Podcasts about american theatre critics association

In this episode of Quakers Today, we ask, “Who is a historical figure you admire but whose words or actions trouble you?” Co-hosts Peterson Toscano (he/him) and Miche McCall (they/them) discuss the complex legacies of two notable Quakers: George Fox and Richard Nixon.  George Fox Johanna Jackson and Naveed Moeed are a part of this year's cohort of the Quaker Coalition for Uprooting Racism. They co-authored the Friends Journal article George Fox Was a Racist: How do Fox's writings on slavery impact Quakers today? to explore Fox's legacy on his 400th birthday.  Johanna and Naveed discuss how George Fox, a revered Quaker founder, held and expressed pro-slavery views. Fox's writings showed his alignment with the status quo of the time, defending the institution of slavery rather than challenging it. The authors explore how contemporary Quakers cannot undo the harm caused by historical figures like George Fox but can address it through acts of reparation. They also stress the importance of facing Quaker history honestly, recognizing the patterns of oppression that have persisted, and striving to transform behaviors and systems that perpetuate inequality and injustice today. Naveed says,  Kintsugi is the art of repairing something that is broken with a gold powder that is combined with an adhesive. And what it does is it doesn't repair in the way that we traditionally think of repair…What we need as Quakers is a form of Kintsugi, where we don't choose to paper the past, or repair it, or replace it or fix it so that it never happened. We need to acknowledge that it happened and how it happened, and where the break occurred, and then put some gold where the break was to bridge the gap. Johanna Jackson is a white Friend and member of Three Rivers Meeting (New England Yearly Meeting), a group reclaiming Quaker practice for today's time. Her ministry is Forward in Faithfulness.  Naveed Moeed is a British-born Pakistani and a Muslim-Quaker member of Chapel Hill (N.C.) Meeting. He is part of the American Theatre Critics Association and a semi-professional photographer. You can find his work at fractalsedge.net.  Richard Nixon Larry Ingle describes how Richard Nixon, the 37th President of the United States, grew up in a Quaker household. However, Larry points out that Nixon's political career often contrasts these principles. Larry Ingle is the author of Nixon's First Cover-up: The Religious Life of a Quaker President, a biography of Nixon's religious ideologies and background, and First Among Friends: George Fox & the Creation of Quakerism. He retired from the History Department at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and now lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee. This discussion features an excerpt from the video Was Richard Nixon a Quaker? See more videos like this on the QuakerSpeak YouTube channel or at QuakerSpeak.org.  Reviews and Recommendations Quakers in Politics by Carl Abbott and Margery Post Abbott describes a Quaker approach to politics and encourages Friends to leverage our unique willingness to listen and seek common ground. The book is part of the Quaker Quicks, a series of short paperbacks useful for outreach and religious education.  Paul Buckley reviewed Quakers in Politics for the June/July 2024 issue of Friends Journal. You can read the review for free and hundreds of others at Friends Journal Book Reviews.  Question for next month Here's our question for next month: What does Quakerism have to offer society in 2024? Quakers Today seeks wisdom and understanding in a rapidly changing world. What do you think Quakerism has to offer society in 2024? Leave a voice memo with your name and the town where you live. The number to call is 317-QUAKERS, that's 317-782-5377. +1 if calling from outside the U.S. You can now follow Quakers Today on Instagram, TikTok, and the platform now known as X. Quakers Today is the companion podcast to Friends Journal and other Friends Publishing Corporation (FPC) content online. It is written, hosted, and produced by Peterson Toscano and Miche McCall. Season Three of Quakers Today is sponsored by American Friends Service Committee.  Do you want to challenge unjust systems and promote lasting peace? The American Friends Service Committee, or AFSC, works with communities worldwide to drive social change. Their website features meaningful steps you can take to make a difference. Through their Friends Liaison Program, you can connect your meeting or church with AFSC and their justice campaigns. Find out how you can become part of AFSC's global community of changemakers. Visit AFSC dot ORG.  Feel free to send comments, questions, and requests for our new show. Email us at podcast@friendsjournal.org, or call our listener voicemail line at 317-QUAKERS.Music from this episode comes from Epidemic Sound.

From his first plays in the early 1960s to his death in 2020, playwright Terrence McNally has been a force in American theater. Beginning in the Off-Off Broadway movement, McNally's writing continually reflected a changing culture, from opposition to the Vietnam War through the emergence of AIDS and gay rights. His stage plays, musicals, and operas continue to be performed internationally, and they remain the work of a consummate artist, delving into the human soul and fearlessly examining both the lighter and darker aspects of existence in an uncertain—and sometimes frightening—world. A Man of Much Importance looks at McNally's life and work against the backdrop of a dynamic theatrical culture, tracing the ways in which an artist grows and responds to his world. Based on extensive interviews with McNally, it also features interviews with many of the artists—actors, designers, and producers—with whom he's collaborated, including Nathan Lane, Chita Rivera, Audra McDonald, Christine Baranski, Kathy Bates, Swoosie Kurtz, John Glover, Joe Mantello, Arin Arbus, Paul Libin, Lynne Meadow, and many more.  Christopher Byrne is an author and theater critic.  He is a member of The Drama Desk and the American Theatre Critics Association. He began his career as a stage manager and producer and is a graduate of Boston University's College of Fine Arts. In his not-so-secret double life, he is a leading expert on toys and play, writing extensively (including seven books), speaking, and appearing on many television programs worldwide on the topic. He is the creator and host of The Playground Podcast, a B2B podcast for the international toy industry, as well as Voice Out Loud, a podcast amplifying diverse voices in the LGBTQ+community. The book is officially out on July 15, and it's available for pre-order. 

Passionate and Inspirational, Steven Dietz visits Playwright's Spotlight to discuss the musicality of dialogue, kairos moments throughout a play, and what he calls The Living  Play, in which he unpacks his technique of using motion, status, and time opposed to action and conflict. We also discuss taboo topics, writing out of uncertainty, overlapping dialogue, intricacy and layers,  the mythology of playwriting as well as his time at Playwrights' Center and working with some of the greats. Probably one of the most educational discussions of the craft I've had so far. I hope you enjoy it.Steven Diezt's thirty-plus plays and adaptations have been seen at over one hundred regional theaters, as well as Off-Broadway and has International productions in over twenty countries. In 2019, he was once again named one of the 20 Most-Produced Playwrights in America by American Theatre Magazine. He was awarded the American Theatre Critics Association's Steinberg New Play Citation for his play Bloomsday; the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays Award for both –Fiction and Still Life with Iris; the PEN USA Award in Drama for Lonely Planet; and the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Sherlock Homes: The Final Adventure. Other plays include Becky's New Car, This Random World, Last of the Boys, Rancho Mirage, Shooting Star, Yankee Tavern, Inventing van Gogh, Private Eyes, Rocket Man, God's Country, and The Nina Variations. He taught in the MFA Playwriting and Directing program at UT/Austin for twelve years and currently serves as a Dramatists Guild "Traveling Master"—teaching workshops in playwriting, story-making, and collaboration across the U.S.To view the video format of this episode, visit the link below -https://youtu.be/CnS8-gegiUcLinks to sites and resources mentioned in this episode - Playwrights' Center -https://pwcenter.orgBroadway Licensing/Dramatists Play Services -https://www.dramatists.comConcord Publishing/Samuel French -https://www.concordtheatricals.comNational New Play Network -https://nnpn.orgWebsites and socials for James Elden, Punk Monkey Productions and Playwright's SpotlightPunk Monkey Productions - www.punkmonkeyproductions.comPLAY Noir -www.playnoir.comPLAY Noir Anthology –www.punkmonkeyproductions.com/contact.htmlJames Elden -Twitter - @jameseldensauerIG - @alakardrakeFB - fb.com/jameseldensauerPunk Monkey Productions and PLAY Noir - Twitter - @punkmonkeyprods                  - @playnoirla IG - @punkmonkeyprods       - @playnoir_la FB - fb.com/playnoir        - fb.com/punkmonkeyproductionsPlaywright's Spotlight -Twitter - @wrightlightpod IG - @playwrights_spotlightPlaywriting services through Los Angeles Collegiate Playwrights Festivalwww.losangelescollegiateplaywrightsfestival.com/services.htmlSupport the show

COMPANY COMPOSER: Stephen Sondheim LYRICIST: Stephen Sondheim BOOK: George Furth DIRECTOR: Hal Prince CHOREOGRAPHER: Michael Bennett PRINCIPLE CAST: Beth Howland (Amy), Dean Jones (Bobby), Elaine Stritch (Joanne) OPENING DATE: Apr 26, 1970 CLOSING DATE: Jan 01, 1972 PERFORMANCES: 705 SYNOPSIS: On his 35th birthday, bachelor Robert is confronted by his happily, and unhappily, married friends, as well as his three girlfriends, who all push him towards committing to another human being.  Stephen Sondheim had tremendous early success as a Broadway lyricist, but until the success of Company, his work as a composer could not be regarded as commercially successful. Based on a series of sketches about married couples by actor George Furth, Sondheim and director Hal Prince developed a musical which navigated a bachelor's relationships with his lovers and married friends. Rick Pender promotes Company's significance as an early book musical which, through Boris Aronson's design, Prince and Michael Bennett's staging, Jonathan Tunick's orchestrations, subject matter, and rough narrative, epitomized contemporary storytelling and broke away from the conventions of traditional musical theatre. Later revivals of the show staged by John Doyle and Marianne Elliott employed tactics which kept Company at the cutting edge of the art form and in dialogue with timely societal critique. Rick Pender- From 2004 to 2016 Rick Pender edited The Sondheim Review; in 2017 he launched EverythingSondheim.org. His book The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia was published in 2021. He has written about theater for Cincinnati CityBeat since it began publishing in 1994, and he was the paper's arts and entertainment editor from 1998 until 2006. Ohio's Society of Professional Journalists recognized him the state's best arts critic in 2002 and 2017. He contributed theater interviews to public radio station WVXU's weekly arts magazine for 15 years. Rick is a past chair of the American Theatre Critics Association. Rick's Book Available Here SOURCES Company by Stephen Sondheim and George Furth, published by Theatre Communications Group (1995) Company, Original Broadway Cast Recording. MasterWorks (1970) Original Cast Album: Company, starring Dean Jones and Elaine Stritch, directed by DA Pennebaker. New Video Group (1970 Stephen Sondheim's Company with the New York Philharmonic, starring Neil Patrick Harris and Patti LuPone, directed by Lonny Price. Image Entertainment (2012) Company, starring Raul Esparza and Barbara Walsh, directed by John Doyle. Image Entertainment (2008) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

ABOUT CAMERON KELSALLCameron Kelsall is a core theater critic for Broad Street Review and a regular freelance theater critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer. He is an editor and contributor for the website Exeunt NYC, where he writes about theater in New York at all professional levels. As a freelancer, his byline has appeared in American Theatre magazine, Opera News, Bachtrack, Time Out Philadelphia, Parterre Box, Asbury Park Press, Phindie, and many other publications. He is an active member of the Outer Critics Circle, American Theatre Critics Association, and Music Critics Association of North America, and has participated as a judge for Philadelphia's Barrymore Awards. He lives in Collingswood, New Jersey.Follow Cameron: Twitter: @CameronPKelsallAnd if you are interested in Wine Collecting - https://vindejerz.com

Neil Shurley is a writer, musician, actor, ukulele evangelist, and coffee achiever. A member of the American Theatre Critics Association, his writing ranges from award-winning promotional video scripts to original theatre and musical pieces to numerous web and print articles on theatre, music, finance, and more. His fiction has appeared in such publications as 365 Tomorrows and Rosebud Magazine. He's trying to stay off Twitter as much as possible, but you can still find him @thatneilguy and on his Substack newsletter, Star Trekking. **************************** Bad Choices & Bourbon - by Dan Decker Twitter | YouTube | Patreon **************************** --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/bcnb/message

On this episode of Finding Your Bliss, Judy Librach is joined by Stewart F. Lane, who is also known as Mr. Broadway. Stewart Lane is a six- time Tony Award winning producer for

"The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia" is a comprehensive reference devoted to musical theater’s most prolific and admired composer and lyricist. Entries cover Sondheim’s numerous collaborators—from composers and directors to designers and orchestras—key songs—such as his Academy Award winner “Sooner or Later” (Dick Tracy), and major works including "Assassins," "Company," "Follies," "Sweeney Todd," and "West Side Story." The encyclopedia also contains information about Sondheim’s mentoring by Oscar Hammerstein and his early collaboration with Leonard Bernstein, and profiles the actors who originated roles and sang Sondheim’s songs for the first time, including Ethel Merman, Angela Lansbury, Mandy Patinkin, and Bernadette Peters. Rick Pender has been an award-winning theater critic since 1986. He is past chair of the American Theatre Critics Association and was the executive editor and publisher of "Everything Sondheim" and managing editor of "The Sondheim Review."

Jamie Pachino is currently the Co-Executive Producer on The Right Stuff for Disney+. She always thought that she’d be an actor for her career, but she fell in love with writing plays and scripts along the way. Her work has been produced in four countries, honored with numerous awards, and she’s written for major studios like DreamWorks, Disney, Lionsgate and more. Jamie shares how she did it and the lessons she learned along the way. It’s an inspiring story of someone who followed her passion into a career of her dreams, and the script on that career is not even close to finished!Meet the GuestJamie Pachino is an award winning playwright, screenwriter and TV writer. Her plays have been seen in four countries, published and named the winner of the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays production grant, the Laurie Foundation Theatre Visionary Award, Chicago’s Joseph Jefferson Award for Best New Work, and the Francesca Primus Prize by the American Theatre Critics Association, among many others. Jamie’s plays have been produced, developed and read at Steppenwolf, Long Wharf, Hartford Stage, LCT3 (Lincoln Center), American Conservatory Theatre, Roundabout, Geva, San Jose Rep, Pasadena Playhouse, Northlight, Florida Stage, A Contemporary Theatre, and the Women’s Playwright Conference in Athens, Greece, among many others. Jamie has written on the staffs of TV series for Amazon (SNEAKY PETE, CHARLOTTE WALSH LIKES TO WIN), AMC (HALT AND CATCH FIRE), NBC (CHICAGO PD, THE BRAVE), TNT (FRANKLIN & BASH) and USA (FAIRLY LEGAL). She has written features for DreamWorks, Disney, Lionsgate, Walden Media, Vanguard Films and others, and teleplays for Amazon, the Hallmark Hall of Fame, Lifetime, Up, and the Hallmark Channel. She is currently writing on the staff of THE RIGHT STUFF for Disney+, a pilot for Bad Robot Productions, and her screenplay MASTERPIECE has been optioned. Jamie has served on the faculties of Northwestern University (her alma mater), University of California Irvine, National Louis University, Columbia College and The Chicago Academy of the Arts. She is a proud member of the WGA, The Playwrights Center, and the International Center for Women Playwrights, and is represented by Kaplan Stahler Agency, APA (theatre), Harden Curtis (London), and Cartel Entertainment. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband Lindsay Jones and their two children. LinksMore at www.jamiepachino.com.

David Fox is a Lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania in Theatre Arts, and Director of the Penn Reading Project and New Student Orientation. His areas of expertise and teaching include modern American theatre, musical theatre and opera; arts criticism; and directing.In addition to his work at Penn, David is an active arts journalist. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Opera Quarterly, The Kurt Weill Quarterly, and others. For 15 years, he was theater critic for Philadelphia City Paper, followed by five years at Philadelphia Magazine. He now writes regularly for Parterre Box, and—along with frequent writing partner, Cameron Kelsall—maintains the arts blog, Reclining Standards. Twenty-six of his essays appear in the current edition of the International Dictionary of Opera (St. James Press).David also lectures nationally for arts groups including the Philadelphia Orchestra, Opera Philadelphia, the Los Angeles Opera, and others. He is a frequent guest on NPR’s Radio Times. In addition, he has designed music and sound for a number of regional theatres throughout the country, including the Williamstown Theatre Festival, the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut, and Room for Theatre in Los Angeles.David holds degrees from UCLA School of Theatre, Film and Television, and has taught and developed educational programs in the arts and humanities at Penn, UCLA, and The University of Southern California. A native Los Angelino, he was part of the staff that opened the first ever Tower Classical Records store (on Sunset Boulevard). The vast LP (and later, CD) collection he built while working there still takes up half of his living room, and much of his time.Cameron Kelsall is a freelance journalist and critic based in Collingswood, New Jersey. Cameron specializes in writing about theater, classical music, opera, and the arts at large. His byline appears in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Gay News, American Theatre magazine, Broad Street Review, Opera News, Parterre Box, Bachtrack, Exeunt NYC, and many other publications. He maintains the arts and culture blog Reclining Standards with his colleague David Fox. Cameron serves on the Executive Committee of the American Theatre Critics Association, and is a member of the Outer Critics Circle and the Music Critics Association of North America. Born and raised in Beach Haven, New Jersey, Cameron received a BA from Marymount Manhattan College and an MA from Ohio University. He has taught extensively at the college level and has lectured frequently on topics related to the arts.

James Marino talks with Carey Purcell, Author of “From Aphra Behn to Fun Home: A Cultural History of Feminist Theatre” Guest: Carey Purcell Carey Purcell is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association and League of Professional Theatre Women. A writer, reporter and theatre critic, Purcell has written for read more

James Marino talks with Carey Purcell, Author of “From Aphra Behn to Fun Home: A Cultural History of Feminist Theatre” Guest: Carey Purcell Carey Purcell is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association and League of Professional Theatre Women. A writer, reporter and theatre critic, Purcell has written for read more

As a teenager, Stuart went into "The City" to watch a random Broadway show that a friend had a 2 for 1 ticket to.  They get there only to find the show has been canceled, so they go next door and watch the original production of..."Grease!"  Stuart's life long love for musicals has began.  In college he took over hosting a 3 hour Broadway show, probably because he was constantly calling in to request songs.  It's now been... a few years... and he still has a radio show called Sounds of Broadway that plays Broadway, Off-Broadway, and the West End, he is the president of the Connecticut Critics Circle, a member of the Outer Critics Circle, and the American Theatre Critics Association. You can download Stuarts "Sounds of Broadway" app and listen to his program at www.soundsofbroadway.com    Attribution: ----more---- Logo: Ritzy Remix font by Nick Curtis - www.nicksfonts.com Music and Soundcello_tuning by flcellogrl / Licence: CC BY 3.0freesound.org/people/flcellogrl/sounds/195138/ Flute Play C - 08 by cms4f / Licence: CC0 1.0freesound.org/people/cms4f/sounds/159123/ "Danse Macabre - Violin Hook" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) / Licence: CC BY 3.0 LicensesCC BY 3.0 - creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/CC0 1.0 - http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/  

Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder's plays include Gee's Bend, Fresh Kills, The Flagmaker of Market Street, The Furniture of Home, White Lightning, Provenance, and Everything That's Beautiful.  Her plays have been produced at the Royal Court (London), Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Denver Center, Cleveland Play House, KC Rep, Northlight, the Arden, B Street Theatre, and Hartford Stage, among others.  Her one act Santa Doesn't Come to the Holiday Inn was featured in the Marathon of One Act Plays at the Ensemble Studio Theatre. Elyzabeth is the recipient of the Osborn Award given by the American Theatre Critics Association and is a graduate of the dramatic writing program at New York University. Elyzabeth is the current Tennessee Williams Playwright-in-Residence at Sewanee: The University of the South where she teaches playwriting.

Click to tweet this podcast to your friends and followers! Ken LaZebnik is the founder and director of the Master of Fine Arts in TV and Screenwriting program at Stephens College, a low residency program based in Hollywood, which aims to increase the number of female writers working in Hollywood. Ken writes for television, film and the theater. His work includes collaborating with Garrison Keillor on Robert Altman's last film, A Prairie Home Companion, and many years of writing and producing for hour-long television dramas, including seven years of writing and producing the drama Touched By An Angel. Two of his plays have won citations from The American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA). His first book, Hollywood Digs: An Archaeology of Shadows, was published in 2014 by Kelly's Cove Press – a collection of essays about personal encounters with Hollywood history. LaZebnik's feature work includes the Lionsgate film Thomas Kinkade's Christmas Cottage, released in 2008, starring Peter O'Toole and Marcia Gay Harden. His television writing has also included Army Wives, Providence, Star Trek: Enterprise, and the new series When Calls The Heart on the Hallmark Channel. Ken's plays have frequently been premiered at The Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis, directed by Jack Reuler. The most recent of these collaborations was On The Spectrum, which premiered in November, 2011. On The Spectrum was awarded a Steinberg Citation from the American Theatre Critics Association, and had a successful run in Los Angeles at the Fountain Theatre. Other plays Mixed Blood has premiered include Vestibular Sense, League of Nations, and Calvinisms. His play Rachel Calof, adapted from the memoir of a Jewish homesteader in North Dakota, is a one-woman show starring Kate Fuglei. His play Theory of Mind, commissioned for young audiences by the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, has also been produced in Minnesota, Hawaii and Michigan. Follow Ken on Twitter: @KenLaZebnik. Buy Gray's book for only $4.99! Look for it on Amazon – How To Break In To TV Writing: Insider Interviews. Didn't get your questions asked? Make sure you follow Gray on Twitter (@GrayJones) so you can get the scoop on who is being interviewed and how to get your questions in. Also check out our TV Writer Twitter Database to find Twitter addresses for over 1,200 TV writers. Find our previous episodes and other resources at www.tvwriterpodcast.com or on Gray's YouTube channel. First published May 31, 2016.

Click to tweet this podcast to your friends and followers!Ken LaZebnik is the founder and director of the Master of Fine Arts in TV and Screenwriting program at Stephens College, a low residency program based in Hollywood, which aims to increase the number of female writers working in Hollywood.Ken writes for television, film and the theater. His work includes collaborating with Garrison Keillor on Robert Altman’s last film, A Prairie Home Companion, and many years of writing and producing for hour-long television dramas, including seven years of writing and producing the drama Touched By An Angel. Two of his plays have won citations from The American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA). His first book, Hollywood Digs: An Archaeology of Shadows, was published in 2014 by Kelly’s Cove Press – a collection of essays about personal encounters with Hollywood history.LaZebnik’s feature work includes the Lionsgate film Thomas Kinkade’s Christmas Cottage, released in 2008, starring Peter O’Toole and Marcia Gay Harden. His television writing has also included Army Wives, Providence, Star Trek: Enterprise, and the new series When Calls The Heart on the Hallmark Channel.Ken’s plays have frequently been premiered at The Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis, directed by Jack Reuler. The most recent of these collaborations was On The Spectrum, which premiered in November, 2011. On The Spectrum was awarded a Steinberg Citation from the American Theatre Critics Association, and had a successful run in Los Angeles at the Fountain Theatre. Other plays Mixed Blood has premiered include Vestibular Sense, League of Nations, and Calvinisms.His play Rachel Calof, adapted from the memoir of a Jewish homesteader in North Dakota, is a one-woman show starring Kate Fuglei. His play Theory of Mind, commissioned for young audiences by the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, has also been produced in Minnesota, Hawaii and Michigan.Follow Ken on Twitter: @KenLaZebnik.Buy Gray’s book for only $4.99! Look for it on Amazon – How To Break In To TV Writing: Insider Interviews.Didn’t get your questions asked? Make sure you follow Gray on Twitter (@GrayJones) so you can get the scoop on who is being interviewed and how to get your questions in. Also check out our TV Writer Twitter Database to find Twitter addresses for over 1,200 TV writers. Find our previous episodes and other resources at www.tvwriterpodcast.com or on Gray’s YouTube channel.First published May 31, 2016.

It’s hard to believe, but it’s been a year since we launched RDU on Stage. Between us, we have reviewed over 90 shows in the Triangle (and beyond). Hear which shows and performances stood out to us over the past year in our first RDU on Stage Year-End Review. About Us Lauren Van Hemert is a native of Miami, Florida. Her love of musicals started at the age of six when her dad took her to Radio City Music Hall to see a revival of the movie THE SOUND OF MUSIC. Prior to graduating from Indiana University-Bloomington, she hosted her own weekly talk show on Public Radio WDNA Miami and worked as a production intern for ‘As The World Turns.’ As the former Contributing Editor for Broadway World Raleigh, she covered over 50 shows in the Triangle. In January, she launched the RDU on Stage website to expand coverage of the Triangle theater community. She also hosts the weekly RDU on Stage podcast. Lauren is a proud member of the American Theatre Critics Association. Kim Jackson moved to Raleigh with her family just over two decades ago, and she has loved her life in the Triangle. When her children were younger, she made the rounds of family-fun events at the museums as well as kept busy with hockey, gymnastics and Irish dance. Now, her kids are in college (Go Pack!), one has graduated (Elon), and she has the opportunity to pursue other interests, like theater. Kim majored in history and English, also receiving advanced degrees in both, and held jobs where she wrote for various in-house publications. She is also a member of the American Theatre Critics Association. Connect with RDU on Stage Facebook – @rduonstage Twitter – @rduonstage Instagram – @rduonstage Web http://www.rduonstage.com/ (www.rduonstage.com) For a complete listing of the shows mentioned in this podcast episode, https://rduonstage.com/2020/01/04/2019-year-end-review/ (click here).   Support this podcast

Did you know, that the RDU on Stage podcast is nominated for a https://wral5.secondstreetapp.com/2019-WRAL-Voters-Choice-Awards/gallery/193006845?fbclid=IwAR3CA1XhvDrv6e9NmEXKtVQn5fHwnM82s1V_FhOirTt7y0Q1WWaKlEaHiUE (WRAL Voter’s Choice Award)? While this kind of recognition is really flattering, this podcast is the result of a lot of hard work and preparation week after week. And while I don’t consider myself to be a podcasting expert by any means, I have learned a few things along the way (some the hard way) and was thrilled to be asked to share some of that knowledge with my friends and colleagues at the American Theatre Critics Association at our national conference in New York City earlier this month. If you are interested in jumping into podcasting, I hope this presentation will inspire you (or give you a reality check on the time needed to develop a well-presented podcast). To access the links mentioned in this podcast, visit https://tinyurl.com/y55hn2lc (https://tinyurl.com/y55hn2lc). Connect with RDU on Stage Facebook – @rduonstage Twitter – @rduonstage Instagram – @rduonstage Web http://www.rduonstage.com/ (www.rduonstage.com) Support this podcast

Jonathan Abarbanel, our first theatre critic guest, comes with great perspective not just as a theatre historian and scholar but also as an artist. He's been an actor, dramaturg, playwright, and producer, so he knows what it means and takes to bring work to the stage. He's the immediate past president of the American Theatre Critics Association. He's reviewed Chicago theatre for 50 years and continues as a great critic for the Windy City Times and Footlights magazine. He and Kerry Reid are the "Dueling Critics" on The Arts Section on WDCB public radio. This marvelous and nuanced conversation about Isaac Gomez's play, La Ruta, is a great example of their collaboration and a chance to hear some longer form criticism from two real pros. Frank tells us about his trip to the Dalmation Coast, including a visit to the "Museum of Broken Relationships" in Zagreb. Sounds like a must-see. Jonathan was an early member of the off-loop theatre movement and was part of exciting and important developments like working with Del Close on the Harold. He briefly worked as a copywriter and producer in advertising an came up with an iconic slogan "America spells cheese, K-R-A-F-T"! Another claim to fame was his appearance on the Antique Road Show with original artist boards of Winsor McCay's comic strip, "Little Nemo in Slumberland." Winsor invented animated cartoons with a character called "Gertie the Dinosaur". Jonathan was working summer stock and came across the boards in a barn. He offered to buy them from the property's owner who said just to take whatever he wanted...They were worth a lot of money when he went on the Road Show and are worth even more now. Picture here is one of the Little Nemo strips he owns, as it appeared in print in full color. Jonathan describes it as "a zoo on Mars and a Martian is showing Nemo and his gang around." We asked Jonathan about his philosophy of criticism and he responded that he does not believe in attack criticism. And since his review space in the Windy City Times is usually only about 450 words, he doesn't have space to show off his "style." He'd rather spend 10 words writing about a costume or sound design than trying to show off his wit. He is very direct. To Jonathan, every single word sounds. Especially when writing about new work. About 50% of the shows produced in Chicago are new work. He will generally approach the script first, rather than the production elements or acting. The question is, "Does it work?" He talks about how consistently excellent most of the performances in Chicago theatre are right now. Speaking of which, Gary, Frank, and Jonathan agree that the performances in Steppenwolf's production of the new play by Tina Landau and Tarell Alvin McCraney, Ms. Blakk for President, were just terrific! Jonathan quotes the famous New Yorker critic, John Lahr's book title, Astonish Me, Adventures in Contemporary Theatre about what he's looking for when he walks into a theater. "Make me walk out full of the wonder of your production." He looks for that show that "just hits him in the guts." Sometimes he just "puts his pen down and lets it happen to him."    

Tony Diaz, El Librotraficante and the Nuestra Palabra Crew talk cultural capital with Wei-Huan Chen, theater critic for the Houston Chronicle, who wrote a potent piece titled: "Houston theater diversity, not always so diverse". Jovan Abernathy tells us how she is bringing business into art and health into communities through Houston Tourism Gym. Here is a link to the article: "Houston theater diversity, not always so diverse". https://www.houstonchronicle.com/life/article/Houston-theater-diversity-not-always-so-diverse-12998827.php?utm_campaign=twitter-premium&utm_source=CMS%20Sharing%20Button&utm_medium=social Click her to donate to Nuestra Palabra. Donate today and we’ll list you among our summer muses on our website through Hispanic Heritage Month and we’ll give you a shout out on the air: www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cm…_id=9CPLMM88TF5BS Bios: Wei-Huan Chen is theater critic for the Houston Chronicle. He also writes about classical music, opera and the performing arts scene. Before arriving at the Chronicle in 2016, he worked for the Indianapolis Star, the Lafayette Journal & Courier, the Needham Times and the Boston Phoenix. Chen is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association and a 2016 National Critics Institute Fellow at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. He has won several awards for his writing on the arts, including First Place from Indiana Associated Press Media Editors for Feature Writing. He has interviewed artists such as Wynton Marsalis, Yo-Yo Ma, Ira Glass, Jesse Eisenberg and Ben Kingsley. He is also an occasional performer at the Writer About Now poetry night at Avant-Garden and live storyteller (MOTH, IndyStar Storytellers). Jovan Abernathy created Up for Whatever fitness tours through her the Houston Tourism Gym. She is a native of the Houston area and has been in the hospitality industry for over 20 years. She also runs international marathons, which was the catalyst of a blog she wrote (I Hope I Come Back Alive) about touring unique countries. The success of that blog, coupled with her desire to give people a unique look at this city inspired her to start the Tourism Gym. Abernathy said that during her time in the restaurant industry, she would frequently have customers from out of town, and they would always ask her: “what do you guys do here?” Her answer was always “eat!” From this, the hospitality tours of Houston was born. Most people are on a quest to find something they love and do it for a living. Abernathy knows hospitality, she can make connections with anyone she meets; her presence is inviting, fun, and she’s extremely personable — the perfect person to show you around the city. NP Radio airs live Tuesdays 6pm-7pm cst 90.1 FM KPFT Houston, TX. Livestream www.KPFT.org. More podcasts at www.NuestraPalabra.org. Producers: Marlen Treviño & Leti Lopez. Board operators: Alex Sorto, and Joe Anthony Trevino. The Nuestra Palabra Radio Show is archived at the University of Houston Digital Archives. Our hard copy archives are kept at the Houston Public Library’s Special Collections Hispanic Archives. Tony Diaz Sundays, Mondays, & Tuesdays & The Other Side Sun 7am "What's Your Point" Fox 26 Houston Mon Noon "The Cultural Accelerator" at www.TonyDiaz.net Tues 6pm NP Lit Radio 90.1 FM KPFT, Houston www.NuestraPalabra.org 24/7 The Other Side TV www.TheOtherSideTV.com

On today's episode we feature two conversations: First is a discussion with Jill Vialet, founder and CEO of Playworks, who opened Chautauqua's week of lectures on "The Art of Play" on July 9. Then, Chautauqua Theater Company Artistic Director Andrew Borba sits with playwright Chelsea Marcantel and champion air guitarist Matt "Airistotle" Burns. Chelsea's newest play, Airness, is about air guitar competitions — CTC's production of Airness runs July 14 to 29 on the Bratton Theater stage. Jill Vialet is founder and CEO of Playworks, a nonprofit that operates on a belief “in the power of play to bring out the best in every kid.” From its beginnings in two schools in Berkeley, California, Playworks has grown to a staff of 700 and now reaches about 900,000 students in 23 regions around the United States, and is present within 1,800 schools and organizations. During the 2015–16 school year, Jill was an Education Fellow at Stanford’s d.school — very familiar to us at Chautauqua — where she launched a new project called Substantial, re-designing the way we recruit, train, and support substitute teachers. Prior to Playworks, Jill founded, and was the executive director for nine years, of the Museum of Children’s Art (MOCHA) in Oakland, California. Follow her on Twitter at @jillvialet, and read The Chautauquan Daily's recap of her Amphitheater lecture here: http://chqdaily.com…. Chelsea Marcantel is the playwright behind Airness, and also Everything is Wonderful, Ladyish, Devour and Tiny Houses, which CTC produced as part of its New Play Workshop in 2016. Airness was recently honored with the 2018 Elizabeth Osborn New Play Award by the American Theatre Critics Association. Matt Burns is a special guest at Chautauqua this week — he is a waiter and world-class competitive air guitarist living in New York City. Matt decided to try air-rocking almost a decade ago when he saw the documentary Air Guitar Nation, and has since become a two-time champion at Air Guitar World Championship. Follow them on Twitter at @AChelseaDay and @aYo_MattBurns. CTC produces Airness from July 14 to 29 in Bratton Theater — click here to purchase tickets.

Wherein Topher writes about Phish, loves the gift of paper, and never talks to girls named Jenny. Topher Payne is is an Atlanta-based playwright, screenwriter, actor, and director. His works have earned numerous awards, including the M. Elizabeth Osborn Award from the American Theatre Critics Association and several trophies from the Suzi Bass Awards. He has also been named Best Local Playwright from a wide array of Atlanta area publications.

From 1983 to 2009 he was the Post-Gazette's full-time theater editor and critic, fully covering the theater scene in Pittsburgh and also irregularly reviewing in New York, London, and the Canadian theater festivals. In 1984, he founded the annual Post-Gazette Performer of the Year Award, a coveted prize now in its 34th year.  He's an active Board member of the August Wilson House in Pittsburgh's Hill District; a long-time officer of The American Theatre Critics Association – which he has twice served as chair; a board member of the American Theatre Hall of Fame; and he was for some years on the editorial board of the national yearly compendium, Best Plays.  Also, since 1968 he has been a member of the English faculty at the University of Pittsburgh, where he teaches courses in Shakespeare, critical writing, satire, and the works of August Wilson, about whom he has probably written more than any other journalist.The post Chris Rawson, Theater Critic – Episode #10 appeared first on Storybeat with Steve Cuden.

Gary and the Booth One crew are pleased to welcome award-winning artistic director of Court Theatre, Mr. Charles Newell to the program. Court is the resident professional theater company of the University of Chicago in Hyde Park. Charlie has been AD at Court since 1994. Under his leadership, Court has, in the words of playwright Tony Kushner, "developed a spectacular reputation as one of the most important theaters in the country." Charlie's directing credits span a spectrum from classic Shakespeare to world premiere dramas and comedies, from musicals to opera. He is the recipient of four Joseph Jefferson Awards for directing, and has been honored by TCG and the League of Chicago Theatres for artistic achievement. Charlie is one of the finest theatrical artists working in America today and refers to himself as "the luckiest man in show business." Newell grew up in the Washington, DC area and first fell in love with theater when he saw an Arena Stage production of Death of a Salesman as a young boy. He studied at Wesleyan University, then honed his craft through a series of professional apprenticeships with some of the country's most outstanding theater artists, including Garland Wright at the Tyrone Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. Charlie's most recent work is a production of Tom Stoppard's The Hard Problem. The title comes from philosopher David Chalmers' term to describe scientific efforts to understand consciousness. We discuss this play in depth as well as Newell's close relationship with Mr. Stoppard. Charlie and Tom have consulted personally on a number of other Stoppard productions Charlie has directed. For this one, they had almost daily conversations about the play during rehearsals. In his early career as a stage manager, Gary had the great privilege to work on the Broadway and National touring productions of Stoppard's The Real Thing. He and Charlie trade stories about working with Stoppard and what a true man of the theater he really is. Much like Stoppard's other works, The Hard Problem is a tricky play to fully comprehend on a single viewing. Charlie talks about the way Stoppard's focus is centered on the emotional connections between the characters rather than the intellectual ideas. "If one can find the heart of it, the rest will fall into place." We think you will find the discussion illuminating and fascinating. Court Theatre takes full advantage of being part of the University of Chicago. In 2010, with the support of some very generous members of the Board of Trustees, Court created The Center for Classic Theatre. "A new way of approaching what it means for a professional theatre to be in residence at a major university. It is an approach to producing that fully accesses the amazing intellectual resources that surround the theatre. This vision influences how Court Theatre builds seasons and serves its audience and community." The results have been exciting. For instance, this season Court produced the widely acclaimed world premiere of Man in the Ring. Playwright Michael Cristopher won the best new play award from the American Theatre Critics Association. Still to come this season at Court is a rare production of Mary Chase's Harvey. Recently announced for the 2017-18 subscription season: Five Guys Named Moe; The Belle of Amhurst directed by friend of the show  Sean Graney and starring Kate Fry; All My Sons; Guess Who's Coming to Dinner; and The Originalist with Edward Gero as Supreme Court Judge Antonin Scalia. Some final personal information about Charlie - Favorite City? Chicago (no surprise there!); Other career he would have liked to pursue? Basketball Coach or General Manager. The Chicago Bulls may be looking! Kiss of Death: Gilbert Baker, a self-described "gay Betsy Ross," and creator of the original Rainbow Flag that has become an enduring and universal symbol for inclusion, peace and love. The original banner, created for the 1978 Gay Pride parade in San Francisco,

On this podcast, PlayPenn artistic director Paul Meshejian discusses the PlayPenn Annual Conference. I spoke with Meshejian in 2013 about the conference; since then, many plays that have been workshopped there have helped shaped the national conversation around contemporary theater. These new plays transfer from the conference to regional stages, and J.T. Rogers's drama Oslo, about the negotiations surrounding the Oslo Accords, opens on Broadway April 13, 2017, featuring New Paradise Laboratories founding member and longtime Philly actor Jeb Kreager.The highlight reelPlayPenn describes itself as "an artist-driven organization dedicated to improving the way in which new plays are developed. Employing an ever-evolving process, PlayPenn creates a relaxed tension within which playwrights can engage in risk-taking, boundary-pushing work free from the pressures of commercial consideration."Some of the conference's esteemed graduates and awards include:MacArthur Fellowship: Samuel D. Hunter (PlayPenn 2010)Whiting Award: James Ijames (PlayPenn 2013, 2015)Guggenheim Fellowship: Gabriel Jason Dean (PlayPenn 2013), Jordan Harrison (PlayPenn 2005), J.T. Rogers (PlayPenn 2005, 2009, 2015)Lilly Award for Playwriting: Lucy Thurber (PlayPenn 2005)Pew Fellowship: James Ijames (PlayPenn 2013, 2015)Sky Cooper Prize for American Playwriting: Samuel D. Hunter (PlayPenn 2010), Martin Zimmerman (PlayPenn 2012)American Theatre Critics Association's Osborn Award: Jonathan James Norton (PlayPenn 2012)Susan Smith Blackburn Prize: Sheila Callaghan (PlayPenn 2005)Terrence McNally New Play Award: James Ijames (White, 2015)Barrymore Award for Best New Play: R. Eric Thomas (Time Is on Our Side, PlayPenn 2015), Michael Hollinger (Ghost-Writer, PlayPenn 2009), Jacqueline Goldfinger (Slip/Shot, PlayPenn 2011)Top 10 Plays, New York Times: J.T. Rogers (Oslo, PlayPenn 2015; Blood and Gifts, PlayPenn 2009)Top 10 Plays, Time Magazine: J.T. Rogers (The Overwhelming, PlayPenn 2005)

The Handoff… DAVID: The art of theater and the inevitability of change - they’ve gone together from the beginning of, well, of theater. And I’m not talking about the pocket change that most theater artists earn for their work, or the mundane kinds of change - like ‘scenery changes’ and ‘quick changes in the dressing room. The art form itself has changed over the centuries, from a single bard standing in the square reciting an epic poem, to Greek choruses expounding exposition, to men playing women, to women playing men, to men writing plays in which people drop F-bombs, to women writing plays in which women talk to each other about something other than men. The audience changes too, mostly by turning gray, but sometimes by turning the tables on the theater establishment and demanding something new. And, inevitably, those of us who give our opinions on the art of theater, we change too. And that’s good, because new voices and new ideas always serve to keep things interesting and fresh. Which is a long, theatrical way of saying that after nearly ten years of contributing my thoughts - and my voice - to this weekly ‘Second Row Center’ radio segment, it’s time for me to make a change, and as such, this will be my last time appearing on the radio in this particular format. Why the change? Main reason – I’ve taken a position as the Community Editor with the Petaluma Argus Courier, and the new gig will be taking up a great deal of my time. I will continue as the theater reviewer of the North Bay Bohemian, however, so I will stay in the role of North Bay theater critic, in print, if not on KRCB. Which brings me to Harry Duke, who will be taking over this segment, beginning . . . well, beginning right now. Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Harry Duke. HARRY: Thank you, David. We’ll now take a short pause while the listeners say “Who?” Well, I am Harry Duke. I’m a twenty-five-year resident of Sonoma County, a graduate of Sonoma State University’s Theatre Arts program, an actor, a director, an educator, one of the founders of the Marquee Theatre Journalists Awards, the Chief Information Officer of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle and a member of the American Theatre Critics Association. I’ve been performing on North Bay stages since the last century and reviewing theatre as far back as my days on my New Jersey high school newspaper. I love theatre. Whether onstage or in the audience, theatre has always been the place I have been most content. We are fortunate to have an abundance of it in this area. With so many choices and limited time or resources, how does one go about deciding what to see? That’s where a critic can be of assistance. I’ll share my thoughts and opinions with you about productions in the North Bay and beyond. The foundation of those thoughts will be my education, my experience, and my love of the art of theatre. I’d rather give you a reason to go see something than to not go see something but, like a baseball umpire, I just call ‘em like I see ‘em. Thanks to my colleague David Templeton and to the folks at KRCB for allowing me to add my voice to the Radio 91 airwaves. So, until next week, I’m Harry Duke… DAVID: And I WAS David Templeton, Second Row Center . . . HARRY: … for KRCB.

This talk will be a retrospective look at these works and the way they furthered diversity in American opera and musical theatre. Diversity is used more often today than ever before, thanks to musicals like HAMILTON and the controversial OTELLO which made the authenticity of theatrical storytelling a hot topic. This talk will be led by William Henry Curry, Music Director of the Durham Symphony, who has conducted the Grammy-nominated recording of opera X: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MALCOLM X, has reached thousands of diverse audience members with the DSO’s “All that Jazz” program and work with kidzNotes. Curry wrote “Eulogy for a Dream,” based on Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I have a Dream” speech which has been narrated by the late William Warfield of PORGY AND BESS fame. Jackson Cooper is a Theatre and Classical Music Critic for Classical Voice of North Carolina and a member of the American Theatre Critics Association and Music Critics Association of North America.