“As a person of color, I was trained from very early on to see 'Leave It to Beaver,' 'Gilligan's Island,' or 'Hamlet' and look beyond the specifics of it - whether it be silly white people on an island or a family living in Nowheres or a Danish person - to leap past the specifics and find the human truths that have to do with me.”

American stage and screen director, playwright and producer

George Costello Wolfe is an American stage and screen director, playwright, and producer. He is known for his work in theater and film, and for winning two Tony Awards for directing Angels in America: Millennium Approaches and Bring in 'da Noise/Bring in 'da Funk. Wolfe led The Public Theater as artistic director from 1993 to 2004. His career spans directing, writing, and producing, with a strong association with major American stage work.