Phil Soltanoff is an American theatre director who utilizes a variety of mediums, including music, video and puppetry.
[1] Growing up in Stamford, CT, Soltanoff encountered his first theatre experience at eight years old, when his mother took him to a production of Brigadoon.
His parents wanted him to become a lawyer, but after attending Kenyon College he found employment at the Sharon Playhouse, where he was hired as a stage manager.
[7][8] He returned to compose and perform an original score for LCT's 1980 production of A Midsummer Night's Dream and continued with the company when it moved to Albany to form Capital Repertory Theatre.
Skidmore productions include Machinal by Sophie Treadwell, The Tooth of Crime by Sam Shepard, and Camino Real by Tennessee Williams.
[30][31][32][33][34] In 2014, Soltanoff and Joe Diebes debuted An Evening with William Shatner Asterisk, without the star's participation or authorization.
[37][38][39] Influenced by modern music such as John Cage and Steven Reich, Soltanoff's style embraces multiple types of media, as well as puppetry and human movement.