Callender was trained at The Juilliard School, Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in England, and Tadashi Suzuki Company of Toga in Japan.
During that time acted in numerous Shakespearean plays, and he received awards for his roles as Polixenes, Orsino, Laertes, and Caesar.
At Marin Theatre Company, he was in numerous shows including playing Walter in Swimmers[15] and James in Circle Mirror Transformation.
He received Helen Hayes Award nominations for his roles in Oak and Ivy[16] and Playboy of the West Indies at Arena Stage.
[17] In 1998, at Williamstown Theatre Festival he played Agamemnon in Hecuba with Olympia Dukakis in the title role, directed by Carey Perloff.
At American Stage Company in St. Petersburg, Florida, he has directed mostly contemporary work, including August Wilson’s Jitney (2016), Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (2017), Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun (2018), and Dominique Morisseau’s Pipeline (2019),[22] and Skeleton Crew (2020).
[23] He has directed modern and contemporary plays such as A Raisin in the Sun (2012), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (2013),[24] Jitney (2017), A Streetcar Named Desire (2018), and Black Eagles (2019).
[25] Callender has directed a number of Shakespeare plays, including Twelfth Night (2011), Much Ado About Nothing (2014), The Winter’s Tale (2017),[26] Macbeth (2019) in the modern-verse translation by Migdalia Cruz.
The production was riddled with issues, including Ted Lange's departure and L. Peter Callender filling the role as both Willy and director.