Chuck Hudson creates his unique brand of fresh, innovative and visually compelling theatrical productions using a “well-gauged, highly detailed approach to physical comedy” (The Washington Post) and “diverse talent” (Chicago Tribune)
“The American theatre abounds in skillful movement teachers, fight choreographers, specialists in mime and modern dance and classical commedia, as it does in stage directors full of novel interpretive ideas. But not one in a hundred possesses, as does Hudson, the ability to infuse movement with intelligence, to make ideas flesh.” – Seattle Weekly
Athlone Artists is pleased to welcome renowned stage director and master of acting and movement Chuck Hudson to its roster. Hudson draws from his intensive studies at theEcole Intérnationale de Mimodrame de Paris under the guidance of Marcel Marceau – along with his command of competitive and theatrical fencing, and acrobatics – to develop theatrical productions that are “clean and amazingly physical” (Naples Daily News).
Pittsburgh Opera’s recent staging of Hudson’s acclaimed Don Pasquale was named by OperaWireas “One of the 10 Must See Productions of 2019.” The production – originally created for Arizona Opera and since mounted by the Opera Companies of Cincinnati, Atlanta, Fort Worth, and Minnesota – combines “commedia dell’arte with Hollywood movie history. [Don Pasqualeis] a well thought out update and it works to make this nineteenth century opera a great piece of twenty-first century entertainment” (Opera Today). In 2020, Hudson will put his knowledge of commedia dell’arte to good use in Arizona Opera’s production of Ariadne auf Naxos.
“Things that I do are very movement specific,” says Hudson. “When I’m staging a show, I don’t want people to have to rely on supertitles to understand the story, the action or the relationships.”
“I have many more ideas waiting to get out into the world. When I sat down with Miguel Rodriguez of Athlone Artists, he was excited to make them come to fruition. Miguel takes a thoughtful approach to this business and shares my belief that organization is a key to an artist’s success.”
“When I saw Chuck’s production of Don Pasquale at Pittsburgh Opera earlier this year, I was blown away by the level of detail he puts into his staging while still being able to tell the story clearly,” says Rodriguez. “It was like seeing this chestnut of the operatic repertoire for the first time! That kind of brilliant artistry is what excites me about working with stage directors like Chuck, and helping them realize more one-of-a-kind interpretations for the operatic stage.”
Hudson has also brought his expertise to productions at opera companies including Florida Grand, Atlanta, Austin Lyric, Hawaii Opera Theatre, Seattle, Wolf Trap, Opera Santa Barbara, and San Francisco Opera Center, along with acclaimed productions at The Pearl Theatre, The Chester Theater, Cape May Stage, The Children’s Theatre Festival of Houston, New City Theatre, and Chicago’s Fox Valley Shakespeare Festival.
In addition to directing, Hudson regularly offers masterclasses and guidance for young professional artists. A co-creator of Seattle Opera’s Young Artist Program, he has worked with students and apprentice artists at Santa Fe Opera, AVA, BU Opera Institute, USC-Thornton Opera, Carnegie-Mellon, Manhattan School of Music, CCM, Indiana University, and Music Academy of the West. He served as Artistic Associate of La Lingua della Lirica in Italy for two seasons, a guest artist at S.I.V.A.M. in Mexico City and has been an annual Master Teacher at San Francisco Opera’s Merola and Adler Fellows programs for more than a decade.
Chuck travels annually to work with singers at the Dame Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation in New Zealand, and in Australia the Melba Opera Trust in Melbourne, The Sydney Conservatorium, N.I.D.A., Opera Australia Young Artist Program, the Western Australia Academy of Performing Arts in Perth, the Melbourne Conservatory of Music’s Opera Training Program, and the Opera and Arts Support Group.
