Robert Goldsby started out acting during World War II, in a touring production for the troops in the Philippines. He earned a B.A. in French and Comparative Literature from Columbia and, along with directing studies, an M.F.A. in Acting from Yale. He was an actor, resident stage director and conservatory director of San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theatre, running the first Training Congress.

For 30 years, he was professor of acting, dramatic literature and directing at the University of California at Berkeley, and he ultimately served as chair of this department. Robert was a founding director of the Berkeley Stage Company, which introduced many new plays and playwrights to America.

When he relocated to Los Angeles, he worked at many of the the major university and professional theatres of the region. He has translated works by Sardou, Molière, and Feydeau. Of the 150+ productions he directed, there were 11 plays by Molière, 46 classical plays from Aristophanes to Shakespeare to Giraudoux, and 98 plays from the modern repertory from Ibsen to Innaurato.

As both director and scholar, Robert has been particularly devoted to Molière. He published a book from his lifetime of experience and research, titled: Molière On Stage: What’s So Funny?

Just a bit of what we cover in this episode:

• Working with Walter Matthau and getting pinched by him
• The importance of studying both Literature and Performance
• Why directors need to really understand the text
• His introduction to the very alive work of Molière
• Creating the curriculum for the ACT program, which is still used
• Why plays were so thrilling when he was teaching
• What student actors had that professionals did not

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