HOWARD TEICHMAN (Artistic Director/Director / Producer) As the Artistic Director for the West Coast Jewish Theatre, Howard has dedicated his life in the theatre to bringing Jewish thematic plays to the second largest Jewish community in the United States. During his tenure Mr. Teichman has constantly searched for plays that reflect Jewish values and traditions. He is constantly searching for plays that speak to us as a people, and focus us about the diversity and long history of what it means to be a Jew.   

In 2019 Howard directed and produced Mark Leiren Young’s 2017 Jewish Plays Project winning script “Bar Mitzvah Boy”.  The play received wonderful reviews and was a big hit with our audiences and critics alike.  In 2018 Howard produced and directed Neil Simon’s “Broadway Bound”.  The play was a huge hit with our audience.  The performances were met with rave reviews from both critics and audiences alike.  In 2017 Howard brought to the West Coast Jewish Theatre stage his long awaited production of Steven G. Simon and Howard Teichman’s “FUGU”.  This fascinating chapter in our history brought to the attention of our audience, the fact, that the Japanese government saved six thousand Jewish lives from extermination.  This show garnered our theater a “Top Ten” listing of all shows in the Los Angeles area.

In 2015 was Hindi Brooks’ “ROMANCE.COM”. The show was a true crowd pleaser and brought to light that there sparks can fly between lovers even after retirement.   In 2014 Howard produced and directed Matthew Lopez’s “The Whipping Man” which garnered an “O RECOMMENDED” by The Los Angeles Stage Alliance and was “Critic’s Pick” in numerous media outlets throughout the Los Angeles area including the LA Weekly and The LA Times. His production in 2013 of Herb Gardner’s “I’m Not Rappaport” was met with delight by all our audiences.  In 2012 his production of Mark Harelik’s “The Immigrant the Musical” was nominated for an Ovation award for best lead actor in a musical and also that year Howard produced David Ives’ “New Jerusalem: The Interrogation of Baruch de Spinoza at Talmud Torah Congregation: Amsterdam, July 27, 1656.  That production was a West Coast Premiere and was nominated for a Los Angeles Drama Circle Desk Award for lead actor and play. Both productions were received most favorably by both audiences and critics alike. 

Howard also produced a Los Angeles Premiere of James Sherman’s “The God of Isaac”.  This show was quite a crowd pleaser.  Howard’s production that he directed and co-produced with Theatre 40 and West Coast Jewish Theatre was Murray Schisgal’s “LUV”.  The production garnered a “Critic’s Pick” in Back Stage West and for his efforts received a Best Director award from the Beverly Hills Outlook for 2011.  Earlier in 2011, Howard produced for the West Coast Jewish Theatre the critically successful and “O RECOMMENDED” by The Los Angeles Stage Alliance “Broken Glass” by Arthur Miller. 

During the 2009-2010 season as Producer/Artistic Director for the West Coast Jewish Theatre, Howard produced and directed to critical acclaim and review Neil Simon’s “Last of the Red Hot Lovers”, Daniel Goldfarb’s “Sarah Sarah”, and Jeffrey Sweet’s “The Value of Names” all at the Pico Playhouse.  In 2008, Howard independently produced and directed another one of James Sherman’s plays “From Door to Door” at the Electric Lodge.  Howard has also directed such successful productions as; Neil Simon’s “Lost in Yonkers” and “Rumors”, Daniel Goldfarb’s “Modern Orthodox”, for which he was nominated, best comedy director by The L.A. Weekly.  Howard Teichman’s “Simcha” for which he wrote, directed, and performed received a Back Stage West “Critics Pick”, Howard Teichmann’s “Solid Gold Cadillac”, and Leon Katz’s “The Three Cuckolds” for which he received a Los Angeles Times “Critics Pick”, as well.

As a Master’s student at UCLA’s Theater Department, Howard had the great privilege of being a producing intern at the Mark Taper Forum for Gordon Davidson and worked on the Tony Award winning production of George C. Wolfe’s, “Jelly’s Last Jam”, other productions include; “A Little Night Music” at the Doolittle and Jeremy Lawrence’s “Cabaret: Verbotten” at the Itchy Foot.  Born in Toronto, Canada, he then moved to Chicago. While in Chicago, he became a member of the prestigious “Second City” improvisational troupe where he wrote and performed an original play called “Commedia” and was an assistant to the director on the original production of David Mamet’s “Duck Variations”.  Howard holds a B.A. and M.F.A in Theatre from UCLA.