director & artist in residence

photo by Nancy Horton
Caste & John Whopps, The Music Hall

Genevieve Aichele has directed professional and student performers in a variety of theatrical venues throughout New England. Recent professional directing credits include the The Music Hall’s 125th Anniversary production of Caste and John Wopps, for which she won the 2002 Spotlight Award for Best Director. Genevieve has also directed and toured with Clara’s Dream: A Jazz Nutcracker for MaD Theatricals; directed Follies: A Vaudeville in 9 Acts for the Portsmouth Percussive Dance Festival with special guest Bill Irwin; and directed Ballet Theatre Workshop and Festival Ballet of Rhode Island in Carnival of the Animals and Knights of the Square Tables in collaboration with choreographer Mihailo Djuric.

Genevieve has directed thousands of youth during her 30 years of working as an Artist-in-Residence. She has directed the NH Theatre Project Youth Repertory Company, a pre-professional training program for teens, in productions of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, The Tempest, The Comedy of Errors and Twelfth Night as well as Aristophanes’ The Birds; Idiot’s Delight by Robert Sherwood; and Harvey by Mary Chase.

photo by Sofia Piel
The Tempest, NHTP Youth Repertory Co. Along with her work in professional and youth theatre productions, Genevieve frequently directs community arts programs in her role as artistic director of New Hampshire Theatre Project. These have included multi-generation, multi-media projects such as Neighborhoods (for which she won the 2002 Spotlight Award for Community Arts) in Portsmouth, NH; The World Sits Down to Dinner in Rye, NH; and Aunt Chip & the Triple Creek Dam in Greenland, NH. These productions feature large casts (between 50-150) of both amateurs and professionals, ranging from pre-schoolers to senior citizens. Genevieve also adjudicates regularly for both the American Association of Community Theatres and the New Hampshire Educational Theatre Guild.

Link - New Hampshire Theatre Project website

testimonials

“Genevieve Aichele is a leader in the community of artists in this state. (She) has the force of personality and the respect of her colleagues so that when issues need to be addressed or things need to get done, people look to her leadership… For two decades the word has been out that Genevieve Aichele is consistently one of our very best.”
– James Patrick Kelly, Chair, NH State Council on the Arts

“Exceptionally talented actors under the masterful direction of Genevieve Aichele”
– Gail VanHoy Carolan, President, Board of Trustees, The Music Hall

“She made every group feel valued and was supportive of all efforts. All criticism was constructive and geared to the growth of actors and production.”
– 2003 AACT Adjudicator Evaluation

“Her workshop on the physicality of directing was outstanding”
– 2005 AACT Adjudicator Evaluation

“In a time when the arts have been neglected in so many school programs, you have challenged young people to understand and enjoy the great works of theatre. Every member of the group has experienced the rewards of concentration, cooperation, and hard work n a challenging endeavor. We take great pleasure in the wonderful synergy among all the performers, and your energy that created that whole.”
– Libby & Sid Topol, NHTP Donors

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