Since 2009, Sean has been directing touring theater work with his company Working Group Theatre. His directing style incorporates a playwright’s understanding of story with an excited visual sense inspired by the work of Pina Bausch, Robert LePage and Moises Kaufman. From 2016-2018 he served as the Interim Artistic Director at Riverside Theatre.
Credits: two National Tours of OUT OF BOUNDS (NEFA Award winner), The Broken Chord (Hancher Auditorium), ALL RECIPES ARE HOME (Hancher Auditorium; Grinnell College Performance Series; Luther College Center for Faith and Life), Mayberry (Hancher Auditorium; Iowa West Arts Center; Bucksbaum Performing Arts Center), Venus in Fur; Mary’s Wedding; Marion Bridge, Kimberly Akimbo View From The Bridge, Every Brilliant Thing, Bakersfield Mist, Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, Ears on a Beatle and Manning Up (Riverside Theatre), Out of Bounds (Hancher Auditotium; Lied Center for Performing Arts), The Birth Witches (Kennedy Center for the Arts; Northwest Missouri State University), Rust (Legion Arts; Riverside Theatre), Denali (Know Theatre of Cincinnati; Actors Theatre of Grand Rapids; Acorn Theatre), We Stood Up (Centre X Centre International Theatre Festival in Kigali, Rwanda, KINA Festival) Dirty Story (Interact Theatre), See Hear Speak (Northwest Missouri State University, Guest Contract), Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (Old Creamery Theatre), Goat Show (Adirondack Theatre Festival; Riverside Theatre), The Building and Unbuilding of the Saxophone Sunset (Ensemble Studio Theatre), An Imperfect Sonnet (CBC Theatre) and Drinks By The Pool; Toymakers War; Atlas of Mud; the Innocents and Handgrenade Holly with Working Group Theatre.
Awards:
Winner of Acclaim Award for Best Direction from Cincinnati Critic’s Awards
Winner Rick Graf Award, Iowa Human Rights Commission
Nominated for the Zelda Fichandler Award from SDC
Recent:
National Tour of OUT OF BOUNDS (Shea Performing Arts Center; Parker Arts; Smith Center for the Performing Arts; Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center; New Jersey Performing Arts Center; Lied Center for the Performing Arts)
NOW CIRCA THEN at Chester Theatre Company
“Sean Christopher Lewis has directed and guided his cast of two for maximum effect. The humor hiding the tragedy of these two relationships is extraordinary.”– Berkshire Edge
“Director Sean Christopher Lewis has delivered a masterpiece that zips along as the play goes back and forth from 1890 to 2019.”– Berkshire Record
“Beautiful acted and staged… Lewis uses the space and furnishings to compose interesting pictures, that flow smoothly without hampering the pace. Margie and Gideon could be grating but Lewis gives them a warm side that the audience embraces.”– Berkshire Onstage
“You don’t have much time left to see Chester Theater Company’s “Now Circa Then,” but you should make every effort. The two-person performance shines”– In the Spotlight
THE EVOLUTION OF BRUNO LITTLEMORE (Englert Theatre)
“I implore you to go see this show. It’s not every day that we get to see new works come to life right here in Iowa City, put together by artists and technicians who put a lot of love into their creations.“- Little Village
OUT OF BOUNDS National Tour
“Director Sean Christopher Lewis is a master at weaving mixed media into stage productions… Crisp and Crushingly real.”- Gazette
LUNGS by Duncan MacMillan Riverside Theatre
“Exquisite…” Little Village
BAKERSFIELD MIST by Stephen Sachs Riverside Theatre
“Masterful”- Gazette
“Incredible”- Little Village
MACBETH by William Shakespeare Riverside Shakespeare
“Stunning…” RC Reader
VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE by Arthur Miller at Riverside Theatre
“…electric, inspiring, and devastating…I cannot stress this enough: You should experience this play for yourself.”- Little Village
“stark, compelling, and hot… you should go see it”- Iowa Theatre Blog
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING by William Shakespeare Riverside Shakespeare Festival
“Brilliant and bold”- Little Village
THE INNOCENTS by Sean Christopher Lewis and WGT performed site specifically in Midwestern basements
THE SYRINGA TREE by Pamela Gien at Riverside Theatre
“An excellent realization of a very moving script”- Iowa Theatre
THE BIRTH WITCHES by Jennifer Fawcett at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts/NNPN and Northwest Missouri State University
MANNING UP by Sean Christopher Lewis Riverside Theatre
“”Brilliant…pregnant belly-laugh hilarious, with just enough heart-breaking moments to keep it grounded…”- Cedar Rapids Gazette/Hoopla
”Outrageous, insightful and above all very, very funny.”- Iowa Theatre
KREUTZER SONATA adapted from Tolstoy featuring the Gesualdo Quartet
EARS ON A BEATLE by Mark St. Germain
THE BROKEN CHORD by Jennifer Fawcett and Working Group
“The Broken Chord resonates with honesty, simplicity and beauty… Lewis seamlessly weaves multiple theatrical devices into a rich tapestry that flutters and envelops the audience into the action.”- Cedar Rapids Gazette
“A triumph.”- Iowa Theatre
THE TOYMAKERS WAR by Jennifer Fawcett by Working Group
“Incredible” – the Iowa Review
ATLAS OF MUD by Jennifer Fawcett
“Masterfully directed… a play well worth seeing.” – Blue Planet Green Living
“Imaginative, poetic with a directorial imagination at full bore”- Iowa Theatre
GOAT SHOW by Jennifer Fawcettat Riverside Theatre, Iowa City IA
and Adirondack Theatre Festival, Glens Falls NY
“It’s about family, friendship and finances; dreams, desires and disappointments. It’s about the cradle and the grave… manages to fill the stage with ideas and charm”- Michael Eck, Times Union