Mara Tartar

Mara Alexander was best known for her theatre work. She went to Russia in the early 1930s and became a protégé of the great Russian director, Meyerhold. In the States she also worked at The Group Theatre, Eva Le Gallienne's 14th Street Theatre,The San Francisco Actor's Workshop,The Civic Repertory Theatre (as Mara Tartar) and Elsa Maxwell's Who's Who-1938, amongst many others. Blacklisted in the 1950s, Ms. Alexander opened her own acting school, The San Francisco Actor's Lab, and taught many young actors who went on to become famous. Some of her former students include actress Katherine Ross, Rock Impresario Bill Graham and U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein. Ms. Alexander is the mother of actress/director Hope Alexander (Willis).