A director and theoretician of performance, Herbert Blau (b.1926 - 2013) co-founded the Workshop together with director, actor and producer Jules Irving (1925 - 1979).  Both served in the US military during WW II, met at NYU in 1946, and did their graduate work at Stanford.  They moved up to San Francisco where they both taught at San Francisco State College.  While teaching by day, they started the Workshop in 1952. 

They introduced American audiences to avant-garde drama in some of the country’s first productions of Samuel Beckett, Jean Genet, and Harold Pinter, including the 1957 performance of “Waiting for Godot” at California’s San Quentin State Prison. 

Herb: (from his memorial service)

https://vimeo.com/71481418

http://depts.washington.edu/engl/people/profile.php?id=549

http://www.press.umich.edu/titleDetailDesc.do;jsessionid=276173656938F566BF3EECCEDC1E2548?id=100352

http://catalog.proemags.com/publication/bc1392b8#/bc1392b8/1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Blau

Jules: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0410295/bio

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_Irving