ATW - Working In The Theatre show

ATW - Working In The Theatre

Summary: For more than 30 years the American Theatre Wing has been bringing together performers, directors, playwrights, designers, choreographers, producers and behind-the-scenes personnel from the American and international theatre, the seminars offer a rare opportunity for students and audiences to see the people who create theatre engaged in thoughtful conversation with one another. With more than 600 past guests, the seminars have become an unequalled archive of theatrical talk, a chance to hear from the people behind the characters, stories and productions that draw us to the theatre.

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  • Artist: American Theatre Wing and CUNY
  • Copyright: © 2005-2010 American Theatre Wing

Podcasts:

 Performance - September, 1996 | File Type: video/mp4 | Duration: 1:30:00

The panel of performers - Jessica Boevers ("A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum"), Jim Dale ("Barnum", "Candide"), Justin Kirk ("Love! Valour! Compassion!"), Daniel Massey ("Taking Sides"), Jay Hunter Morris ("Master Clas"), Adam Pascal ("Rent"), and Jean Smart ("Fit To Be Tied") - discuss their backgrounds in diverse areas of performance such as dance, opera, rock music, and repertory theatre; pursuing acting in New York compared to Chicago and Los Angeles; early roles, training, and getting an agent; and reciprocal reactions between the performer and audiences.

 Playscript - April, 1980 | File Type: video/mp4 | Duration: 1:30:00

The panel of playwrights - Edward Albee ("The Lady From Dubuque"), Eve Merriam ("The Club"), Samm-Art Williams ("Home"), Lanford Wilson ("Talley's Folly"), and Ruth Wolff ("The Abdication") - discuss producing their current plays, how much playwrights creatively collaborate with directors and producers, the responsibilities of an agent, how playwrights learn to direct, and advice for actors and new playwrights.

 Performance - September, 1982 | File Type: video/mp4 | Duration: 1:30:00

The panel of performers - Karen Akers ("Nine"), Christine Baranski ("Sally and Marsha"), actor/playwright Harvey Fierstein ("Torch Song Trilogy"), Ben Harney ("Dreamgirls"), Lonny Price ("Master Harold...and the boys"), and Liv Ullmann ("Ghosts") - discuss the strong themes of their respective productions; how demanding their roles are, from character development to physical challenges to the emotional intensity of a role; training and audition experiences; how cast replacements effect a play; and developing new musicals out-of-town compared to workshopping in New York.

 Production: Dancing In The End Zone - April, 1984 | File Type: video/mp4 | Duration: 1:30:00

The business team for the play "Dancing In The End Zone" - literary agent Mitch Douglas, producers Dasha Epstein and Morton Gottlieb, publicist Milly Schoenbaum, and general manager Richard Seader - talk about the responsibilities of the producer, the benefits of a workshop versus going out-of-town, the role of a press agent, comparing large off-Broadway houses to Broadway, and the evolution of opening night events including critics now attending previews.

 Performance - September, 1984 | File Type: video/mp4 | Duration: 1:30:00

The panel of actors - Sinead Cusack ("Cyrano De Bergerac"), Frank Langella ("After The Fall"), Joe Mantegna ("Glengarry Glen Ross"), Theresa Merritt ("Ma Rainey's Black Bottom"), and Sigourney Weaver ("Hurlyburly") - talk about their training, auditioning for their first major roles, the rehearsal process, working in the ensemble, actors who are also playwrights, and establishing relationships as a result of stage work.

 Production: Hurlyburly - September, 1984 | File Type: video/mp4 | Duration: 1:30:00

The production team behind "Hurlyburly" - advertising representative Rick Elice, agent Milton Goldman, legal counsel Jay S. Harris, stage manager Peter Lawrence, press representative Sandra Manley, and producer Frederick Zollo - discuss how David Rabe's play found a producer, director, and high profile cast for its debut at Chicago's Goodman Theatre, its successful off-Broadway run prior to Broadway, producing with a profit pool plan, production costs including the advertising budget, and the present state of the American play.

 Performance - April, 1985 | File Type: video/mp4 | Duration: 1:30:00

The panel of Broadway actors - Matthew Broderick ("Biloxi Blues"), Jim Dale ("Joe Egg"), Charles S. Dutton ("Ma Rainey's Black Bottom"), Rosemary Harris ("Pack of Lies"), Glenda Jackson ("Strange Interlude"), and theatrical agent Lionel Larner - discuss how they left their various layman jobs to begin performing, their audition experiences, how they became involved in their current productions, what they look for in an agent, how they obtained one, and the role of an agent.

 Playwright, Director and Choreographer - April, 1985 | File Type: video/mp4 | Duration: 1:30:00

The panelists - playwright P.J. Barry ("The Octette Bridge Club"), lyricist Ellen Fitzhugh ("Grind"), director John Going ("Inherit The Wind"), playwright Fay Kanin ("Grind"), playwright Jerome Lawrence ("Inherit The Wind"), agent Bruce Savin, and director Clifford Williams ("Pack of Lies") - talk about their formal training; the relationship between directors, playwrights and casting directors; the key to successful collaboration; comparing the author's rights for stage versus film; the boundaries of a director's vision; and rising production costs and ticket prices.

 Production: Grind - April, 1985 | File Type: video/mp4 | Duration: 1:30:00

The producing team of the 1985 Broadway musical "Grind" - advertising representative Jeffrey Ash, group sales executive Ronald S. Lee, executive producer Ruth Mitchell, and producers Michael Frazier, Kenneth Greenblatt, Mary Lea Johnson, and John Pomerantz - talks about bringing the nearly $5 million production to Broadway after a tryout in Baltimore, working with director Hal Prince, the importance of advertising and group ticket sales in light of mixed critical reviews, comparisons to their previously produced hits "La Cage Aux Folles" and "Nine", and budgetting a new American musical with a controversial royalty structure that doesn't pay the creative team until the production turns a profit.

 Performance - September, 1985 | File Type: video/mp4 | Duration: 1:30:00

The panel of actors - Don Correia ("Singin' in the Rain"), Tovah Feldshuh ("Springtime for Henry"), Glenne Headly ("Arms and the Man"), Judd Hirsch ("I'm Not Rappaport"), Barnard Hughes ("The Iceman Cometh"), Cleavon Little ("I'm Not Rappaport"), Elizabeth McGovern ("Map of the World") - and casting director Vincent G. Liff discuss how they have dealt with mishaps and missed lines, the extent of research done for roles, schooling and formal acting training, starting out in regional theatre such as Chicago before finding work in New York, and the responsibilities of the casting director.

 Playwright and Director - September, 1985 | File Type: video/mp4 | Duration: 1:30:00

The panelists - director Clinton Turner Davis ("Two Can Play"), playwright Herb Gardner ("I'm Not Rappaport"), playwright/lyricist Tom Jones ("The Fantasticks"), playwright Shirley Lauro ("Open Admissions"), lyricist/director Richard Maltby Jr. ("Song and Dance"), playwright Marsha Norman ("Night Mother") and composer Harvey Schmidt ("The Fantasticks") - discuss how a playwright chooses a director, the role of a playwright, how much structure is provided by the text, and the varying degrees of collaboration between director, playwright, and actor.

 The Next Generation 2010 - June, 2010 | File Type: video/mp4 | Duration: 1:00:00

Our panel of some of Broadway's brightest new performers - Jennifer Damiano, Robin de Jesús, John Gallagher, Jr., Jon Michael Hill and Krysta Rodriguez - discuss the first professional show they ever saw; the moment they realized they wanted to perform and how their families responded to the news; how their very first jobs came about; the challenges of choosing between school and work; whether they like to go to other shows and what kind of audience member they are; and what they learn from their professional colleagues.

 Design - September, 1985 | File Type: video/mp4 | Duration: 45:00

The 1985 Joseph Maharam Foundation Awards for Scenic, Costume, and Lighting Design are awarded to Lawrence Eichler, Charles Ludlam, and Everett Quinton for The Ridiculous Theatrical Company's "The Mystery of Irma Vep"; Mel Carpenter, Angus Moss, and Blu for Ping Chong's Fiji Theatre Company's "NOSFERATU: A Symphony of Darkness"; and Heidi Landesman, Patricia McGourty, and Richard Riddell for Broadway's "Big River". The designers discuss their respective productions in-depth. In addition, Henry Hewes receives an award for Outstanding Service For His Recognition Of Theatre Design.

 Performance - April, 1986 | File Type: video/mp4 | Duration: 1:30:00

The panel of actors -- Glenn Close ("Benefactors"), Maurice Hines ("Uptown...It's Hot"), Aidan Quinn ("A Lie of the Mind"), Marlo Thomas ("Social Security") -- discuss working with directors, agents, formal education and technical training, and the beginnings of their individual acting careers.

 Developing Musical Theatre - April, 2010 | File Type: video/mp4 | Duration: 1:00:00

The development and production of musical theatre was the focus of the discussion with our panel of producers - Sue Frost, Robyn Goodman, Paulette Haupt and Scott Sanders. They talk about what attracts them to a project; if playing on Broadway is the ultimate success for a show; whether going out of town is helpful, or necessary, for a new show; the impact of audiences on the show; dealing with critical reviews that remain on line when trying to get a show launched; the difficulty of closing a show or halting a show in development; and advice for young producers who want to develop musicals.

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