Lyle Kessler

Lyle Kessler (born April 11, 1936) is an American playwright, screenwriter and actor, best known internationally for his 1983 play Orphans.

Career

Actor Born in Philadelphia, Kessler began his career as an actor. His first professional appearance was in the Philadelphia premiere of the play Waiting for Godot, appearing opposite Bruce Dern. He has subsequently appeared in several films, including James Dean (portraying Lee Strasberg, under whom he had studied at the Actors Studio).

Writer and director Kessler studied acting with Lee Strasberg and was accepted into the Director's Unit of the Actors Studio, where he wrote and directed his first one act play, The Viewing, which he subsequently directed at the Lucille Lortel Theater in New York.

Playwright Kessler's most well known plays include his first full-length work, The Watering Place, and Orphans. located at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute. This workshop brings together actors, writers and directors who create scenes and original plays to be performed by psychiatric patients, veterans and "at risk" students in the L.A Public Schools. In 1998 they won the Ovation Award "for their excellence in using theatre to impact and involve a community."

Kessler and Mark Rydell co-moderate the Writer/Directors Unit of the Actors Studio West at Greenway Court Theatre. Kessler served as the director of the Sundance Screenwriter's Lab. He also participated in the Sundance Screenwriters Conference in Hungary, working with writers from all over Eastern Europe.

Professional seminar In 2009, Kessler, working with actor Martin Landau and director Mark Rydell, teamed up to produce an education seminar, the Total Picture Seminar, a two-day event covering the disciplines of acting, directing and writing for film.