Martha Clarke (born June 3, 1944) is an American theater director and choreographer noted for her multidisciplinary approach to theatre, dance, and opera productions. Her best-known original work is The Garden of Earthly Delights (1984, re-imagined 2008), an exploration in theatre, dance, music and flying of the famous painting of the same name by Hieronymus Bosch. In 1990, Clarke received a MacArthur Award, better known as the Genius Grant. Training and early career Born into a German-Jewish family of musicians in Pikesville, Md. in suburban Baltimore, she studied dance with Carol Lynn and Dale Sehnert in the preparatory program of the Peabody Conservatory, going on to study at the dance program of the Juilliard School under Antony Tudor and Anna Sokolow. She then spent three years performing with the modern dance choreographer Anna Sokolow and the Dance Theater Workshop. She later became a founding member of Pilobolus Dance Theatre and Crowsnest before going on to a highly original career as a director/choreographer. Theatre, dance and opera career As a director, Martha Clarke’s many original productions include The Garden of Earthly Delights (with musical score by Richard Peaslee), Vienna: Lusthaus Miracolo d’Amore, Endangered Species, An Uncertain Hour, The Hunger Artist, Vers la Flamme and Chéri. She directed the premiere of Christopher Hampton’s Alice’s Adventures Underground at the Royal National Theatre in London. Angel Reapers (with text by Alfred Uhry – Pulitzer Prize for Driving Miss Daisy) had its New York premiere at the Joyce Theater November 29 – December 11, 2011. She created the full-evening work L’altra metá del cielo spring 2012 at La Scala Opera in Milan, Italy. Her original productions have been presented at The Public Theater, Lincoln Center Theater, New York Theatre Workshop, Signature Theatre Company and The Kennedy Center among others. From June 12 - July 2, 2022, Ms. Clarke's latest multidisciplinary theatre work God's Fool was presented at La MaMa in New York City. A song cycle, God's Fool incorporates an a cappella score performed live, derived from music spanning a period of 800 years. In dance, she has choreographed for the Nederlands Dans Theater, the Joffrey Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Rambert Dance Company, and The Martha Graham Company, among others. In opera, Clarke has directed Mozart's The Magic Flute for the Glimmerglass Opera and the Canadian Opera Company, Cosi fan tutte for Glimmerglass, Tan Dun’s Marco Polo for the Munich Biennale, the Hong-Kong Festival, and