Lester Thomas Shane

His many directing credits in venues across the country range from Shakespeare to premiere productions. Lester was Director in Residence at New York’s The Basic Theatre and Artistic Director of Shakespeare in San Marco in Jacksonville, FL.  In addition, he directed numerous readings and workshops and worked with the literary departments of the Manhattan Theatre Club, Westbeth and Hartford Stage.

Lester is the co-author of several screenplays. Sundance published a series of his plays for children. He co-developed the program P.O.V. Max for Children’s Television Workshop. Lester has been a contributing writer for the magazines A&E Monthly and Facilities. For television  he wrote several episodes of A&E’s popular Biography series as well as doumentaries for American Movie Classics (AMC) and the Discovery Network.

As an actor, he worked at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. In addition to playing many leading roles, Lester also served as the company Voice and Movement Master.

Lester’s award-winning one man show, Mortal Coil: Voices from the Hospice, premiered at the New York International Fringe Festival in 1997, and has since played across the country. Mortal Coil, in which he portrays thirteen characters one night in a hospice, has been produced for video and has been incorporated into Columbia University’s and UCLA’s curriculum training for training doctors on end-of-life care. Lester continues to tour the production.

Lester is on the faculty of New York’s New Actors Workshop, The American Academy of Dramatic Art, New York Film Academy, Pace University,BTS School of Drama, and a children’s company, the TADA! Ensemble. He was invited to give the keynote address at the 2001 National Teaching Training Institute sponsored by PBS. Lester also works extensively as a speech and dialects coach.

428 East 77th Street #3D
New York, New York 10075

Telephone: 212.249.7076
Cell: 917.447.4802

E-Mail: Lester@LesterThomasShane.com

Engage in possibility…with compassion and integrity