Philip Lerman

Philip Lerman -- Served three years in the Army, then graduated from college, followed by years of theatre production experience in the Off-Broadway Theatre of New York City. He went back to college for a Ph.D. at the City University of New York, then into academia, where he taught and produced theatre. After many years of this, he inaugurated a theatre ensemble devoted to the production and performance of the great classics of drama at LaGuardia Community College. Along with students interested in the project, many members of the college faculty and staff offered to participate. Former students and people from the community volunteered. He provided adaptations of the classics that shortened the originals, made the language more speakable, and emphasized their relevance to contemporary experience. Since 1996, the LaGuardia Theatre Ensemble has mounted one production every year. Along with this, he taught courses in Greek Tragedy, Shakespeare, Modern European and Twentieth-Century American Drama at the New School, a private university located in New York City. He died in 2013.