Ed Claudio

Posted on August 5, 2011 – 9:27 PM | by Admin

• 

By James W. Cameron  Photos by Scott Duncan

In a quiet, mixed-use neighborhood of modest historic homes and industrial and commercial buildings at 25^th and R streets is a courtyard that houses a host of activities that enrich the soul of Sacramento. Three theaters and three production companies share a corner of a city block with the Poetry Center and half a dozen artist’s studios and comprise a treasure chest of the arts. 

One of those treasures is Ed Claudio.

Claudio came into the Sacramento theater scene in 1989 after cutting his theatrical teeth in the famous Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York.  Persuaded to make the three thousand mile move  by local star Tim Busfield, Claudio has served as a producer, director, actor, playwright and coach, appearing in more than 150 full length plays and directing over 500 one act adult and children’s productions.

Though Claudio has been a Sacramentan for decades, he has strong  roots in New York.  “I grew up in Queens,” he explains. “My dad died when I was ten and my mom raised me, taking me to the theater often.  A pretty fair actor: James Caan, was our next door neighbor.  New York was a mix of Italian, Irish and Jewish people and was a cauldron of creativity.”

“I studied with Adler and several other prominent theater coaches and mentors and launched my acting career there in New York.  But I also had a ten year interlude as an art dealer, specializing in selling high-end prints and traveling the country. Sometimes I had several hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of artwork in my car, works by artists like Picasso and Erté. I was living high, hobnobbing with people like Frank Stella and Roy Lichtenstein when I had a heart attack at age forty-one.  That changed everything and I settled into acting.”

In New York, Claudio had several lead roles in such diverse productions as Clifford Odets The Country Girl and Shakespeare’s The Merchant Of Venice, appearing on and off Broadway. But Busfield beckoned, and he came west, settling in Sacramento ever since.

When Claudio arrived in 1989, the Sacramento theater community consisted mainly of the Music Theatre and Sacramento Theatre Company.  In partnership with Michelle Barnett, he quickly founded the Actors Workshop of Sacramento, a place where actors of all levels of experience develop and hone their craft. Three years later he added the Teen Actor’s Workshop and Children’s Actors Workshops.  Since then, Claudio and Barnett have offered a wide range of theater craft, technique and history classes to over two thousand students and have had a material effect on the region’s legitimate theater; graduates of the programs have gone on to develop their craft at prestigious training programs such as Julliard, Cal Arts, and Mike Nichols’ New Actor’s Workshop in New York City.   A few have ‘made it,’ working in the theater both on and off Broadway and in television and film.

Another of Claudio’s creations, the Actors Theatre of Sacramento, has staged over two hundred plays, including works by Shakespeare and Chekhov, great twentieth century works by Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams, and modern plays, including full-scale productions by regional and local playwrights.  And yet another creation, summer acting camps for kids and teens, has been flourishing for ten years.

A founding member of Busfield’s Fantasy Theatre for Children, Claudio served as Artist-In-Residence for three years and appeared with Busfield in the B Street Theater’s first production, Mass Appeal.  He has appeared in three world premier productions at B Street, most notably, Hidden in this Picture, by acclaimed writer Aaron Sorkin. Other highlights of his local stage appearances include Arthur Miller’s All My Sons at the Sacramento Theatre Company and the dual lead role in Athol Fugard’s Valley Song at the Foothill Theatre Company in Nevada City. His media work includes national television and radio commercials, independent films and principal roles in the CBS Movies of the Week, Spring Awakening and A Tangled Web.

Asked about his favorite actors, he says, “Easy.  Brando and Newman.”

Favorite plays? “Just as easy.  West Side Story and Fiddler On The Roof”

Biggest help with his career here?  “Even easier.  My daughter, Lauren. She’s been integral to my success.”

Biggest moments?  “Lots of them, of course,” he says.  “But one, certainly, was helping Tim launch B Street.  We opened in a building that was an old tile factory and put the production together after just eight days of rehearsal. Mass Appeal ran for twelve weeks, a huge success.  Our second production, Hidden in this Picture, also ran for twelve weeks.  While in rehearsal, we realized we needed a second act and Sorkin wrote it on an airplane while flying back from New York… fun times!”