Bio
Stephan Morrow is a proud veteran of the Off Off Bway and independent film arena where he finds the work most intriguing. He has been very busy over the last 18 years at Theater for the New City and 2022-24 have been full for him despite Covid: He has just finished writing his second script about the invasion of Ukraine : “The Sixth Column” and which was an Official Selection of The Silicon Beach Film Festival, Hollywood Best Indie Film Festival and is a finalist in The Cambridge Script Festival.
Just before that he was writing, directing and acting in 'Darkness After Night : Ukraine' also about the tragic invasion of Ukraine which won 'Best Original Screenplay (adapted from another medium) in The Marina Del Rey Film Festival. It was also an Official Selection in: New Filmmakers/ New York, Ukrainian Dream Film Festival, Sydney World Fest, Honorable Mention News Fest/True Stories Film Fest. Award Winner: Sydney World Fest, PTAKH (Ukrainian International Film Fest), Ukrainian Dream Film Festival, https://youtu.be/f0R0MIywcXc?si=1VEa2GkoO8DRL_K4
His script 'The Coming Storm” about the race for nuclear fission between German scientists and the Los Alamos Project during WWII has won 'Overall Winner of The News Fest (True Stories) Film Festival, Best Historical Screenplay in The Silicon Beach Film Festival, was an Official selection of The Los Angeles Movie Awards, The Culver City Film Festival, Marina Del Rey Film Festival, Quarter Finalist in The New York Metropolitan Screenwriting Competition and Film Awards and Honorable Mention in The Los Angeles Movie Awards. The Coming Storm began as a live run at Theater for the New City which he filmed. During the last performance it received a round of applause – after each of the twenty blackouts. (something I've never experienced in my life in the theater).
Just months before that he dramaturged, directed and acted the lead in Richard Bruce's play 'Sometime Child' about a lawyer who is mugged and who turns the life of the two at risk youths away from a life of crime – in fact they end up becoming attorneys themselves ( based on a true story). Ken Kelsch RIP (DP for many Abel Ferrara films : filmed the stage production of 'Sometime Child). 'Sometime Child' has been an award winner in the Sydney World Fest and won two awards in The News Fest (true stories) Festival: 'Overall Winner True Story Narrative and 'Best Director of Young People'. It was also an Official Selection of The Golden State Film Festival, The Culver City Film Festival, Marina Del Rey Film Festival, Quarter Finalist (as of this date) New York Metropolitan Screenwriting Competition and Film Awards and Honorable Mention in The Los Angeles Movie Awards.
In 2019 he wrote, directed and acted in 'The Assassination of J. Kaisaar and the Rise of Augustus – the Sopranos meet Mad Max – a retelling of Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra but set in a dystopian (vaguely) U.S. future and with dialogue that Tony Soprano would feel at home in. It won Best Sci-Fi Feature in The Golden State Film Festival. Also won four other awards: The American Filmatic Arts Awards (Feb 2022), Milan Gold Awards, Official Selection: Florence Film Festival, Honorable mention in The NY Movie Awards and News Fest/True Stories Film Fest. With no promotion it has received 2.4K views on you tube. Link: https://youtu.be/tKk1tqyrDeU
In 2018 he was the dramaturg and director of Anne Lucas' play 'Recovery' about three young women in rehab and which was submitted for The Pulitzer Prize by Crystal Field, Artistic Director of Theater for the New City (where dozens of other plays are produced in a year so to be chosen for submission to the Pulitzer alone was a great honor. )
In 2014 he adapted John Steppling’s play 'Dogmouth' into an independent feature film that has been the Official Selection of ten independent film festivals, won seven awards and garnered three more award nominations. It swept The Bergenfield Film Festival with three Awards (Best Writer - John Steppling. Best Producing - Rob Hunkele and Best Actor - Stephan Morrow.). It is represented by Marie Adler and Associates. In September 2017 it was invited to its tenth film festival : The Buffalo/Niagara Film Festival and writer John Steppling was flown in from Norway to attend – it won 'Best Adapted Screenplay from a play' by Stephan Morrow. Dogmouth is now on vimeo.
Before that – over a ten year period he directed seven productions for Mario Fratti (author of ‘Nine’) first – a critically acclaimed production (13 rave notices out of 13 reviews) of ‘Trio’ in Oct. 2010. That led to his being invited by Mr. Fratti to direct a sequel - ‘Quartet’ also at Theater for the New City in June 2011, in November (2012) his third collaboration with Mr. Fratti : Duo – “The Suicide Club and Three Sisters and a Priest”. Next was ‘The Vatican Knows – about that young woman’ followed by ‘Six Passionate Women’ in 2013. And in Oct, 2015 ‘The Women' and 'The Academy’ (in which he also acted the lead). In 2017 he acted and directed in 'Brooklyn-Cain's Adventure' He has had a long relationship with Mr. Fratti : The first play he acted in as an adult was in Mr. Fratti's acclaimed production of 'The Cage' at The Manhattan Theater Club and then ‘Her Voice’ at Will Lieberson’s historic Quaigh Theater
In a bit of a departure for him, in May (2012) he directed Claudio Angelini’s satiric musical comedy (with fourteen songs) ‘Obama in Naples’ at The June Havoc Theater which was received enthusiastically by audiences in N.Y. and on the basis of that success was greatly honored to be invited to be staged at The Italian Embassy in Washington D.C. for a special event, sold out performance. Based on that success he directed a second Angelini production – ‘My Wife in a Chador’ at Theater for the New City - whose timely subject was of a man who runs for mayor with a wife who decides to go back to her Islamic roots.
Between two of the Fratti productions he also staged a production of ‘Triangle - The Shirtwaist Triangle Factory Fire’ by J. Gilhooley @ 59 E 59St Theaters in the centennial year of the tragedy in a sold out run. He also directed three staged readings of ‘Wall St. Fandango’ by Broadway veteran ('Luv' and co-writer of ‘Tootsie’) Murray Schisgal at The Actor’s Studio, Theater for the New City and 45 Bleecker St Theater (the cast included Rosie Perez and Peter Riegert). Also, for Murray Schisgal he directed a staged reading of his play, ‘The Japanese Foreign Trade Minister – an adaptation of ‘The Inspector General’ (which was a hit in Paris in 2014) in The Playwright Director’s Unit of The Actor’s Studio. In 2017 he directed Richard Curtis’ satiric comedy ‘Vauthor’ at The Playwright Directing Unit of the Actors Studio. And by 2018 he was greatly honored to be invited to be a frequent guest moderator of the PD Unit (he has been a member of the PD Unit since the mid-80s under the mentorship of Elia Kazan.
In 2009 he portrayed Marion Faye – the role originated by Rip Torn - in a month long run of a ‘performance on book’ of ‘The Deer Park - or Hollywood Goes to Hell’ by Norman Mailer at The Nuyorican Poets Café which he also directed.
His first effort with The Deer Park was in March 2007 when he acted in and directed a staged reading of it which Mr. Mailer attended and on the basis of that work invited Stephan to co-direct and act in, a film of ‘The Deer Park’. His long collaboration with Norman Mailer began with his performance as Rod, ‘stuntman extraordinaire’, in ‘Strawhead - A memory play of Marilyn’ at The Actor’s Studio written and directed by Mr. Mailer and he can be seen in Mailer’s cult classic ‘Tough Guys Don’t Dance’ co-starring opposite Ryan Oneal as ‘Stoodie’- tattoo artist and Provincetown bad news bear. And in Oct (2015) he was greatly honored to be invited by The Norman Mailer Society to play Bic Mac (Lawrence Tierney’s role in the original film) in a two day video shoot of a reading of the original novel in Provincetown itself.
He has performed in many Off Off Bway productions : Appearing in Jean Claude Van Itallie's 'The Serpent' at University at Buffalo led him to be invited by Gerald Miller, Artistic Director to join The NOW Theater Company and perform in a Grotowski-inspired production of 'Sabbat-Ceremony of Darkness' at Ellen Stewart's famed La Mama Etc. His first appearance as an adult actor was in Mario Fratti's acclaimed play 'The Cage' which began a long collaboration as both actor and director with Mr. Fratti.
He appeared opposite Anne Jackson in Joseph Papp’s POW (Professional Older Women) Festival in ‘New World Monkey’ by France Burke at The Public Theater. In Anne Marie Barlowe's civil war epic 'Glory Hallelujah' he played rebel soldier Preacher at the historic Van Dam Theater in which he had the unusual experience of having his leg blown off in the middle of a scene. Also at The Vandam he played one of the lead witnesses in Daniel Berrigan’s ‘The Trial of the Catonsville Nine’. At The Actor's Studio he played Count Faberge in Mihail Bulgakov's 'A Cabal of Hypocrites' (in which he attempted to cheat at cards against King Louis XIV – and is caught.). Directed by David Margulies. Also at The Actor's Studio he played Scottish gang leader Allie (lead) in a production of Willie Holtzman's 'Bovver Boys' directed by Lenore De Koven.
As Artistic Director and founder of The Great American Play Series he has had the pleasure of resurrecting neglected American classics in ‘performances on book’ such as ‘After the Fall’ by Arthur Miller with Rebecca De Mornay (Maggie) and Mark Rydell (Quentin), Barry Primus, Lyle Kessler, Stefan Gierasch and Sally Kirkland, ‘The Price’ by Arthur Miller with Barry Primus, Lyle Kessler, Paul Mazursky and Judith Light. And most notably, he has had the honor of being personally backed by Arthur Miller for his work on ‘Incident at Vichy’ - a four year mission to get it to a major venue. He staged four ‘performances on book’ with casts that included F. Murray Abraham, Richard Dreyfuss, Austin Pendleton, David Margulies, Fritz Weaver, Peter Weller and Fisher Stevens among others. At The Makor/Steinhardt Center of the 92St Y he presented his own adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ phantasmagoric epic ‘Camino Real – Ten Blocks Plus One’, with Betsy Von Furstenburg and Larry Block. Also at Makor he had the pleasure of presenting Genet’s ‘The Balcony’ with Angelica Torn, Larry Block and Larry Pine, setting the play in a country similar to the U.S. His most recent presentation with the series was a staged reading of Tony Kushner’s remarkable first play ‘A Bright Room Called Day’ with Angelica Torn, legendary Judith Malina (founder of The Living Theater), Joan Macintosh, Henry Stram, Larry Block et al.
His first directorial effort was ‘Back Bog Beast Bait’ by Sam Shepard which had Paul Austin in the lead role. His production of ‘Dance for Me Simeon’ by Joseph Maher was claimed by Walter Kerr in The N Y Times to be ‘a gem passing in the night’ at Jim Jennings', ATA (American Theater of Actors) in N.Y. On the basis of that production he was invited to direct ‘The Choice’ by Gene Ruffini for Helen Mayer’s Double-Image Theater Company. In Los Angeles he directed a production of ‘Cash Deal’ (with Tony Russell) by Michael Dinelli at The Actor’s Studio West. As a member of The PD Unit there he had the pleasure of working with playwrights such as Phillip Hayes Dean ('Robeson') and Gloria Goldsmith. For Dan Lauria’s PKE (Patchett-Kauffman Entertainment) Series he directed six staged-readings of new plays working with actors such as Ed Asner, Sally Struthers, Pia Zadora, Alice Ghostley and Charles Durning among many others.
Film – 'Darkness After Night: Ukraine' written and directed by Stephan Morrow. Official Selection – Marina Del Rey Film Festival and Winner 'Best Original Screenplay (adapted from another medium) Official Selection: New Filmmakers/ New York, Sydney World Fest, Honorable Mention News Fest/True Stories Film Fest. Link : https://youtu.be/f0R0MIywcXc?si=-S3GLnENll1_pMFl
'Sometime Child' written by Richard Bruce. Directed and acted the lead. It has won two awards in the News Fest/ True Stories Film Fest: 'Overall Winner- True Story Narratives' and 'Best Directing of Young People in a Feature Film'
'The Assassination of J.Kaisaar and the Rise of Augustus – the Sopranos Meet Mad Max' – you tube link: https://youtu.be/tKk1tqyrDeU. Award winner in Filmatic Arts Awards. (2022). NY Movie Awards, Milan Film Festival, Florence Film Festival. Best Sci-Fi Feature in The Golden State Film Festival (2023)
Dogmouth (Director and Lead Actor) written by John Steppling (author of ’52 Pickup’ and ‘Animal Factory’). Official Selection in ten festivals and winner of seven awards. Bergenfield Film Festival: Winner Best Writer, John Stepping, Best Producing Rob Hunkele and Best Actor: Stephan Morrow. Buffalo Niagara Film Festival : Winner Best Adapted Screenplay from a Play' Stephan Morrow. Available on vimeo.
While filming 'Dogmouth' in the New Jersey woodlands he created a series of assemblages from the roots of trees that had fallen and decayed and which was put up in The Clifton Main Library and ran for four months to much acclaim (especially from young people). Has received over seventeen thousand views on you tube.
https://youtu.be/dlSTNuqyHA4?si=AIupP4ohg-melD6Q
For Dawn Lehrman (NYT Columnist ‘My Fat Dad’) he directed a TV pilot of her script ‘I Don’t Know How to Make a Peep’ using a three-camera set up on location in L.A.
Early on he also produced, co-directed and was the on-air host of three 30 min films for WNYC - Channel 31 about Staten Island that included : The Jacques Marchais Center of Tibetan Art (the largest collection of Tibetan Buddhist art in the U.S.). Sailor’s Snug Harbor (while it still had its last remaining retired sailor residing there. ). And Richmond Town – a colonial re-enactment site.
For VASCA (Vacations for Senior Citizens) he shot two Public Service Announcements that were long running spots on NY television.
He has written a screenplay ‘Two Out of Five is Not Enough’ about the trials and tribulations of an Off Off Broadway director getting a play up which was optioned for film in L.A.
He has also written a novel that Norman Mailer recommended for publication – ‘Rock Tavern - Portrait of a Young Artist – from Gotham’ about a city kid following in Jackson Pollock's footsteps by working on a farm and ending with three young men experiencing a non-ordinary reality phenomenon on a mountaintop resulting in an unsolved murder and which obsesses the painter until he is willing to confront the truth of what happened.
Education : Stuyvesant H.S. Manhattan – General Excellence Award. Latin Award.
University at Buffalo – B.A. English. Magna Cum Laude.
NYU – Film Program.
Most notably, he embarked on a global pilgrimage with much good will, a knapsack and minimal funds that took him a little less than two years to go full circle. On that trip he went overland from Istanbul through Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and wandered through the Himachal Pradesh in India for three months, volunteered on an agricultural commune in the Negev desert for five months where he learned how to birth calves and drive a tank. On Lanyu Island off of Taiwan he stayed with the Yami, an aboriginal tribe and survived a major typhoon on a ship as he was exiting the island.
He studied acting privately with Wynn Handman, Uta Hagen, Bill Hickey, Mike Gazzo and received a scholarship to study with Stella Adler. He later worked with Liz Dixon – acting/ vocal coach extraordinaire.
stephanmorrow@juno.com
thegreatamericanplayseries@gmail.com
