Stephan B. Turner
Theatre Artist
Founder of The Gate Theater
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Chiang Mai, Thailand
accolades
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“You are right about the pieces I sent you. They are from a book. Thanks for taking so much time to help me find a monologue that’s right for me.” – Joy H
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"I'm feeling so freakin' upbeat and all around jazzed by how it all came together last night." - Emma C
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"I wish to extend our thanks for the splendid performance of "Driving Miss Daisy". It worked very well, transforming one of our regular meeting rooms into a very special performance space with seemingly perfect technical aspects for the performance -- light, sound and audience comfort." - President of ChiangMai Expat Club
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“TGTG has undertaken everything from comedy to deadly serious drama...all under the capable direction of Stephan Turner, whose three decades of experience in live theater make every performance a clarion call for a little more.” – Frank W
Reviewed October 26, 2016 Great live English language theater recently retired in Chiang Mai after teaching in China for several years and one of the things that I really missed was live theater. Fortunately for me , I found the Gate Theater Group that produces works by little known and famous playwrights. Two of my favorites were I Hate Hamlet and Driving Miss Daisy. If you happen to be in Chiang Mai please check their website to see if they are staging a production , you won't be disappointed. Reviewed October 13, 2016 via mobile An Authentic Theater Experience had the opportunity to see the Gate Theater put on a one off performance in Chiang Rai. They were able to ship all their props, costumes and lights, as well as convert a modest hall into an auditorium with tiered seating. Now I've spent interminable evenings sat on a hard wooden chair in a village hall enduring "am dram", but this was no such thing. What I saw was a highly polished performance, both engaging and slick. The people involved in the Gate Theater appear to be genuinely committed to providing an authentic theater experience in northern Thailand, and they don't disappoint. |
“This production was simply stunning! Stephan Turner had a vision when he began to plan this project and he brought it to life. With his quiet and thoughtful directing, he then brought all of the cast into that vision.” – Marie F
More About The Gate Theater As an American, living in Chiang Mai Thailand for more than 14 years now I can't begin to tell you all how much I appreciate live, English speaking theater here in my adopted hometown! I've lived in Boston and NYC and always loved going to live performances in both of those cities. When I found The Gate here in Chiang Mai, I was in heaven! After sitting in the audience for performances of The Laramie Project, Driving Miss Daisy (which brought me to tears), as well as several other of The Gate's projects I became involved. In September I joined a small group of "first time ever on the stage" actors for The Gate Readers Theater Group "one of" performances of "Morning's At Seven"....What a thrill! I strongly suggest if you're visiting my adopted hometown and there is a performance going on DO ATTEND....If you live here and you think there is an "inner child" actor deep inside you've been wanting to let out on live theater stage DO NOT miss this group of wonderful, talented, kind, caring, genuine people who all give so much to the community! ...also, if you only feel comfortable helping behind the scenes.....check the group out!- Marie F. Wow , an English Theater in Chiang Mai, Thailand This should definitely be on your list when you visit Chiang Mai. I am signing up as a member so I can get the latest news on the Gate Theater. January 2017 |
Gate Theater Production of The Exonerated THE GATE THEATER GROUP: THE EXONERATED - A fantastic performance by every single cast member making for another evening of quality, live, English speaking theater. This production was simply stunning! Stephan Turner had a vision when he began to plan this project and he brought it to life . With his quiet and thoughtful directing, he then brought all of the cast into that vision. With a spare and dark stage setting. Strikingly dramatic lighting and a background music score that added even more to the storytelling atmosphere, Stephan and the cast shared their vision with the audience for an all too quick 90 minutes. I hope The Gate Theater will consider bringing The Exonerated back to Chiang Mai for an "Encore" in the very near future. Thanks to the Gate Theater for taking me on this incredible ride. I can't wait to see what you're planning for your 10th anniversary season American. (nannyre)
DRIVING MISS DAISY COMES TO INDIANA UNIVERSITY'S
THEATER NORTHWEST
THEATER NORTHWEST
I'm thrilled to announce that I've had the incredible honor of performing in Driving Miss Daisy at various venues in Northern Thailand. Now, for the first time ever, I'll be taking on the role of Hoke Coburn in the United States! This exciting production, co-sponsored by the Morning Bishop Theater Playhouse, is a special fundraiser for The Gate Theater Group in Thailand. I can't wait to explore more partnership opportunities in my hometown. - Stephan Turner
Winner of the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
THE STORY:
The place is the Deep South, the time 1948, just prior to the civil rights movement. Having recently demolished another car, Daisy Werthan, a rich, sharp-tongued Jewish widow of seventy-two, is informed by her son, Boolie, that henceforth she must rely on the services of a chauffeur. The person he hires for the job is a thoughtful, unemployed black man, Hoke, whom Miss Daisy immediately regards with disdain and who, in turn, is not impressed with his employer’s patronizing tone and, he believes, her latent prejudice. But, in a series of absorbing scenes spanning twenty-five years, the two, despite their mutual differences, grow ever closer to, and more dependent on, each other, until, eventually, they become almost a couple. Slowly and steadily the dignified, good-natured Hoke breaks down the stern defenses of the ornery old lady, as she teaches him to read and write and, in a gesture of good will and shared concern, invites him to join her at a banquet in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.
As the play ends Hoke has a final visit with Miss Daisy, now ninety-seven and confined to a nursing home, and while it is evident that a vestige of her fierce independence and sense of position still remain, it is also movingly clear that they have both come to realize they have more in common than they ever believed possible—and that times and circumstances would ever allow them to publicly admit. Also winner of the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Off-Broadway Play.
A warm-hearted, humorous and affecting study of the unlikely relationship between an aging, crotchety white Southern lady, and a proud, soft-spoken black man. A long-running Off-Broadway success and an Academy Award-winning film.
“The play is sweet without being mawkish, ameliorative, without being sanctimonious.” -- The New York Times.
“…a perfectly poised and shaped miniature on the odd-couple theme.” --New York Post.
“Playwrights Horizons has a winner in this one…gives off a warm glow of humane affirmation.” --Variety.
“DRIVING MISS DAISY is a total delight.” --New York Daily News.
THE STORY:
The place is the Deep South, the time 1948, just prior to the civil rights movement. Having recently demolished another car, Daisy Werthan, a rich, sharp-tongued Jewish widow of seventy-two, is informed by her son, Boolie, that henceforth she must rely on the services of a chauffeur. The person he hires for the job is a thoughtful, unemployed black man, Hoke, whom Miss Daisy immediately regards with disdain and who, in turn, is not impressed with his employer’s patronizing tone and, he believes, her latent prejudice. But, in a series of absorbing scenes spanning twenty-five years, the two, despite their mutual differences, grow ever closer to, and more dependent on, each other, until, eventually, they become almost a couple. Slowly and steadily the dignified, good-natured Hoke breaks down the stern defenses of the ornery old lady, as she teaches him to read and write and, in a gesture of good will and shared concern, invites him to join her at a banquet in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.
As the play ends Hoke has a final visit with Miss Daisy, now ninety-seven and confined to a nursing home, and while it is evident that a vestige of her fierce independence and sense of position still remain, it is also movingly clear that they have both come to realize they have more in common than they ever believed possible—and that times and circumstances would ever allow them to publicly admit. Also winner of the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Off-Broadway Play.
A warm-hearted, humorous and affecting study of the unlikely relationship between an aging, crotchety white Southern lady, and a proud, soft-spoken black man. A long-running Off-Broadway success and an Academy Award-winning film.
“The play is sweet without being mawkish, ameliorative, without being sanctimonious.” -- The New York Times.
“…a perfectly poised and shaped miniature on the odd-couple theme.” --New York Post.
“Playwrights Horizons has a winner in this one…gives off a warm glow of humane affirmation.” --Variety.
“DRIVING MISS DAISY is a total delight.” --New York Daily News.
