The Zacek Tapes – Victory Gardens’ Artistic Director Emeritus Dennis Zacek – Episode 103
Summary: <a href="https://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/denniszacek3.jpg"></a><br> <a href="https://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Dennis-Zaceksquare.jpg"></a>Dennis Zacek, founding member and Artistic Director of <a href="https://victorygardens.org/">Victory Gardens</a> Theatre for 34 years, joined us in the Booth for a fascinating conversation about playwrights, directing, and the history of Chicago theatre. He shares his experiences directing over 250 productions, including his current production of <a href="https://victorygardens.org/event/waiting-for-godot/">Waiting for Godot</a>, which runs at Victory Gardens through December 15.<br> <br> Dr. Z is an icon of the Chicago theatre community, having been at the forefront of the storefront theatre movement in the mid-1970s. In 2014, Victory Gardens received the special Regional Theatre Tony Award for outstanding contributions to the American theatre landscape.<br> <br> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Zacek-Tapes-Reflections-Community-Leadership-ebook/dp/B01NBDZQFW/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+zacek+tapes&qid=1574725111&sr=8-1">The Zacek Tapes</a> is a fascinating book filled with interviews with Dennis about many aspects of his life in the theatre. We couldn't recommend it more highly!<br> <br> More notes to come...<br> <br> Kiss of Death<br> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessye_Norman">Jessye Norman</a>, American opera singer and recitalist. A dramatic soprano, Norman sang a broad repertoire and avoided being limited to one kind of genre. She famously stated that "pigeonholes are for pigeons” and that she was "attracted to the unusual". A towering figure on operatic, concert, and recital hall stages, Norman leaves a vast catalogue of recordings. NY Times music critic Edward Rothstein described her voice as a "grand mansion of sound”, and wrote that “it has enormous dimensions, reaching backward and upward. It opens onto unexpected vistas." Jessye Norman was 74. Read the full NYTime obit <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/30/obituaries/jessye-norman-dead.html">here</a>.<br> <br>
