SDCF Podcast Series

On June 17, 2013, SDC Foundation hosted a symposia with the Director of Artistic Development at Manhattan Theatre Club, Jerry Patch on how new play development differs between New York and the regions.  

On June 12, 2013, directors Pam MacKinnon and Kathleen Marshall spoke with SDCF Producing Director Ellen Rusconi about their work and career.

On July 22, 2013, SDCF and New York’s Culture Project co-hosted a panel discussion on generating your own work. The panel consisted of three highly regarded artists:  Rachel Alderman, Leigh Fondakowski, and Maija Garcia.

On July 8, 2013, SDCF hosted a panel discussion focused on the future of musical theatre. The panel featured writer Rick Elice, songwriter Jeff Bowen, singer/songwriter Amanda Green, director Stafford Arima, choreographer Kelly Devine and songwriter Benj Pasek. This conversation zeroes in on collaboration, the audition process and accepted genres of music as changing factors in the development of musical theatre today.

In June 2011, Thomas Kail sat in conversation with Joe Mantello backstage at the Golden Theater. From Mantello's dressing room, their conversation traces his arc from actor to director and back, and the responsibility of taking risks to continue to evolve throughout a career. 

Recorded in 1989 by SDC Foundation, How to Use A Dramaturg explores the invaluable and often misunderstood position of dramaturgy in the theatrical process. Moderated by James Leverett, the panel consisted of playwright Richard Dresser, New York Theatre Workshop Artistic Director Jim Nicola, freelance dramaturg Morgan Jenness, and Playwrights Horizons Literary Manager Tim Sanford.

On March 24, 2014, director Sean Mathias and designer Derek McLane sat down for a One-on-One coversation at New York’s National Opera Center. Listen as they discuss the collaborative exchange between directors and designers while detailing many of their individual styles and techniques. 

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On April 29, 2014, director Anne Bogart moderated a One-on-One discussion with directors Bartlett Sher and Julie Taymor at New York’s National Opera Center. Listen as they discuss their respective backgrounds, training, and inspirations. 

At the SDCF 2013 Emerging Artist Symposium on Plays on June 17, 2013, SDCF hosted legendary director Marshall Mason to speak about his extraordinary collaboration with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lanford. Mason's collaboration with Wilson has been certified by Playbill as the longest collaboration between a writer and director in the history of the American theater, and is perhaps the finest example of collaboration in the recent American Theatre. Listen in is as Mason gives his personal account of this exemplary artistic relationship as well as a practical analysis of his approach to working with actors neatly formatted into a comprehensible eight-step program. Originally recorded - June 17, 2013. Running Time - 1:06:22 © 2013 SDCF

At its 2013 Emerging Artist Symposium on Plays, SDCF hosted Artistic Director and Managing Director of The Builders Association, Marianne Weems and Erica Laird, in conversation on the process of directing and producing a production using multi-media elements. Listen as they share the intricacies involved in rehearsing and maintaining a piece when working with both human and non-human counterparts and how to fuse the two to symbiotically create a piece of holistic, organic art. The two will share tips on when technology can be successfully incorporated into a production and ways to focus the eye on both the media and theatrical elements without distracting from the overall meaning of the piece. These innovative theatre artists also speak to a director's responsibility when dealing with these theatrical mediums in addition to garnering enough financial and professional support to mount and sustain such a visionary art form. This comprehensive and insightful talk will enlighten theatre fans, producers and artists alike with ways to convey your true vision and challenge yourself with a neutral eye. Originally recorded - June 1, 2013. Running Time - 1:03:38 © 2013 SDCF

At its 2013 Emerging Artist Symposium on Musicals, SDCF hosted Tony nominated Dan Knechtges (Lysistrata Jones, Xanadu, Spelling Bee) in conversation with Producing Director Ellen Rusconi on his experiences directing and choreographing musicals from the classics to more contemporary works. From his theatre experiences while growing up in Cleveland to his transition from performer to the other side of the table, this discussion - peppered with a dash of humor, sentiment, and survival jobs - examines Dan's process of learning to create musical theatre and launching a career. Listen in as he shares his techniques of choreographic patterning and sustaining creativity and control in the rehearsal room and provides sound advice on ways to feed and enrich craft. The conversation explores key tactics in working with stage managers and writers, time management when developing a new work, and elevating taste in the most unlikely, yet scrumptious of ways. Originally recorded - June 1, 2013 Running Time - 59:19 © 2013 SDCF

A Director's Life: Creative Development and Renewal: On June 18, 2011, SDCF Executive Director Laura Penn moderated a panel at the TCG conference featuring Gil Cates, Curt Columbus, Jeffrey Horowitz, Susan Medak, Madeline Puzo, and Julie Taymor to consider the centrality of the director's role in theatre today. This panel of well-regarded directors and national theatre leaders engages in thoughtful and dynamic discussion about how directors grow as distinctive artists over a lifetime and how the field supports them. They focus strongly on how to advance the craft and how to improve the lives and support the artistry of today's directors, both from the standpoint of an individual forging a career as a director and from the standpoint of a producer and industry leader. They discuss creative and interpretive energies of directors and the director as storyteller. This is an exciting and lively exchange about the current relationship between directors and the field and the obligations we have to the director.  Originally recorded - June 18, 2011  Running Time - 1:21:17  © 2011 SDCF

Mary Overlie and Moisés Kaufman: On May 19th, 1999, Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation hosted a One-on-One Conversation with Moisés Kaufman, playwright, director and founder of Tectonic Theater Project, and Mary Overlie, the discoverer of Viewpoints. The two artists discuss the meaning behind theatrical theory and how that relates to their work. Kaufman describes his process in developing The Laramie Project as an exploration of relating theatre to recent current events. He and his company inquire as to the difference between plays about historical events versus plays about current events. Overlie joins the conversation by talking about her roots in classical dance and how that shaped her openness to improvisation. With inspirations including Merce Cunningham and John Cage, Overlie articulates the inception of Viewpoints. Viewpoints is an improvisational system, using elements of Space, Time, Shape, Emotion, Movement and Story. Inspired by her own artistic clash between classicism and post-modern dance, Overlie developed a new way to understand the creation of theatre by combining these forms and understanding the elements involved. As a student of Overlie, Kaufman describes his first memory of seeing her dance at The Kitchen and speaks about how he creates his work. This is an insightful conversation between two artists who thrive on exploration and breaking into new forms within a theatrical setting. Originally recorded - May 19, 1999. Running Time - 1:33:43 © 1999 SDCF

Staging Revivals: Marcia Milgrom Dodge and Chet Walker: At the SDCF 2013 Emerging Artist Symposium on Musicals on May 20, 2013, internationally-acclaimed director/choreographers Chet Walker and Marcia Milgrom Dodge shared their expertise of applying a fresh perspective to the revival of a musical subsequent to an iconic production. They share their personal artistic processes, the questions they ask of a piece, and their thoughts on casting actors’ familiar with prior productions. This candid and humorous conversation, with personal anecdotes from past productions led by Bob Fosse and others, offers an enlightening glimpse into the world of revivals. Listen as these deeply knowledgeable artists proffer advice on interpreting a classic piece of musical theatre as if it were a new work, using innovative research techniques, and breaking popular character preconceptions when casting a revival. Originally recorded - May 20, 2013. Running Time - 1:08:44 © 2013 SDCF