Press Kit

A native of Boston who grew up in Massachusetts, Holland, and France, John Farrell's artistic explorations are rooted in his love of poetry and sculpture. As an undergraduate at Yale he pursued studies in fields as diverse as African history, Vedanta Mysticism, the anthropology of law, and Sioux religion. He quit law school in the middle of a Civil Procedure exam and co-founded Figures of Speech Theatre a month later with dancer/designer Carol Llewellyn. They have created 20 original works of theater and toured the world for over 30 years. Known for groundbreaking work juxtaposing puppets, actors, and other stage media, Figures of Speech also pursues an interest in the performance of literary text: Farrell tours a solo recitation from memory of T. S. Eliot’s poetic masterpiece, Four Quartets. Most recently, he conceived, designed and directed a theatrical setting of David Lang’s Pulitzer Prize-winning composition, the little match girl passion. Farrell has been an artist-in-residence at numerous colleges and arts centers and has studied with the Japanese master puppet builder Toru Saito. In 1999 he was one of five American artists awarded a Creative Artists' Program Fellowship from the Japan-United States Friendship Commission, allowing him to spend 6 months in Japan studying Japanese theater and gardens. That opportunity led to his founding of hanamichi design, where he creates gardens in the Japanese spirit for clients in New England. The Maine Arts Commission awarded him an Individual Artist Fellowship in 2002 and he is the 2004 recipient of the New England Theater Conference's award for Outstanding Achievement in the American Theater. Farrell lives with his wife, costume designer Carol (Llewellyn) Farrell, in the perpetually 250-year-old farmhouse in Maine where they raised two daughters.