Ted Swindley

For over twenty-five years, Ted Swindley has directed and/or produced over 200 plays. He is nationally known for creating the hit musical ALWAYS…PATSY CLINE, which opened in New York in June, 1997, while continuing to play throughout the world. Some of his outstanding directorial credits include World Premieres, Classics and Musicals including PACIFIC OVERTURES, FOLLIES, and CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF, and rotating repertory projects such as Thornton Wilder’s OUR TOWN with THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH and DANGEROUS LIAISONS with THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST.

Mr. Swindley was named to Esquire magazine’s register of Americans for Outstanding Achievement in Arts and Letters and was featured in Southern Living magazine. He was the recipient of the Los Angeles Dramalogue Award for Outstanding Direction and nominated for the prestigious Los Angeles Critics Award for his work at the Pasadena Playhouse. He has been a member of the prestigious Writers and Directors Unit of New York’s famed Actors Studio.

He has also guest directed for the Texas Shakespeare Festival, Duke University, San Diego Repertory, Red Barn Theatre, Flat Rock Playhouse, Denver Theatre Center, Virginia Stage, Barter Theatre, Mill Mountain Theatre, Ryman Auditorium, Actor’s Studio, York Theatre, and Pasadena Playhouse, to name a few.

As Playwright and Director, Mr. Swindley created the hit musical ALWAYS…PATSY CLINE, which has been produced all over the world. Mr. Swindley has served as dramaturg on numerous new plays which had their premiere at Stages Repertory Theatre in Houston. Internationally, he has directed touring productions in the UK and Australia.

Mr. Swindley is the Founding Artistic Director of Stages Repertory Theatre, the second largest theatre in Houston, Texas. There he implemented such diverse programming as the Texas Playwrights’ Festival, for which he won national recognition in 1986 from the Wall Street Journal and Backstage magazine. Jules Feiffer’s CARNAL KNOWLEDGE had its World Premiere at STAGES. Although it had been originally written as a play, Mike Nichols produced and directed the film adaptation. However, the Feiffer play had never been produced until Swindley contacted Jules Feiffer. Both at STAGES and later at Pasadena Playhouse, Jules Feiffer was in residence working with Swindley each day. Feiffer said years later, “It was the best creative collaboration of my career.”

Mr. Swindley’s latest hit musical, THE HONKY TONK ANGELS and the sequel HONKY TONK ANGELS HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR are playing in theatres throughout the United States. Other shows by Mr. Swindley which had world premieres are STEP INTO MY PARLOR, BYE, BYE LOVE: THE EVERLY BROTHERS MUSICAL, SUMMER OF ’66 and SWING STEP, which was nominated for the Dora Award (the Canadian equivalent of the Tony in America) for best musical.

Mr. Swindley recently premiered a new musical comedy, BACHELOR PAD, based on the short story “Thank You Anna,” by William Safire and featuring lounge music classics from the 50’sand 60’s. He has also written a play entitled STORIES MY GRANDMOTHER TOLD ME, a southern adaptation of THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST, and the THE HONKY TONK ANGELS trilogy which includes A HONKY TONK ANGELS HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR and BUBBA’S REVENGE. A SOUTHERN BELLE PRIMER is an adaptation of the Southern bestseller with the subtitle OR WHY PRINCESS MARGARET COULD NEVER BE IN KAPPA KAPPA GAMMA. He has also written a series of children’s stories for the Christmas season. His latest work, REBEL YELL, is a hard hitting drama about racism in the South in 1920. It is dedicated to the Charleston 9 who were brutally murdered in their church in 2015.

He holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Houston, a Master of Arts from Baylor University and a Bachelor of Arts from Furman University. He has studied at the Lincoln Center Institute and the Institute of European Studies in Vienna, Austria. Mr. Swindley is President/Executive Director of Ted Swindley Productions and APC, Inc., theatrical licensing companies. He is an active member of the Dramatists Guild and the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers.

Mr. Swindley is available as artistic consultant, guest director or playwright in residence. As dramaturg and writer, he also accepts commissioned works and consults on the development of new plays and musicals.