DIRECTING CREDITS
MACBETH
July 2019 | African-American Shakespeare Company | 2018 - 2019 season
"[This] production of Macbeth reimagines the tragic "Scottish play" as the bitter and wildly mutinous dream sequence of a homeless American Veteran. ... The company and production both offer much to think about and learn from. Do not miss this production."
"Director L. Peter Callender's vision for this classic story of ambition and betrayal is thrillingly modern and dystopian. ... Exciting and inventive, Callender and company are to be congratulated for bringing this classic play to modern resonance" -
"Directed by L. Peter Callender, the African American Shakespeare Company’s noble, fearless, and always compelling artistic director, the classic story suggests the greatest menace to human life is not an external force, but the uncaring, unkind impulse lurking within all of us. Do we rise to goodness or fall to ambition and wretchedness? That’s the question. The answer — for Macbeth and his wife — serves as warning. Make the journey and save your soul."
BLACK EAGLES
Mar 2019 | African-American Shakespeare Company | 2018 - 2019 season
"Like the Tuskegee airmen, we are forced to question the righteousness and justice of every American war. “Black Eagles” recaptures Black History and makes it live."
"Like a wise and compassionate commanding officer, director L. Peter Callender coaxes the individual stories into the spotlight, drawing emotionally honest performances from a cast with variable performance skills." -
"One has the mistaken impression that one of the simplest things to portray as an actor is drunkenness. Wrong. These talented actors under Callender’s superb direction, slowly, gradually and naturally grew more inebriated as the scene progressed while maintaining their characters."
BLACK EAGLES
Mar 2019 | African-American Shakespeare Company | 2018 - 2019 season
"Like the Tuskegee airmen, we are forced to question the righteousness and justice of every American war. “Black Eagles” recaptures Black History and makes it live."
"Like a wise and compassionate commanding officer, director L. Peter Callender coaxes the individual stories into the spotlight, drawing emotionally honest performances from a cast with variable performance skills." -
"One has the mistaken impression that one of the simplest things to portray as an actor is drunkenness. Wrong. These talented actors under Callender’s superb direction, slowly, gradually and naturally grew more inebriated as the scene progressed while maintaining their characters."
2019 Best of the Bay (Tampa) Nominations:
Best Director
Best Production
PIPELINE
Jan- Feb 2019 | American Stage, FL | 2018 - 2019 season
"Directed by L. Peter Callender, the play is a taut, rhythmic exploration of what happens when parents are stressed, educators feel threatened, and students are misunderstood."
J.A. Jones, Weekly Challenger
"Director L. Peter Callender clearly understands the complexities and frailties of human interaction..."
Keven Renken, Creative Pinellas
"Morisseau...writes in tight scenes, each with a clear purpose. Callender...has a knack for distilling that purpose and getting actors to evoke it."
Andrew Meachan, Tampa Bay Times
"And under the flawless direction of L. Peter Callender, “Pipeline” continues to maintain American Stages’ track record as a regional theater with a perfect 2018/2019 season…so far."
Peter Balaskas, Splash Magazines
"The matchup of L. Peter Callender and American Stage is one made in theatrical heaven."
William S. Oser, Talkin' Broadway
"From superb direction, an exceptionally-cast ensemble to seamless set changes, perfect costumes, lighting and sound, this is a show that won’t leave you and maybe- actually not maybe – the truth is – it shouldn’t."
Deborah Bostock-Kelley, Groove Magazine
A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE
Mar 2018 | African-American Shakespeare Company | 2017 - 2018 season
Director Callender offers a brilliant and painful lesson about listening respectfully to women. His “Streetcar” (1947) mixes brilliant acting, handfuls of unexpected laughter, a tablespoon of torment, and a cup of tragedy.
"African-American Shakespeare’s lusty, furious ‘Streetcar’ belongs to all of us." -
"The African-American Shakespeare Company gives a stronger production, with director L. Peter Callender offering a fresh and impressively witty approach to the life of Blanche DuBois."
Theatre Tampa Bay Awards Nominations: Outstanding Featured Actor; Outstanding Set design
A RAISIN IN THE SUN
Jan-Feb 2018 | American Stage Theater Company | 2017 - 2018 season
"L. Peter Callender has crafted a production that understands and embraces every nuance in the script, with tensions that rise and fall musically." -
"Director L. Peter Callender shows his mastery with the pacing of the play and bringing ALL the actors to shine in their own glory, from the lead actors to the cameos."
Director L. Peter Callender, guided American Stage's last two very powerful August Wilson plays; it's safe to say that he has outdone himself here. This is one beautiful production from a classic script, and everything comes together. -
Theatre Bay Area Award Finalist: Outstanding Sound Design
THE WINTER'S TALE
June 2017 | African-American Shakespeare Company | 2016 -2017 season
Theatre Bay Area Award Finalist: Outstanding Costume Design, Outstanding Prop Design, Outstanding Actor in a Lead Role (L. Peter Callender)
JITNEY
March 2017 | African-American Shakespeare Company | 2016 -2017 season
"What the production, directed with brilliance by the company's artistic director L. Peter Callender, gets right is the ambience and camaraderie of these varied lives set against the backdrop of the threat of gentrification." -
"Wilson's characters are rich, complex, delightful and engaging in and of themselves, but the magic is in their interaction." -
"It is not surprising I had an excellent evening at the African-American Shakespeare Company's production of August Wilson's 'Jitney', directed by and starring our own top-flight L. Peter Callender." -
Theatre Tampa Bay Awards: Outstanding Director; Outstanding Production | Nominations: 2 Outstanding Featured Actor; 2 Outstanding Lead Actor; Outstanding Set design; Outstanding Costume Design; Outstanding Lighting Design;
JOE TURNER'S COME AND GONE
January 2017 | American Stage Theater Company| 2016 -2017 season
"As he proved in last year's Jitney, director L. Peter Callender understands August Wilson like no other. He is an artist who knows how to stage a scene to maximum effect" -
"Director L. Peter Callender has pulled together a bouquet of moments to savor, too many of them to come from the actors alone." -
"L. Peter Callender’s flawless direction makes the experience seem like a passionate, mercurial evening of watching a dynamic jazz ensemble, with each artist bellowing their own harmonic solo. " -
Theatre Bay Area Award Finalist: Outstanding Female Actor in a Featured Role
SAFE HOUSE
November 2016 | Aurora Theatre Company | 2016-2017 season
"The Kentucky of "Safe House" is a dangerous place. ...as directed by L. Peter Callender..., the actors inhabit their roles with urgency."
"Director L. Peter Callender keeps the tension high throughout the production."
"As skillfully directed by L. Peter Callender, the drama unfolds grippingly. Each character is clearly defined."
WE ARE PROUD...
October 2016 | San Jose Stage| 2016-2017 season
"The terrifying relevance of the piece,...and the sharpness of L. Peter Callender's production, makes this 'Presentation' so memorable"
"'We Are Proud' offers two remarkable spectacles, first being that it's directed by L. Peter Callender, who clearly spent a lot of time pushing his actors."
"Directed by L. Peter Callender, the play gives a deep insight into the layered converstaion that exists about race and subjective and deep feelings people have in society."
Theatre Tampa Bay Awards: Outstanding Lead Actor; Outstanding Set design; Outstanding Director; Outstanding Production
JITNEY
January 2016 |
American Stage Theater Company| 2015 -2016 season
"This production is excellent, quite possibly the best presentation of an August Wilson play I have seen by this company. I am sure that much of the credit needs to go to director L. Peter Callender."
"Sometimes the theater puts you in the presence of characters so captivating, you don't want the experience to end. ... Deftly directed by L. Peter Callender, these nine figures are funny, admirable, dangerous, misunderstood, wounded, dreamstruck, decent and implacable."
"A show like this cannot succeed without the guiding hand of director L. Peter Callender. His obvious love for Wilson shows through every scene, every moment of humor, every heartbreaking monologue. The show is beautifully staged, the pacing is spot on, and the acting is as strong as it gets."
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
May 2014 |
African-American Shakespeare Company | 2013-2014 season
"AASC's 'Much Ado About Nothing' is something to write home about."
Click here for a clip of the show
RAISIN IN THE SUN
June 2012 |
African-American Shakespeare Company | 2011-2012 season
"'Raisin in the Sun' gets brilliant revival in San Francisco"
Click here to see an interview
CINDERELLA
December 2013 |
African-American Shakespeare Company | 2013-2014 season
"Sassy, spirited 'Cinderella'"
TWELFTH NIGHT
April 2011 |
African-American Shakespeare Company | 2010-2011 season
"Jazzy 'Twelfth Night' Goes Down Easy..."
CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF
January 2013 |
African-American Shakespeare Company | 2012-2013 season
"African-American Shakespeare's 'Cat' has bite"
FENCES
February 2005 |
Solano College, Harbor Theater | 2004-2005 season
GILDED SIX-BITS
Summer 2000 |
Word for Word France Tour | 1999-2000 season
"Callender makes sure...the outlines of every character and the story [of TWELFTH NIGHT] are vivid, and the comedy shines through at every level..."
Robert Hurwitt, SF Chronicle
"Director L. Peter Callender certainly displays an admirable grasp of [CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF]: His staging brings audience members a sense of full, unflinching intimacy."
Adam Brinklow, Edge
"Under the expertly imaginative hand of L. Peter Callender, [MUCH ADO's] rich plot of twists and turns ...gains momentum from beginning to end."
Linda Ayers-Frederick, For All Events
"L. Peter Callender elected to mount A RAISIN IN THE SUN...set in Chicago. Considering the well-deserved opening night standing ovation, the choice was a wise one."
Kedar Adour