Customer Reviews

Tina Packer Builds a Theater

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have taken a few workshops with Tina Packer, and was delighted to find this biography (which limits itself mostly to her professional life). Any woman who is thinking about starting a theater company should definitely read this book. Packer's persistence is inspiring, while her many practical struggles (fights for grant money, real estate woes)are alternately funny and cautionary. The book is engaging to read (it indulges in many digressions--like the ghosts in Edith Wharton's home), and valiantly tries to resist worshipping Tina (impossible for anyone who has ever met her). I read the whole thing over a weekend.

Picked this book up at a used bookstore well off the beaten path and had finished it in 48 hours. Its author does not belittle her audience, but also focuses on making the fairly complex world of theatre readable for anyone with an interest. Thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end. A great book to read on the train or in rehearsal downtime. Not the most complex book in the world, but definitely worth the read.

I worked for Shakespeare and Company from 1999-2000, during their transition from the Mount (Edith Wharton's estate) to their new property on Kemble Street (named for the actress, Fanny Kemble). This book is an inspiration to anyone who supports theatre or has admired Tina's accomplishments.

Tina Packer's biography deserves a better cover but you can't judge the book by the cover and it's true. Tina Packer is an unsung British actress who became one of the leading forces in developing her own theatrical company in the Berkshires in Massachusetts. She deserves so much more for her tireless efforts in developing and nurturing a company that she is still to this day. The book is outdated by 25 years but it shows the early years and her adventures in Paris, France and studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, England. She pursued stage until motherhood. Then she became a director, she came to America in 1972 and she has put her mark on theatre permanently without having to move her company to New York City. She has attracted top talent to her shows that are casted with no famous names but actors and actresses. She has acted herself. She truly deserves to be awarded Damehood for her services to American theatre and British-American relations. She deserves top honors for her contributions and tireless efforts. This book will make you ask--why I haven't heard of her before? I wouldn't if the New York Times did a piece about her months ago?