John Shea Biography

Fast Facts

• Played varsity football and was a member of the debate team at Bates College
• Performed in the cabaret at the Yale Repertory Theatre while at the Yale Drama School with classmate Meryl Streep
• Worked at the Chelsea Theatre in London and the Public Theater in New York City under a director apprenticeship, working with Robert Kalfin and Joseph Papp, respectively
• Made his Broadway debut in 1975 as the character of Avigdor in Yentl; he later won the Theatre World Award for Most Promising Actor in 1976 for his performance
• Portrayed Michael Trent in a 1984 Broadway production of End of the World
• Holds the title of Artistic Director Emeritus at the Theatre Workshop of Nantucket, where he plays Ahab in an annual performance of Orson Welles's two-act drama Moby Dick---Rehearsed