Bio


An actor, director, and professor of Theater & Performance Studies and Classics, Rush Rehm publishes in the areas of Greek tragedy and contemporary politics. He also serves as Artistic Director of Stanford Repertory Theater, a professional theater company that presents staged readings, full productions, and a dramatic festival and symposium based on a major playwright or theme each summer.

Rehm’s books include Aeschylus’ *Oresteia: A Theatre Version*(Melbourne 1978); *Greek Tragic Theatre* (Routledge: London 1992, paper 1994, modern Greek translation 1999, 2nd revised edition, *Understanding Greek Tragic Theatre (2016); *Marriage to Death: The Conflation of Marriage and Funeral Rituals in Greek Tragedy* (Princeton 1994, paper 1996); *The Play of Space: Spatial Transformation in Greek Tragedy* (Princeton 2002); *Radical Theatre: Greek Tragedy and the Modern World* (Duckworth: London 2003), *Euripides' Electra* (Bloomsbury: London 2020)

Recent contributions to edited volumes include essays in *Greek Drama in the Americas* (Oxford), *Aeschylus’ Tragedies: The Cultural Divide and the Trauma of Adaptation* (Brill: Leiden), *The Brill Companion to Sophocles* (Brill: Leiden), *The Cambridge Companion to Greek and Roman Theatre* (Cambridge), *Rebel Women* (Methuen: London), *Aeschylus’ Agamemnon in Performance* (Oxford), *Sophocles and the Greek Language* (Brill), *Antigone’s Answer* (Atlanta), *Classics in Post-Colonial Worlds*(Oxford), *Space in Ancient Greek Literature: Studies in Ancient Greek Narrative* (Mnemosyne), *Blackwell’s Encyclopedia of Greek Tragedy* (Oxford), *Looking at Antigone* (Bloomsbury: London), *The Brill Companion to Euripides* (Leiden), *Looking at Agamemnon* (Bloomsbury), *Looking at Persians* (Bloomsbury 2021), *Handbook on Theatre and Migration* (Palgrave 2022), among others.

As well as seminars on ancient theater and culture, Rehm teaches courses on contemporary politics, the media, and U.S. imperialism.

Academic Appointments


  • Emeritus Faculty, Acad Council, Theater and Performance Studies

Administrative Appointments


  • Professor of Drama and Classics, Stanford University (2003 - Present)
  • Associate Professor of Drama and Classics, Stanford University (1995 - 2002)
  • Assistant Professor of Drama, Stanford University (1990 - 1995)
  • Assistant Professorby courtesy, Classics, Stanford University (1990 - 1995)
  • Assistant Professor of Classics and Theatre Studies, Emory University (1985 - 1990)
  • Lecturer, Drama Course, Melbourne University (1979 - 1980)

Honors & Awards


  • Montalvo Artist in Residence, with We Players, *Romeo and Juliet*, Montalvo Arts Center (2016)
  • Lloyd W. Dinkelspiel Award for Outstanding Service to Undergraduate Education, Stanford University (2014)
  • Outstanding Production and Outstanding Direction (with Courtney Walsh), *Moby Dick-Rehearsed*, Theatre Bay Area (2014)
  • Stanford Hoagland Grant for Innovating Undergraduate Curriculum, Stanford University (2013-16)
  • Donald Andrewes Whittier Fellow, Stanford Humanities Center, Stanford University (1995-1996)
  • Lila Wallace–Reader’s Digest Arts Partners Grant (with the Lively Arts at Stanford), Lila-Wallace Arts Partners (1992–93)
  • Junior Fellow, The Center for Hellenic Studies (Harvard University) (1989-1990)
  • ACLS Grant, 1987–88 (American School of Classical Studies, Athens), American Council of Learned Societies (1987 - 88)
  • Whiting Fellowship, Institute of Classical Studies, London (1984-1985)
  • Graduate Fellowship, Stanford Humanities Center (1982-1984)
  • Fulbright-Hays Fellowship, Melbourne, United States Department of Education (1973-1975)
  • Daniel M. Sachs Graduating Scholarship, Princeton University (1973-1974)
  • National Merit Scholarship, Princeton University (1968-1972)

Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations


  • Member, Curriculum Revision, Stanford University
  • Member, Senior and Junior Searches, Stanford University
  • Outside Reviewer, Stanford University
  • Reader/Referee, MD (Materiali e discussioni per 1 'ana list dei testi classici, Pisa)
  • Reader/Referee, Princeton university press
  • Reader/Referee, Theatre Journal
  • Reader/Referee, Classical Antiquity
  • Reader/Referee, Transactions of the American Philological Association
  • Reader/Referee, Oxford university press
  • Reader/Referee, Classical World
  • Reader/Referee, Arethusa
  • Reader/Referee, Classical Philology
  • Reader/Referee, Cambridge university press
  • Academic Senate, Stanford University (2017 - 2018)
  • Academic Senate, Stanford University (2013 - 2015)
  • Preliminary Application Reviewer, Stanford Humanities Center, Stanford University (2007 - 2009)
  • Project Director, Stages of Reconciliation (Stanford Institute for Creativity and the Arts) (2007 - 2008)
  • Academic Senate, Stanford University (2005 - 2007)
  • Chair, Drama Department Committees: Graduate Studies, Stanford University (2005 - 2006)
  • Director, Stanford Theater Discovery Institute (2000 - 2004)
  • Academic Senate, Stanford University (2000 - 2001)
  • Chair, Drama Department Committees: Graduate Studies, Stanford University (2000 - 2001)
  • Member, Production Advisory Board, Stanford University (1998 - 2007)
  • Member, Interdisciplinary Program in the Humanities: Committee-in-Charge (1998 - 2006)
  • Artistic Director, Stanford Repertory Theater (1997 - Present)
  • Preliminary Application Reviewer, Stanford Humanities Center, Stanford University (1995 - 2003)

Professional Education


  • Ph.D., Stanford University, Drama (Directing and Criticism) and Humanities (1985)
  • M.A., Classical Studies, Melbourne University (1975)
  • B.A., Princeton University, Creative Writing/Classics (1973)

Current Research and Scholarly Interests


Stanford Repertory Theater (SRT) presents *Voices of the Earth: From Sophocles to Rachel Carson and Beyond* at tthe Sebastopol Arts Center later November 7, 2021. With the collaboration and support of the Henry Miller Library, the Arts Council for Monterey County, and Stanford's Woods Institute for the Environment, SRT's *Voices of the Earth" (audio) was broadcast in 21 3-minute sections on NPR radio station KCBX (San Luis Obisbo) during the first 3 weeks of Earth Month, culminating in the Earth Day celebrations April 22, 2021. KALW (San Francisco) also aired segments of the program. The audio/visual version of *Voices of the Earth* is available for use by schools, arts councils, and environmental groups, free of charge, and the script is also available for free. Contact stanfordrep@stanford.edu, or go to our website stanfordreptheater.com

Projects


  • Ancient Tragedies/Modern Stages, Stanford University/Ecole normale superieure/Paul Valery in Montpellier

    Professor Eleni Papalexiou at the University of the Peloponnese and I are collaborating to develop a summer institute in the Argolid, "Ancient Tragedies/Modern Stages," exploring contemporary approaches to staging Greek tragedy. A combination of workshops, lectures, classes, and performances will provide participants with an up-to-date understanding of how our oldest theatrical form, Greek tragedy, continues to challenge contemporary theater artists and audiences in the 21st century.

    Location

    Napflion, Greece

  • Bilingual Beckett, Stanford University/Ecole normale superieure/Paul Valery in Montpellier

    I continue working on a long-term project entitled "Bilingual Beckett," which has included Stanford Repertory Theater's bilingual production of Samuel Beckett's *Happy Days/Oh les beaux jours," performed at Stanford, San Francisco, Montpellier, and Paris.

    Location

    France

    Collaborators

    • Joëlle Chambon, Maître de conferences en Etudes Théâtrales, Université Paul-Valéry-Montpellier 3
  • Comparative Clytemnestra, Stanford University/Stanford Repertory Theater

    SRT's "Comparative Clytemnestra" (performance/lecture focusing on the various treatments of Clytemnestra in Greek tragedy, with actress Courtney Walsh) will travel to New Zealand and Australia in the fall of 2015. This work will find its way into the revision of my 1992 *Greek Tragic Theatre,* which will come out in a new version entitled *Understanding Greek Tragedy* in 2016

    Location

    Wellington, New Zealand

2023-24 Courses


All Publications


  • Greek Tragedy on the Move: The Birth of a Panhellenic Art Form c.500-300 BC. (Book Review) JOURNAL OF HELLENIC STUDIES Book Review Authored by: Rehm, R. 2020; 140: 252–53
  • Ritual in Sophocles Brill Companion to Sophocles Rehm, R. edited by Markantonatos, A. Leiden and Boston. 2012: 411–428
  • Sophocles Space in Ancient Greek Literature: Studies in Ancient Greek Narrative Rehm, R. edited by Jong, I. d. Leiden and Boston. 2012: 307–323
  • Aeschylus Space in Ancient Greek Literature: Studies in Ancient Greek Narrative Rehm, R. edited by Jong, I. d. Leiden and Boston. 2012: 325–339
  • Ifyou are a woman': Theatrical Womanizing in Sophocles' Antigone and Fugard, Kani, and Ntshona's The Island Classics in Post-Colonial Worlds Rehm, R. edited by Gillispie, C., Hardwick, L. Cambridge. 2010: 211–217
  • Performance and Cure by K.V. Hartigan, Text & Presentation Comp. Drama Conf. Rehm, R. 2010; 7: 166-168
  • Sophocles and Alcibiades: Athenian Politics in Ancient Greek Literature (Book Review) COMPARATIVE DRAMA Book Review Authored by: Rehm, R. 2009; 43 (3): 402-405
  • How to Stage Greek Tragedy Today (Book Review) CLASSICAL WORLD Book Review Authored by: Rehm, R. 2009; 102 (4): 501-502
  • Greek Ritual Poetics (Book Review) JOURNAL OF HELLENIC STUDIES Book Review Authored by: Rehm, R. 2008; 128: 208-209
  • The Future of Dramatic Literature Text and Presentation Rehm, R. edited by Constantinidis, S. 2008: 216–218
  • Festivals and Audiences in Athens and Rome Cambridge Companion to Greek and Roman Theatre Rehm, R. edited by Walton, M., McDonald, M. Cambridge. 2007: 184–201
  • Ifyou are a woman': Theatrical Womanizing in Sophocles' Antigone and Fugard, Kani, and Ntshona's The Island Classics in Post-Colonial Worlds Rehm, R. edited by Gillispie, C., Hardwick, L. Cambridge. 2007: 211–227
  • Sophocles on Fire--To Pyr in Philoctetes Sophocles and the Greek Language: Aspects of Diction, Syntax, and the Greek Language Rehm, R. edited by Jong, I. d., Rijksbaron, A. Leiden: Brill. 2006: 95–107
  • Cassandra- The Prophetess Unveiled Agamemnon in Performance Rehm, R. edited by Hall, E., McIntosh, F. Oxford. 2006: 343–358
  • All Theater Is Revolutionary Theater by B. Bennett Bryn Mawr Classical Review Rehm, R. 2006
  • Antigone and Family Values Antigone's Answer: Essays on Death and Burial, Family and State in Classical Athens Rehm, R. edited by Patterson, C. B. Helios. 2006: 187–218
  • Female Solidarity: Timely Resistance in Greek Tragedy Rebel Women Rehm, R. edited by Wilmer, S. London: Methuen. 2005: 177–192
  • "Introduction," R.C Jebb's commentary Oedipus at Co/onus Rehm, M. P. edited by Easterling, P. E. London: Duckworth. 2004: 31–56
  • Radical Theatre: Greek Tragedy and the Modern World Rehm, M. P. London: Duckworth. 2003
  • Dolos and dike in Sophokles' 'Elektra' (Book Review) GNOMON-KRITISCHE ZEITSCHRIFT FUR DIE GESAMTE KLASSISCHE ALTERTUMSWISSENSCHAFT Book Review Authored by: Rehm, R. 2003; 75 (6): 543-545
  • Greek theatre performance: An introduction (Book Review) CLASSICAL JOURNAL Book Review Authored by: Rehm, R. 2002; 98 (2): 228-232
  • 'Supplices', the satyr play: Charles Mee's 'Big Love' AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHILOLOGY Rehm, R. 2002; 123 (1): 111-118
  • The Play of Space: Spatial Transformation in Greek Tragedy Rehm, R. Princeton University Press. 2002
  • Before, Behind, Beyond: Tragic Space in Euripides' Heracles Euripides Rehm, R. edited by Cropp, M., Lee, K., Sansone, D. Chicago. 2000: 363–375
  • Dionysus writes: The invention of theatre in ancient Greece (Book Review) UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO QUARTERLY Book Review Authored by: Rehm, R. 1999; 69 (1): 167-168
  • Greek Tragic Theatre (modern Greek translation) Rehm, R. Routledge. 1998
  • Public Spaces, Private Voices: Sophocles' Electra and Euripides' Suppliant Women Drama Rehm, M. P. 1996; 4: 49-61
  • Choral Presence, Absence, and Interaction in Euripides Arion Rehm, M. P. 1996: 45-60
  • Marriage to Death: The Conflation of Wedding and Funeral Rituals in Greek Tragedy Rehm, R. Princeton University Press. 1996
  • Theatre de Complicite: An Appreciation TheatreForum Rehm, M. P. 1995; 6: 88-96
  • Greek Tragic Theatre Rehm, M. P. Routledge. 1994
  • Marriage to Death: The Conjlation of Wedding and Funeral Rituals in Greek Tragedy Rehm, M. P. Princeton University Press. 1994
  • Greek Tragic Theatre Rehm, M. P. Routledge. 1992
  • Medea and the Logos ofthe Heroic Eranos Rehm, M. P. 1989; 87: 97-115
  • Aeschylus: The Commerce of Tragedy and Politics Syracuse, The Fairest Greek City Rehm, M. P. edited by Wescoar, B. D. Rome. 1989: 31–34
  • THE STAGING OF SUPPLIANT PLAYS + GREEK TRAGEDY GREEK ROMAN AND BYZANTINE STUDIES Rehm, R. 1988; 29 (3): 263-307
  • BRENTON 'BLOODY POETRY' THEATRE JOURNAL Rehm, R. 1987; 39 (4): 521-522
  • SHEPARD 'CURSE OF THE STARVING CLASS' THEATRE JOURNAL Rehm, R. 1986; 38 (2): 217-218
  • Aeschylus and Performance Themes in Drama Rehm, R. edited by Redmond, J. Cambridge U. Press. 1985: 229–248
  • AESCHYLUS 'ORESTEIA' TRILOGY THEATRE JOURNAL Rehm, R. 1985; 37 (4): 509-510
  • From Performance: Iliad Scripsi Rehm, R. 1981: 108-112
  • On Time and Timing: Waiting for Godot and the Theatre Viewpoints Rehm, R. edited by McFarlane, B. Melbourne. 1980: 66–81
  • Aeschylus' Oresteia: A Theatre Version Rehm, R. Melbourne: Hawthorn Press. 1978