Sands Hall (original) (raw)

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American dramatist

Sands Hall
Born (1952-07-17) July 17, 1952 (age 72)La Jolla, California, U.S.
Occupation Writer theatre director actor musician
Education University of California, Irvine (BA)University of Iowa (MA, MFA)
Website
sandshall.com

Sands Hall (born April 17, 1952) is an American writer, theatre director, actor, and musician.

The daughter of novelist Oakley Hall, she was born in La Jolla, California, and graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Drama from the University of California, Irvine. She earned two Master of Fine Arts degrees from the University of Iowa, one in Theatre Arts and the second in Fiction from the Iowa Writers' Workshop. She also studied at the American Conservatory Theater's Advanced Training Program.[1]

Hall's writing work includes the play Fair Use,[2] which explores the long debated plagiarism in Wallace Stegner's Angle of Repose,[3] and the novel Catching Heaven,[2] a Random House Reader's Circle selection and a 2001 Willa Award Finalist for Best Contemporary Fiction.[4] She has taught writing for the University of California at Davis Extension Programs, and the Iowa Summer Writing Festival.[1] She is currently Visiting Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and on the staff of the Community of Writers at Squaw Valley, California.

Her work in the theatre includes seasons at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, the Old Globe Theatre, Lexington Conservatory Theatre and internationally at the Maxim Gorky Theatre in Vladivostok, Russia. She is currently an Affiliate Artist with the Foothill Theatre Company in Nevada City, California.[1][5]

Sands plays guitar, mandolin, and has studied the fiddle. She performs on a 000-18 Martin, her first guitar, purchased for $150 by her father when she was 14 years old. She refers to her influences as the "three j's": Joan Baez, Judy Collins, and Joni Mitchell. When not performing her own songs, she chooses murder ballads and story songs, like "Long Black Veil", "Red Red Rose", and "Pretty Polly".[6] She regularly performs with Louis B. Jones, Luke Wilson, and Mark Childress and at the annual Community of Writers at Squaw Valley workshop.[6]

Hall has written and performed a number of songs, including:

[7] [8]

  1. ^ a b c "Sands Hall profile". randomhouse.com. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Sands Hall | Musician, Author, Playwright, Teacher". Archived from the original on January 25, 2019. Retrieved April 24, 2009.
  3. ^ Karell, Linda (Summer 2005). "The Postmodern Author on Stage: Fair Use and Wallace Stegner". American Drama. American Drama Institute. Archived from the original on December 14, 2006. Retrieved April 21, 2009.
  4. ^ Dreifus, Erika (September 2006). "Delving into the Tool Box: An Interview with Sands Hall". The Practicing Writer. Retrieved April 21, 2009.
  5. ^ "LCT Actress is TV Guest Star". Stamford Mirror-Recorder. February 13, 1980.
  6. ^ a b "Sands Hall Music". Retrieved July 5, 2012.
  7. ^ a b Alinder, Mary Street (April 15, 1998). Ansel Adams: A Biography. Macmillan. p. 65. ISBN 9780805058352. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
  8. ^ a b Dollar, Kate (March 6, 2012). "Oh Joy Devine of Friends". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 20, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2012.