# Carl Cofield

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{{short description|American theatre director}}
'''Carl Cofield''' is an American theatre director and actor.

==Education and influences==
Cofield was in the first class of the [New World School of the Arts](/source/New_World_School_of_the_Arts) in Miami.<ref>{{cite web |title=Miami New Drama announces "One Night in Miami…" cast |url=https://www.abkco.com/news-feed/one-night-in-miami-colony-theater/ |website=Abkco Music and Records |access-date=4 July 2022}}</ref> He studied for one summer at [Royal Academy of Dramatic Art](/source/Royal_Academy_of_Dramatic_Art) and earned a BFA in Acting from [University of Miami](/source/University_of_Miami).<ref>{{cite web |title=Carl Cofield Named Associate Artistic Director Of The Classical Theatre Of Harlem |url=https://www.harlemworldmagazine.com/carl-cofield-is-named-associate-artistic-director-of-the-classical-theatre-of-harlem/ |website=Harlem World Magazine |date=10 August 2018 |access-date=4 July 2022}}</ref> He earned an MFA in Directing from [Columbia University](/source/Columbia_University) in 2014.

Cofield is heavily influenced by music and hip-hop culture, citing the poetry and rhythm of [Public Enemy](/source/Public_Enemy) as a key influence.<ref>{{cite web |title=Shakespeare Lightning Round: Carl Cofield |url=https://www.folger.edu/events/lightning-round-carl-cofield |website=Folger Shakespeare Library |access-date=4 July 2022}}</ref>

==Television and film==
Cofield was a child actor in commercials, television series, and films. He was in almost a dozen [Burger King](/source/Burger_King) commercials starting at age four and in several Wise Cheez Doodles commercials.<ref>{{cite web |title=Molly's Salon: Sherri Edelen and Carl Cofield |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK1g1wF_j2Q |website=Arena Stage | date=4 May 2021 |access-date=4 July 2022}}</ref> He was on ''[Miami Vice](/source/Miami_Vice)'' in 1986 and 1988, and ''[Law & Order](/source/Law_%26_Order)'' in 1993 and 1994, in both cases playing different characters on different episodes. He had roles on ''[Tyler Perry's House of Payne](/source/Tyler_Perry's_House_of_Payne)'', ''[Mama, I Want to Sing!](/source/Mama%2C_I_Want_to_Sing!_(film))'', and several other films and television series.

==Theatre==

===Acting===
Cofield performed in several shows and toured with the Acting Company including as Henry in ''[Henry V](/source/Henry_V_(play))'', and performed in multiple productions at [Alabama Shakespeare Festival](/source/Alabama_Shakespeare_Festival) including Orsino in ''[Twelfth Night](/source/Twelfth_Night)''<ref>{{cite book |last1=O'Connor |first1=J |title=A Directory of Shakespeare in Performance Since 1991: Volume 3, USA and Canada |date=2007 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |location=New York |page=1927}}</ref> and Orlando in ''[As You Like It](/source/As_You_Like_It)'', [Shakespeare Santa Cruz](/source/Shakespeare_Santa_Cruz) as Laertes in ''[Hamlet](/source/Hamlet)'' and Victor in ''[Private Lives](/source/Private_Lives)'',<ref>{{cite web |last1=Waters |first1=Christina |title=Apocalypse Noel |url=https://www.goodtimes.sc/archives/cruz/08.06.03/private-0332.html |website=Metro Santa Cruz |access-date=4 July 2022}}</ref> and [Arena Stage](/source/Arena_Stage) including Lymon in ''[The Piano Lesson](/source/The_Piano_Lesson)'' and Acaste in ''[The Misanthrope](/source/The_Misanthrope)''.

Cofield also played Morocco in ''[The Merchant of Venice](/source/The_Merchant_of_Venice)'' at [Shakespeare Theatre Company](/source/Shakespeare_Theatre_Company),<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mackay |first1=Barbara |title=A dynamic new world 'Merchant of Venice' |url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/a-dynamic-new-world-merchant-of-venice |website=Washington Examiner |date=4 July 2011 |access-date=5 July 2022}}</ref> Boy Willie in ''[The Piano Lesson](/source/The_Piano_Lesson)'' at [Indiana Repertory Theatre](/source/Indiana_Repertory_Theatre), and Barlow in ''[Gem of the Ocean](/source/Gem_of_the_Ocean)'' at [Actors Theatre of Louisville](/source/Actors_Theatre_of_Louisville).

He performed off-Broadway at the [Manhattan Theatre Club](/source/Manhattan_Theatre_Club) in ''[Ruined](/source/Ruined_(play))''<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hetrick |first1=Adam |title=Original Ruined Cast Members Will Revisit the Drama in Seattle and Los Angeles |url=https://playbill.com/article/original-ruined-cast-members-will-revisit-the-drama-in-seattle-and-los-angeles-com-169286 |website=Playbill |access-date=4 July 2022}}</ref> and ''The Whipping Man'', and at shows at Duke on 42nd and Lucille Lortel Theater.

===Directing===
Cofield directed ''[The Mountaintop](/source/The_Mountaintop)'' at Cleveland Playhouse in 2016, ''[Disgraced](/source/Disgraced)'' at Denver Center,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Moore |first1=John |title=Perspectives: 'Disgraced' is about starting, not finishing, conversations |url=https://www.denvercenter.org/news-center/perspectives-disgraced-is-about-starting-not-finishing-conversations/ |website=Denver Center for the Performing Arts |date=7 April 2017 |access-date=4 July 2022}}</ref> ''[A Raisin in the Sun](/source/A_Raisin_in_the_Sun)'' at Two River Theatre, and ''[Henry IV, Part 2](/source/Henry_IV%2C_Part_2)'' at Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2017.

He directed the world premiere of ''[One Night in Miami](/source/One_Night_in_Miami_(play))'' at Rogue Machine in Los Angeles in 2013.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Nichols |first1=David C. |title=Review: Imagining the history that was made 'One Night in Miami...' |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-xpm-2013-jun-11-la-et-cm-one-night-in-miami-rogue-machine-20130611-story.html |website=Los Angeles Times |date=11 June 2013 |access-date=4 July 2022}}</ref> He directed the play again at Denver Center in 2015<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kennedy |first1=Lisa |title=Theater Review: Denver Center's "One Night in Miami" wallops |url=https://www.denverpost.com/2015/04/01/theater-review-denver-centers-one-night-in-miami-wallops/ |website=The Denver Post |date=April 2015 |access-date=4 July 2022}}</ref> and at Miami New Drama in 2018.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Martin |first1=Roger |title=Review: ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI at Miami New Drama |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/miami/article/BWW-Review-ONE-NIGHT-IN-MIAMI-at-Miami-New-Drama-20181120 |website=Broadway World |access-date=4 July 2022}}</ref>

He directed ''[Radio Golf](/source/Radio_Golf)'' by August Wilson at [Everyman Theatre, Baltimore](/source/Everyman_Theatre%2C_Baltimore) in 2019, and ''[Cymbeline](/source/Cymbeline)'' at The [Public Theater](/source/Public_Theater) for their Mobile Unit<ref>{{cite web |title=Cymbeline |url=https://publictheater.org/productions/season/1920/mobile-unit/mobile-unit-cymbeline/ |website=Public Theater |access-date=4 July 2022}}</ref> and ''[A Raisin in the Sun](/source/A_Raisin_in_the_Sun)'' at [Yale Repertory Theatre](/source/Yale_Repertory_Theatre) in 2020.

His 2019 ''[Twelfth Night](/source/Twelfth_Night)'' at Yale Rep was staged with an Afrofuturistic aesthetic.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Carson-Smith |first1=Taijae |title=All Bodies Are Shakespeare Bodies - "An Afrofuturistic Twelfth Night" |url=https://www.elmshakespeare.org/yes-articles/twelfth-night-all-bodies-are-shakespeare-bodies |website=Elm Shakespeare Company |access-date=4 July 2022}}</ref> In 2021, he directed ''[King Lear](/source/King_Lear)''  at St. Louis Shakespeare Festival with [André De Shields](/source/Andr%C3%A9_De_Shields) in the lead role and set in Africa.

===Classical Theatre of Harlem===
In 2018, Cofield was appointed Associate Artistic Director of Classical Theatre of Harlem.<ref>{{cite web |title=Carl Cofield Named Chair of NYU Tisch Grad Acting Program |url=https://www.americantheatre.org/2021/04/15/carl-cofield-named-chair-of-nyu-tisch-grad-acting-program/ |website=American Theatre |date=15 April 2021 |access-date=4 July 2022}}</ref>
In 2014, Cofield directed the 50th anniversary production of Amiri Baraka's ''[Dutchman](/source/Dutchman_(play))'', as a joint venture with National Black Theatre and Classical Theatre of Harlem.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Soloski |first1=Alexis |title=Down in the Subway, Swipe Again |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/08/theater/the-racially-charged-dutchman-at-national-black-theater.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=4 July 2022}}</ref> His 2015 production of ''[The Tempest](/source/The_Tempest)'' was set in Hispaniola.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Collins-Hughes |first1=Laura |title=Review: 'The Tempest' Brings Music and Spirits to Marcus Garvey Park |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/08/theater/review-the-tempest-brings-music-and-spirits-to-marcus-garvey-park.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=4 July 2022}}</ref>
Cofield directed a production of ''[Macbeth](/source/Macbeth)'' in 2016,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Genzlinger |first1=Neil |title=Review: A 'Macbeth' at Ease in the Dark and Noisy City |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/23/theater/review-a-macbeth-at-ease-in-the-dark-and-noisy-city.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=4 July 2022}}</ref> ''[Antigone](/source/Antigone_(Sophocles_play))'' in 2018,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Collins-Hughes |first1=Laura |title=Review: 'Antigone' Asserts Whose Lives Matter, With Modern Relevance |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/09/theater/antigone-review.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=4 July 2022}}</ref> and for his 2019 production of ''[The Bacchae](/source/The_Bacchae)'' Cofield was described as taking advantage "of the outdoor setting with an electrifying staging that constantly breaks the fourth wall, bringing us mortals closer to the deities onstage."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Solís |first1=Jose |title=Review: The Greeks Go Coachella in a Boisterous 'Bacchae' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/11/theater/the-bacchae-review-classical-theater-of-harlem.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=4 July 2022}}</ref>

In 2021, Cofield directed Will Power's ''Seize the King'', a re-writing of ''[Richard III](/source/Richard_III_(play))'', that was described as "both monumental and minimalist."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Collins-Hughes |first1=Laura |title=Review: In 'Seize the King,' 'Richard III' Goes to Harlem |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/11/theater/harlem-seize-the-king-richard-iii.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=4 July 2022}}</ref> Cofield's 2022 production of ''[Twelfth Night](/source/Twelfth_Night)'' was hailed by ''The New York Times'' as one of the best productions that year<ref>{{cite web |last1=Green |first1=Jesse |title=Best of Theater 2022 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/05/theater/best-theater-broadway.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=5 December 2022}}</ref> and for its direction.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Phillips |first1=Maya |title=Tony Awards 2023: Who Will Win (and Who Should) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/10/theater/tony-awards-2023-broadway-critics-picks.html |website=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times) |access-date=10 May 2023}}</ref>

==Service to the arts==
Cofield has been involved in the development of numerous theatrical projects. In 2014, he was a director for the play festival, 48 Hours in Harlem, through the [National Black Theatre](/source/National_Black_Theatre). In 2017, he directed a series of six plays commissioned by the McCarter Theatre at Princeton, for the program, the "Princeton and Slavery Plays."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wojciechowski |first1=Frank |title=Princeton and Slavery: Plays That Probe Our Original Sin |url=https://paw.princeton.edu/article/princeton-and-slavery-plays-probe-our-original-sin |website=Princeton Alumni Weekly |access-date=4 July 2022}}</ref> In 2019, he directed ''The Kept Private'', a documentary theatre play, at Jeremy Davidson Storyhorse Theatre.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Kept Private by Storyhorse Documentary Theatre |url=https://jayheritagecenter.org/2019/01/10/the-kept-private-by-storyhorse-theatre/ |website=Jay Heritage Center |date=10 January 2019 |access-date=5 July 2022}}</ref>

==Teaching==
Cofield has taught at [Theatre for a New Audience](/source/Theatre_for_a_New_Audience), [Fredonia](/source/State_University_of_New_York_at_Fredonia), [York College](/source/York_College%2C_City_University_of_New_York), and [Baruch College](/source/Baruch_College). Beginning in 2015, he began to teach at [The New School](/source/The_New_School), and in 2019, at [Columbia University](/source/Columbia_University).

From 2015 to 2018, Cofield taught at [New York University](/source/New_York_University). In 2021, Cofield was announced as the incoming Chair of Graduate Acting at [New York University Tisch School of the Arts](/source/New_York_University_Tisch_School_of_the_Arts) for a three-year appointment.<ref>{{cite web |title=Carl Cofield Named Chair of NYU Tisch Grad Acting Program |url=https://www.americantheatre.org/2021/04/15/carl-cofield-named-chair-of-nyu-tisch-grad-acting-program/ |website=American Theatre |date=15 April 2021 |access-date=4 July 2022}}</ref>

==Martial Arts==
Cofield is a Black Belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.<ref>{{cite web |title=Carl Cofield |url=https://www.instagram.com/carlcofield/?hl=en |website=Instagram |access-date=29 September 2022}}</ref>

==Awards==
*2022: AUDELCO Award, Best Director of a Play for ''[Twelfth Night](/source/Twelfth_Night)'' for the Classical Theatre of Harlem
*2021: St. Louis Theatre Circle Award, Outstanding Director of a Drama for ''[King Lear](/source/King_Lear)''<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wilson |first1=Calvin |title=Muny's 'Chicago' wins big at St. Louis Theater Circle Awards |url=https://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/arts-and-theatre/muny-s-chicago-wins-big-at-st-louis-theater-circle-awards/article_25b7cfe2-1261-50c0-8ca0-b9fb16d821e7.html |website=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |date=29 March 2022 |access-date=4 July 2022}}</ref>
*2014: NAACP Theatre Award, Best Director - Local for ''[One Night in Miami](/source/One_Night_in_Miami_(play))''<ref>{{cite web |title=24th NAACP Theatre Awards Announced |url=https://naacptheatreawards.com/24th-naacp-theatre-awards-winners-announced/ |website=NAACP Theatre Awards |access-date=4 July 2022}}</ref>
*2014: LA Weekly Award, Best Director (nominated)<ref>{{cite web |title=6th Season (2013) |url=https://www.roguemachinetheatre.net/awards |website=Rogue Machine Theatre|access-date=4 July 2022}}</ref>
*2014: L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award
*AUDELCO Awards (nominated numerous times)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cofield, Carl}}
Category:Living people
Category:American theatre directors
Category:1970 births
Category:21st-century African-American male actors
Category:21st-century American male actors
Category:American male child actors
Category:American artistic directors
Category:Columbia University School of the Arts alumni
Category:New York University faculty
Category:Male actors from Miami
Category:University of Miami alumni

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Carl Cofield](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Cofield) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Cofield?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.