Lawrence Carra Photograph Collection

Lawrence (Larry) Carra was a professor of the Carnegie Mellon University drama department for 31 years, from 1946-1977. He directed over 350 plays in Texas, Boston, New Jersey, Chicago, and Pittsburgh. He is also the coauthor of the definitive text on directing, Fundamentals of Play Directing, which is now in its fifth edition. At Carnegie Mellon he was appointed the Chairman of the General Committee on Television in 1957 where he worked closely with WQED and KDKA to produced educational programming about theater. He directed a summer theater program at CMU from 1975-1980. He produced local music festivals and participated in many different types of drama outreach. He helped establish the Pittsburgh Music Tent in 1958-1959, and also directed plays for the Civic Light Opera from 1959-1963. In addition to his stage activities, Carra also worked in television production. In retirement, Mr. Carra lectured at NYU, UCLA, and USC, while also appearing as a guest director occasionally. He also served as a consultant for the Ice Capades and Norman Lear Productions. Carra's former students include William Ball (American Conservatory Theatre, San Francisco), Mel Shapiro (Broadway producer), John Tebelak (author of 'Godspell'), Sada Thompson ('Family'), Jack Klugman ('Quincy' and 'Odd Couple'), and Ken Welch (music and lyrics for 'Roots').