation. Special thanks to the New York Opera Collaborative and Artistic Director, Andrea Delgiudice.
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Vertical Player Repertory: “I Stand Alone”
June-July 2017
Staged and directed by Steve Witting
I Stand Alone brings together three powerful monodramas written for the female voice: Knoxville, Summer of 1915 by Samuel Barber, Tesla's Pigeon by Melissa Dunphy, and Phaedra by Benjamin Britten, performed by three different singers. I Stand Alone is a featured event of the New York Opera Fest, a city-wide festival of opera in May and June, with over 20 companies putting on more than 30 events in venues around the city.
For more information: https://istandalone.brownpapertickets.com/
Featured in the New Yorker at: https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/classical-music/vertical-player-repertory-i-stand-alone
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Weathervane Theater - Gypsy: A Musical Fable
July 2017
Directed by Steve Witting
Book by Author Laurents - Music by Jule Styne - Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
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director of productions at opera company of brooklyn
2016 - Present
Director of productions:
- Puccini's La Boheme – December 2016
- Gioachino Rossini's Le Comte Ory – December 2016
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's La clemenza di Tito – November 2016
- Heinrich Marschner's Der Vampyr – October 2016
- Francis Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmellites – October 2016
Artist Spotlight - Director of Productions, Steve Witting: http://operabrooklyn.org/artist-spotlight-director-of-productions-steve-witting/
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Weathervane Theater - To Kill a Mockingbird
August 2016
Directed by Steve Witting
Written by Christopher Sergel - Composed by Phil King - Adapted from Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird
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Weathervane Theater - Oleanna
June 2015
Directed by Steve Witting
Play by David Mamet
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The Baccalaureate Global Theatre Company
August 2014
Steve Witting directed productions of King Lear, Julius Caesar and Macbeth for the NYC "Shakespeare In The Local Park" series.
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Weathervane Theater - God of Carnage
August 2014
Directed by Steve Witting
Play by Yasmina Reza
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Weathervane Theater - Funny Money
June 2013
Directed by Steve Witting
Play by Ray Cooney
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Weathervane Theater - Sylvia
August 2012
Directed by Steve Witting
Play by A. R. Gurney
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Trill Vocal Projects - La Voix Humaine
October 2011
Directed by Steve Witting
La Voix Humaine (excerpt) - Amelia Watkins & Mila Henry (piano): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovJK6mif9l8
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opera company of brooklyn - Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia
In collaboration with Midori & Friends: Inspiring Children through Music
June 2011
Directed by Steve Witting & Conducted by Jay Meetze
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Weathervane Theater - Boeing Boeing
June 2011
Directed by Steve Witting
A farce by Marc Camoletti
Steve Witting - Directing Boeing Boeing (2011)
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Weathervane Theater - The Norman Conquests: Table Manners
July 2010
Directed by Steve Witting
Play by Alan Ayckbourn
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opera company of brooklyn and American Ballroom Dance Theater present: Die Fledermaus
Februrary 2010
Directed by Steve Witting & Conducted by Jay Meetze
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Weathervane Theater - Blithe Spirit
August 2009
Directed by Steve Witting
Play by Noël Coward
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Weathervane Theater - Picasso At The Lapin Agile
July 2009
Directed by Steve Witting
Play by Steve Martin
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Step by Step - Television show
June 1998
Series Finale - Episode 160: "Movin' On Up"
Directed by Steve Witting
More info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0710007/
Steve Witting outside Vertical Player Repertory's 2017 performance of I Stand Alone, as featured in The New Yorker.
Weathervane Theater - To Kill a Mockingbird
(August 2016)
Organizations
- Dramatists Guild of America
- Stage Directors and Choreographers Society
- The Directors Guild of America
- SAG-AFTRA
- Actors Equity Association