STEPHANIE LIGHTSMITH SERIES

Home to the Internationally noted, award winning theatre that has enjoyed over 40 transfers to the West End, National Tours and Broadway and has presented significant productions of major playwrights as premieres or classic revivals. Stephanie remained Creative & Managing Director of The Kings Head Theatre & Pub until 2014. Kings Head Theatre Patrons include Joanna Lumley, Sirs Alan Parker CBE and Tom Stoppard OM CBE, Joanna Lumley, Maureen Lipman, Don Black OBE and Victoria Wood.

In 2002 she was co-recipient, with Dan Crawford, of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee Award for ‘contribution to the arts and pursuit of excellence’ in the field of direction for the Kings Head Theatre, presented by Her Majesty, Richard Eyre and Lord Attenborough. It continues to mentor young directors who leave the programme fully trained in all aspects of theatre with the skill set and contacts to begin their own careers or their own companies. Stephanie and Dan developed the Kings Head Theatre Young Directors Training Scheme which has trained countless young directors and was for many years the largest and most successful scheme in the country. THE SHADOW MASTER was awarded a development grant by Little Wing Films and is currently in development for film. Stephanie directed THE SHADOW MASTER in 2008, a further adaptation of DEAR BRUTUS as a unique stage to screen project, with Sir Alan Parker as patron, directing the screenplay fully underscored on stage at the Kings Head Theatre. In 2006 she adapted and directed PETER PAN, the world stage premiere of Leonard Bernstein’s lost score with Musical Director Mike Dixon. She adapted, produced and directed DEAR BRUTUS, which began her love affair with JM BARRIE.

STEPHANIE LIGHTSMITH SERIES

Stephanie’s marriage to theatrical entrepreneur Dan Crawford, founder of the Kings Head Theatre, London began a unique collaboration that was to last 21 years until Dan’s death in 2005.Īs Assistant Artistic Director of the theatre she co-produced over 60 plays and musicals at the Kings Head and transfers to West End theatres, latterly directing & writing for theatre, including PARALLEL VISION (writer), DANCE WITH THE DEVIL (writer) and a children’s musical based on the series The Famous Five, SMUGGLERS GOLD (co-writer and co-lyricist). She has recently curated CIRCUS OF THE SOUL, 12 artists creating new work examining where reality collides with dreams, also combining noted artists with newly emerging. In New Zealand, where she is now primarily based, she has co-founded Sea Star Studio, a multi arts venue presenting music, theatre, fashion photography and fine art. Stephanie painted all the art work for the film SILENCE BECOMES YOU, an interesting experience of painting as another-in this case, a sociopathic fictional character. A visionary work and an odyssey, it is also a philosophical treatise on the true nature of inspirational creativity and what it means to humanity. women’s prisons through the Edgar Cayce Foundation. She wrote THE SHORES OF GRACE, later reprinted as GOD’S THEORY OF CREATIVITY which was distributed to all the UK prisons through the Prism Project who chose it as their book of the year and to all U.S. She continued to paint for herself and her work changed direction and became a record of visions and dreams. In the mid-90’s Stephanie began to write, direct and produce for film and theatre and moved from static paintings to the moving speaking paintings of theatre and film. In London she was represented by The Moving Gallery, concentrating on large works for corporate venues.

Stephanie has exhibited her paintings internationally and was artist/ curator of two International exhibitions in London, AMERICAN’S ABROAD at The Slaughterhouse Gallery, which examined artists born in or identified with America who had greatly influenced European art including Man Ray, Niki de Saint Phalle, Cy Twombly, Alexander Calder and others, (catalogue by art historian Keith Wheldon) & THE LONDON EXPERIENCE at Smith’s Gallery, drawing together International artists from the Turner prize winning to the newly emerging who were living and working in London. Her life has been a continual creative journey in several media with quite a few unexpected twists and turns.

Stephanie began as painter and poet, publishing her poetry in anthologies as well as the solo volume BURNT OFFERING and attended the noted California College of Art studying Fine Art and literature.

Stephanie lightsmith