Livia genise biography of abraham

Livia Genise, former artistic director of Talent’s Camelot Theatre Company, is now directing the musical “Chess” for Ashland Contemporary Theatre. It opens in September.

Genise, a veteran actor of Broadway, off-Broadway, regional theater and Hollywood, first came to Ashland in the 1980s.

She raised her children and earned a degree in music from Southern Oregon University before she took on the directorship of Camelot Theatre.

During her 10-year tenure at Camelot, Genise fostered the enormous growth of the organization and mentored a generation of young theater artists.

EH: Tell me about “Chess.”

LG: It was created by Bjorn and Bennie Anderson, who wrote all of the ABBA music and “Mama Mia.” Tim Rice is the lyricist and wrote the book.

The story involves a Cold War-era chess tournament between an American grandmaster and a Soviet grandmaster as they vie for one woman.

EH: What is “Chess” about?

LG: The state is bigger than