Sdcf Masters Of The Stage

Choreographers: At the SDC Foundation's Choreography Symposium in 1986, choreographers Wayne Cilento (Tony Award for The Who's Tommy), Graciela Daniele (8 Tony nominations for Best Choreography), Janet Watson (Ragtime) and Ted Pappas (Paradise Off-Broadway and the Broadway revival of Zorba) spoke with director Marshall Mason about choreography in musical theatre at the time. The panel discusses how each began his or her career, their creative processes and the mentors that led them to Broadway. A major topic is the changing style of musical theatre, which was deep in the Sondheim era at the time, and the choreographer's role in musicals that involve less dance numbers and more musical staging. Other topics include working with a director vs. assuming both roles, how technology's role in the audience's lives changes the movement choreographers put onstage and anecdotes about working with Hal Prince and Michael Bennett. Originally recorded - October 16, 1986. Running Time - 1:27:02 © 1986 SDCF

A View from the Bridge: On December 15, 1986, director Tony Giordano, designers Hugh Landwehr and Dennis Parichy and actors Michael Fischetti, Jennifer Van Dyck and Diane Martella spoke with moderator Amy Saltz at New Dramatists about their work on a traveling co-production of A View From The Bridge, produced by theatres in Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse and Albany. Having taken place after two of the four runs, this conversation is a rare opportunity to hear artists from various disciplines talk about a play that is still in progress. Fischetti and Giordano discuss the inception of the play at Syracuse Stage after doing Glengarry Glen Ross, and how it turned into a touring co-production. Giordano speaks of the opportunity to go back into rehearsal and continue to find the life of the play between Buffalo and Syracuse, and his excitement to implement their new discoveries in a smaller theater when they head to Albany. The designers discuss the difficulty of designing one set to work in four different spaces, wi

Working with Dance Arrangers: In April 2010, Edie Cowan moderated an hour-long roundtable discussion with Broadway choreographers Kathleen Marshall and Jerry Mitchell and dance arrangers David Chase and Mark Hummel. They discuss the role of the dance arranger, who works with the choreographer to take what the composer has written and changes it to fit the choreographer's vision of each dance. Jerry Mitchell talks about choreographing a dance for The Full Monty before hearing the music and then having the arranger fit music to it, while some choreographers will have the dance arranger write something before choreographing anything. Other topics include period research, the involvement of the composer, and the role of estates in revivals. The nature of collaboration is at the heart of this lively discussion along with anecdotes from a dozen Broadway shows. Originally recorded - April 1, 2010. Running Time - 1:00:04 © 2010 SDCF

Rob Ashford and Michael Mayer: In February 2010, director Michael Mayer, who won a Tony Award for Spring Awakening and recently directed American Idiot, and choreographer Rob Ashford, who won a Tony for Thoroughly Modern Millie and was nominated for The Wedding Singer, Curtains and Cry-Baby, were featured in a Director/Choreographer Network discussion on Working in Film. Michael Mayer recalls being asked to direct A Home at the End of the World and saying yes without hesitating, without any film experience. Rob Ashford talks about choreographing Beyond the Sea with Kevin Spacey and learning how to tell the DP what shots to take. Key differences they discuss between theater and film include lack of rehearsal, shooting out of order and film actors vs. theatre actors. This seventy-minute discussion is an enlightening glimpse into the world of filmmaking from the theatre professional's perspective. Originally recorded - February 1, 2010. Running Time - 1:05:23 © 2010 SDCF

Susan Stroman: In January of 1994, Susan Stroman sat down for an hour-long discussion of her career as a choreographer. She talks about working on Crazy For You, Kiss of the Spider Woman, and Show Boat, noting how bad experiences are necessary to make the good ones what they are. Other topics include working with a cast of 73 actors, working with director Hal Prince, movie musicals and the lack of copyright protection for choreography. For wonderful advice and great stories from a five-time Tony-winning director and choreographer, listen now! Originally recorded - January 12, 1994. Running Time - 1:00:43 © 1994 SDCF

James Lapine: In March of 1985, during the original Broadway run of Sondheim's Sunday in the Park with George, Susan Einhorn interviewed Tony Award-winning librettist and director James Lapine about how a director keeps a show in shape. In this seventy-five-minute interview, Lapine discusses replacements, understudies, stage managers and his relationship with the cast after a show opens. He talks about working with Sondheim and how his role in their relationship evolved from writing to directing. Other topics include directing in Central Park in the summer heat, writing work for himself to direct, and inserting songs into a production at the eleventh hour. For insight into a rarely discussed but important job of the director from one of the musical theatre greats, listen now! Originally recorded - March 15, 1985. Running Time - 1:16:03 © 1985 SDCF

John Hirsch: In October of 1984, Hungarian-Canadian director John Hirsch, who directed classical theatre for thirty-two years and served as Artistic Director of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival from 1981-1985, sat down with Richard Harden for a ninety-minute roundtable discussion. He talks about the definition of classical theatre, which he defines as plays which survive the test of time and speak to audiences of all ages, and classicists, who submerge themselves in a single subject. Hirsch and Harden discuss Shakespeare, Chekhov, and the ecology of playwriting in which playwrights must know the classics to write new ones. The industry struggles they address, including financial accessibility and lack of importance outside of the arts world, bear a striking resemblance to those facing the theatre world over twenty-five years later. For an insightful exploration of classical theatre or to recall a time when an expensive Broadway ticket cost only $45, listen to this interview! Originally recorded - October 10

Robert Wilson: In December of 1987, famous avant-garde director Robert Wilson sat down for a One-on-One conversation with Tony Award-winning lighting designer Jennifer Tipton. They discuss Wilson's three major influences: the dance work of George Balanchine and Merce Cunningham, the first piece of theatre he created with a deaf, mute child, and the poet Christopher Knowles, who once repeated the words "tape recorder" for ten minutes at the end of a performance piece. He talks about creating different kinds of space, repetition, and rigidity of form and process. Other topics include working with trained vs. untrained actors, working with a dramaturg, and the role of interpretation. This ninety-minute interview provides a unique insight into the mind of this experimental, groundbreaking director that you won't find anywhere else. Originally recorded - December 19, 1987. Running Time - 1:28:56 

Richard Eyre: In 2002, Lincoln Center dramaturg Anne Cattaneo moderated a One-on-One discussion with prolific British theatre, film, television and opera director Richard Eyre. He talks about directing The Crucible in the 1970's and in 2002, and how he sees the story as a fable rather than as a metaphor for the McCarthy Era as a result of growing up outside the country. He tells his audience about the importance of casting good actors, and his rejection of the idea of "concept" directing. They discuss running the National Theatre, dealing with input from producers, audience and critics and the difference between life as a freelance and artistic director. Other topics include theatre vs. film directing, Peter Brook's production of King Lear and how Eyre's knowledge of chemistry has informed his theatre. This eighty-minute interview is full of inspiring advice that aspiring directors will be quoting for years to come. Originally recorded - April 30, 2002. Running Time - 1:15:56 © 2002 SDCF

Arthur Penn: In 2002, Arthur Penn sat down for a One-on-One conversation with SDCF Executive Director David Diamond to discuss his triple-threat career in theatre, television and film. He tells the story of his launch into theatre from the army, followed by an early career in TV and the Actors Studio. He talks about his relationship with Bill Gibson which launched two of his biggest successes: The Miracle Worker and Two for the Seesaw, and shares humorous anecdotes about working with Lillian Hellman, Sammy Davis, Jr., George C. Scott, Henry Fonda and the geneses of The Golden Boy, Wait Until Dark, Sly Fox and his film The Left-Handed Gun. Mr. Penn discusses his approach to directing, the importance of casting and his embrace of Stanislavsky's Method for both theatre and film. Other topics include the shrinking audience for theatre today, the self-serving nature of Hollywood, and his early inspirations in Elia Kazan and the Group Theatre. Mr. Penn's positive attitude about both the highs and lows of his career

Gene Saks 1995: In June 1995 three-time Tony Award-winning director Gene Saks spoke with David Diamond in a One-on-One Interview about his journey through the many aspects of his directing career. Topics of this 90-minute conversation include the challenges of directing comedies and musicals, working with writers, and the differences between directing theatre and film. He talks about the use of spectacle as cover-up for story and about the ideal collaborative process in which good ideas come from all members of the creative team. Full of humorous anecdotes featuring Henry Fonda, Neil Simon, Angela Lansbury, Lucille Ball and Jule Styne, this interview highlights Mr. Saks' wonderful storytelling ability and touches on all aspects of the directing profession. Originally recorded - June 12, 1995. Running Time - 1:34:01 © 1995 SDCF

JoAnne Akalaitis: In this One-on-One conversation with Lincoln Center Dramaturg Anne Cattaneo, Mabou Mines founder and famed director JoAnne Akalaitis shares her wisdom with a full room gathered at Arts Connection in November, 1995. They discuss her days with Mabou Mines and the experimental theatre of the 60s and 70s, and the desire for a broader audience that motivated her transition to regional theaters, where theatre was part of the community. Akalaitis encourages young directors to do their own work and to see the work of others as the basis for any discussion about directing, and expresses the need for entrepreneurship among young artists. Other topics include her approach to a play, the role of an artistic director, and how seeing Frankenstein changed her life. Full of eloquent insight and sage advice, this 90-minute interview will inspire listeners of all ages and professions. Originally recorded - November 27, 1995. Running Time - 1:31:05 © 1995 SDCF

Scott Elliott: At the 2003 SDC Directing Symposium, Scott Elliott, Artistic Director of The New Group and Callaway Award winner for Excellence in Directing, spoke to a room full of young directors for 90 minutes about his transition from acting in Broadway musicals to becoming an award winning director and artistic director of a successful Off-Broadway theatre company. He describes paying rent with charge cards in order to be creatively ambitious in his early directing days, and the element of chance that led to the New York Times showing up for one of his first shows and in so doing, changed his career forever. He speaks of his experience directing The Women for Roundabout on Broadway at the time of 9/11 and the decision to continue rehearsing and open the show in October. Other topics include choosing scripts and collaborators, the state of Off-Broadway theater post 9/11, and his collaboration with Arthur Miller on The Ride Down Mt. Morgan. Mr. Elliott's interview provides a sneak peek into the world of a r

Vinnette Carroll: In 1999, after receiving SDC's "Mr. Abbott Award," director/ playwright/actress Vinnette Carroll spoke with SDC Executive Director David Diamond about her life as the first African American woman to direct on Broadway. She describes her mother's intense desire for her children to be cultured and how she encouraged Carroll to pursue the arts. She speaks about breaking into acting with a production of Caesar and Cleopatra and the joy she eventually finds as a director in collaborating with playwrights and choreographers. Other conversation topics include the mentorship she received from Erwin Piscator and Stella Adler, the influence of choreography and other art forms on her directing style, and her close relationship with Langston Hughes. She tells how Hughes helped with her one-woman shows, which she did because there were no parts for black women at the time, and how that led to the beginning of the Urban Arts Corps which existed to give work to young minority artists. Evident throughout th

Andre Bishop: In this Directors Training Symposium from 1996, Lincoln Center Theater's artistic director Andre Bishop talks about his responsibilities as an artistic director, the qualities he looks for when hiring a director, his belief that many young directors lack knowledge in certain areas, how theatre as a whole can and must develop the next generation of directors, the key difference between commercial productions and the not-for-profit theatre, and why not-for-profit theatres must do more than simply produce shows. Originally recorded - January 1, 1996. Running Time - 49:58 © 1996 SDCF

Gregory Mosher: In May of 1988, Peter Van Zandt moderated a talk with director and Lincoln Center Theatre artistic director Gregory Mosher, just weeks after the opening of the Broadway production of David Mamet's Speed-the-Plow. In a conversation that focuses on Mosher's longstanding relationship with Mamet, and Mosher's leadership of Lincoln Center Theater since 1985, topics include Mosher and Mamet's first meeting in Chicago in 1974; the ambiguity of Speed-the-Plow; Mamet's preference for working with the same company of actors and Mosher's desire to open up the casting to a broader range of actors, including the casting of stage neophyte Madonna in her Broadway debut; the issues involved in releasing an actor; why Mosher loves producing perhaps more than directing; how the then-new Lincoln Center membership model compares with the classic theatrical subscription model; whether he believes Lincoln Center Theater should have a resident acting company, as it did when the Vivian Beaumont opened in the 1960s; t

Managing Your Career: In 1999, SDCF held a panel on Managing Your Career featuring panelists Steve Bolerjack, Leigh Giroux, Noah Kimerling, Brett Singer and Ross Wisdom to discuss their various areas of expertise - accounting and taxes, legal issues, and publicity - and how to apply their knowledge to better run the business of your artistic career so that you can grow and develop your professional life. These noted industry professionals share their approaches and answer questions regarding topics as varied as the Home Office Rule, Copyright Law, "backgrounders", freelance income and staff income. Throughout the conversation, you learn about approaches to public relations that stress the importance of finding deep meaning in your work and being able to write about it, defining and reaching your audience in cost-effective ways, and how to obtain a useful media list. This comprehensive conversation will equip listeners to better manage the business side of their professional lives. Originally recorded - Januar

Directing Shakespeare: In May of 1988, esteemed Shakespearean acting teacher Ada Brown Mather discussed the bard's work with three of its contemporary master directors: Zoe Caldwell, Gerald Freedman, and Stuart Vaughn. Mather first introduces us to the work of the panelists, and then she begins a discussion framed by the questions "why do we get so excited about how Shakespeare is directed from age to age?" In this two-hour long session the audience gains access to insights on rehearsal practices, the directorial techniques and approaches of the panelists, and the debate on the American aptitude for producing good Shakespeare. We learn that there is one idea that unites the panelists, and perhaps all great technicians of Shakespeare, and it is to try at all costs to be true to his text. Originally recorded - May 1, 1988. Running Time - 1:21:13 © 1988 SDCF

Susan H. Schulman: In March of 1994, not long after the close of her hit Broadway production of The Secret Garden, Susan H. Schulman sat down with Director Melvin Bernhardt to discuss her life in the theatre. Ms. Schulman walks a captivated audience of early-career Directors and Choreographers through her career to date, spanning neighborhood shows on her family's Brooklyn stoop as a small girl through her most recent Broadway production. We learn that it all began for her in the garage studio of 'Miss Harriet's School of Ballet' in Brooklyn, leading her to matriculate as the (self-labeled) "worst dancer in the class" at New York's prestigious High School of the Performing Arts. Her directing career stemmed from years as a performer at Hofstra University as an undergraduate. After being told that women could not apply to the Yale School of Drama graduate directing program, Susan attended Yale as a playwright for her graduate studies and kept directing none the less. This yearn to direct at any costs won her p

Lynne Taylor-Corbett: In this discussion with Director-Choreographer Lynne Taylor-Corbett in February of 2000, listen to a two-time Tony nominee share her research into the complex history and techniques of competitive swing dance. She tells about the improvisation and experimentation involved during her workshop process to adapt this dance form for the Broadway stage in the 1999 production of Swing! We also get a glimpse of the stories that influenced her career; from her first encounter with a professional dancer in her hometown of Denver that propelled her to New York, to her work touring Africa and the Middle East with the Alvin Ailey Dance Company, as well as her first Broadway experiences choreographing Chess and Titanic. She explains how she built her career from the joy she feels for the theatre audience's enthusiasm for watching dance. This ninety minute interview ends with a frank discussion of the Director-Choreographer relationship, in which she describes the best collaboration as being a fluid, n