Podcasts about Wendy Wasserstein

Caroline Aaron is known to theatre, film and television audiences, as well as a published author and playwright.She made her Broadway debut in Robert Altman's "Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean,Jimmy Dean" and later appeared in the film. The following Broadway season, she starred in the revival of "The Iceman Cometh". She next starred in Mike Nichols's Broadway smash comedy "Social Security". She returned to Broadway starring in "I Hate Hamlet." She headlined the west coast premiere of Wendy Wasserstein's "The Sisters Rosensweig" and was acknowledged with both a Helen Hayes and Dramalogue Award. Next on Broadway she starred in Woody Allen's comedy "Honeymoon Hotel". She headlined Lincoln Center's award winning play "A Kid Like Jake." She played the title role in "All The Days" at the McCarter Theatre and was named best actress by several newspapers in the New York/New Jersey area. She headlined "Call Waiting" at The. Odyssey theatre which became a hit and was later made into a film available on Amazon Prime.On film Caroline has been in over a hundred films and is frequently in demand from top directors including Woody Allen, the late Mike Nichols, Nora Ephron, Paul Mazursky, and Robert Altman.Favorite film roles include “21 & 22 Jump Street”, “Just Like Heaven", "Nancy Drew", "Surveillance", "Love Comes Lately", "Edward Scissorhands", "Anywhere But Here", The Big Night", and "Bounce" among others. Later this year she will be seen in "Theatre Camp", "Between Two Temples", and "The Fourth Dementia".Television audiences are also familiar with her work as a guest star on hundreds of shows. She has recurred on Curb Your Enthusiasm, Ghosts, Episodes and Transparent. She is best known for her role as Shirley Maisel on the hit Amazon series "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, I'm thrilled to be joined by Emmy nominee Jill Eikenberry, who will be appearing with me in Backstage Babble: Beyond the Walls of Joe Allen Restaurant on Wednesday, February 19th at 7 PM at 54 Below. You can find in-person and livestream tickets here: https://54below.org/events/backstage-babble-joe-allen/ And tune in to hear some of the stories of her legendary career, including how Tennessee Williams helped her with her performance in THE ECCENTRICITIES OF A NIGHTINGALE, being bullied during her Broadway debut in MOONCHILDREN, how Dustin Hoffman directed ALL OVER TOWN, what she learned from Robert Burstein and Paul Sills at Yale, sharing a trailer with Liza Minelli during ARTHUR, the compliment she got from Lillian Hellman during WATCH ON THE RHINE, how she opened up her performance in ONWARD VICTORIA, embracing the power of Ann Kelsey on L.A. LAW, narrating TWYLA THARP DANCE while pregnant, acting in plays written by her husband, Michael Tucker, the intimacy of working with Wendy Wasserstein on UNCOMMON WOMAN, and so much more. You won't want to miss this interview with one of stage and screen's greatest stars.

About 20 years ago, the New York public library assembled a list of books on the seven deadly sins, one of which, of course, is sloth. But if you've always been a little fuzzy about exactly what sloth is playwright essayist and satirist Wendy wasserstein to the rescue. In this 2005 interview Wasserstein explains -- with tongue in cheek -- how to achieve your inner sloth. Get Sloth by Wendy wassersteinAs an Amazon Associate, Now I've Heard Everything earns from qualifying purchases.You may also enjoy my interviews with Dave Barry and Sarah Silverman For more vintage interviews with celebrities, leaders, and influencers, subscribe to Now I've Heard Everything on Spotify, Apple Podcasts. and now on YouTube #Humor #Essays #Sevendeadlysins #

We invest in ourselves when we discover purpose, that each of us has a voice only we can share. Jan celebrates playwright Wendy Wasserstein, who painted worlds with her words that made us laugh, cry, and helped illuminate the power and complexity of modern day women.

COMMUNAL TABLE: Have you ever had to share a table in a café with the wrong people? On one summer afternoon in June, the day of the summer solstice, three characters end up at the same café table. Minna enjoys eavesdropping, but this time is different — this guy is getting so many things wrong, she may just need to interrupt. Gary loves meeting new people, but it looks like his latest flirtation is getting sabotaged. Allie has come here for some peace but she's unlikely to find any here. Written by Jenny Lyn Bader Directed by Jonathan Cook Performed by Elizabeth D. Moore as "Allie", Shelby Lauren Smith as "Minna", & Mickey Lay as "Gary". Intro/Outro music: JK/47 About the writer: Jenny Lyn Bader is a playwright living in New York City. Her plays include Mrs. Stern Wanders the Prussian State Library (Luna Stage) ("powerful and timely!"—Voice of America), Equally Divine (Theatre at the 14th St. Y), In Flight (Turn to Flesh Productions), and None of the Above (New Georges). One-acts include Worldness (Humana Festival of New American Plays), Miss America (NY Int'l Fringe Festival/”Best of Fringe” selection), Anniversary Season (Mona Bismarck Center, Paris), and My First Time (Voting Writes). A Harvard graduate, she has received the “Best Documentary One-Woman Show” Award (United Solo Fest); Athena Playwriting Fellowship; and the O'Neill Center's Edith Oliver Award for a playwright who has, in the spirit of the late New Yorker critic, “a caustic wit that deflates the ego but does not unduly damage the human spirit.” For This Is Not a Theatre Company, she wrote Tree Confessions (w/ Kathleen Chalfant), which has streamed on five continents; International Local: 7 (Subway Plays app); co-authored Café Play (Cornelia St. Café) and Play in Your Bathtub 2.0, and wrote Guru of Touch (Edinburgh Festival Fringe). Her work has been published by Dramatists Play Service, Smith + Kraus, Applause, Vintage, W.W. Norton, The Lincoln Center Theater Review, Plays International + Europe, and The New York Times, where she served as a frequent contributor to the "Week in Review.” She has written commissioned scripts for Laura Ziskin Productions/WB Network, NBC Studios/NBC, and HBO, where she developed a pilot with Billy Crystal. A Harvard graduate, she has been a frequent contributor to the NY Times "Week in Review" and a Lark playwriting fellow, nominated by Wendy Wasserstein. She belongs to the Dramatists Guild, the Authors Guild, the League of Professional Theatre Women, and Honor Roll. Gather by the Ghost Light merch available at Home | Gather by the Ghost Light (bigcartel.com) If you would like to further support this podcast, please visit Gather by the Ghost Light is increasing public knowledge of emerging writers and actors (buymeacoffee.com) If you are associated with a theatre and would like to perform this play, please send an email to info@gatherbytheghostlight.com to get connected with the playwright. If you enjoy this podcast, please please please leave a rating on your preferred podcast app! Gather by the Ghost Light Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

BRUCE SUSSMAN received the 2022 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical for the Broadway show Harmony. With Jack Feldman, he co-authored the scores for Ted Tally's Coming Attractions (Outer Critics Circle Award) and Wendy Wasserstein's first musical, Miami, both produced by André Bishop at Playwrights Horizons. He also co-authored the score and book for Copacabana: The Musical, (Olivier Award nominee). His half century-long collaboration with Barry Manilow has produced over 200 songs that have been featured in numerous films & have been recorded by an array of artists, earning Grammy Awards & multiple Gold & Platinum records. We discuss:  What is it like collaborating with Barry Manilow and how did that all unfold? When did you first get the desire to write, score & produce music?  Who & what were your inspirations? Does writing the book for a show & scoring the music come naturally to you?  What are the easy parts, what are the hard parts and what does it take to get it all done to your exacting standards? Is there a secret to your success?   What advice would you offer someone else who needs a better roadmap to reach the same pinnacle of success that you have? The show's slogan is that HARMONY tells the extraordinary true story of the greatest entertainers the world would ever forget.  There were 6 Comedian Harmonists.   What made them so beloved at the time and why were they forgotten? What does the Broadway musical Harmony mean to you and can you tell our listeners exactly your role in the show is as the maestro behind the book and lyrics and also Barry Manilow's role with his original score in the show? What would you like audiences to take away from the intended meaning & message of the show  & how you would like to see them feeling during & after the show? How long did it take for Harmony to get to Broadway & why the long and winding road that finally landed the show there.  What are you most proud of?  Anything you would change?        

Peter Friedman - has been in the original New York productions of works by Wendy Wasserstein, Simon Gray, C.P. Taylor, Charles Fuller, Annie Baker, Amy Herzog, Max Posner, Greg Pierce, Jennifer Haley, Deborah Zoe Laufer, The Debate Society, Rachel Bonds, Lauren Yee, Will Eno, Michael Mitnick, Kim Rosenstock, Will Connolly, Gunnar Madsen, Joy Gregory, John Lang, Susan Stroman, David Thompson, John Kander, Terrence McNally, Lynn Ahrens, and Stephen Flaherty. He's performed in NYC revivals of plays by Paddy Chayefsky, Reginald Rose, Donald Margulies, Chekhov, and Shakespeare. Film: The Savages, Safe, Single White Female. TV: “Brooklyn Bridge,” “High Maintenance,” “The Muppet Show,” “The Affair,” “The Path,” “Succession.” Sydney Lemmon - Off-Broadway debut. Broadway: Beau Willimon's The Parisian Woman. Film: TÁR, Firestarter, Velvet Buzzsaw. Television: “Helstrom,” “Succession,” “Fear the Walking Dead” (Saturn Award Nomination). She can next be seen alongside Halle Berry in the forthcoming feature film The Mothership. Sydney is a graduate of Boston University, LAMDA and the Yale School of Drama. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meg investigates two murders in the neighborhood. Jessica skips the gym and goes straight to Body Design by Gilda.Please check out our website, follow us on Instagram, on Facebook, and...WRITE US A REVIEW HEREWe'd LOVE to hear from you! Let us know if you have any ideas for stories HEREThank you for listening!Love,Meg and Jessica

From March 29, 2017: Comedian and actor Robert Klein called in to discuss his 40-year career in comedy and a new documentary, Robert Klein Still Can't Stop His Leg:ROBERT KLEIN STILL CAN'T STOP HIS LEG blends vérité and archival footage with fresh interviews to look at Robert Klein in the 21st century – still performing, still creating new material, now an icon but forever an influence on a generation of comedians that runs from Jay Leno to Jerry Seinfeld to Jon Stewart and beyond. The film offers an affectionate profile of a comedy giant, capturing the humanity that brought his humor to life and made his comedy a touchstone for a generationROBERT KLEIN BIOFor more than forty years, Robert Klein has entertained audiences, and he continues to have an acclaimed career in comedy, on Broadway, on television, and in film.2014 and 2015 have been busy years for Klein. He's appeared on "Madame Secretary" starring Tea Leoni on CBS, "Sharknado 2: The Second One" and "Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!" starring Ian Ziering, on SyFy. Most recently, he guest stars as Laura Diamond's grouchy but loveable father, Leo, on NBC's "The Mysteries of Laura" starring Debra Messing. He is also the subject of a new documentary, "Robert Klein: Still Can't Stop His Leg," for the Weinstein Company, which is scheduled for late 2017.Born in the Bronx, he was a member of the famed “Second City” theatrical troupe in Chicago.He was nominated twice for Grammy Awards for “Best Comedy Album of the Year” for his albums “Child of the Fifties” and “Mind Over Matter.”He received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor, and won a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for his performance in the hit Neil Simon musical, “They're Playing Our Song.” In 1993, Klein won an Obie and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in Wendy Wasserstein's, “The Sisters Rosensweig.”In 1975, Klein was the first comedian to appear in a live concert on Home Box Office. He has gone on to do nine one-man shows for HBO and received his first Emmy nomination for Outstanding Music and Lyrics in 2001 for Robert Klein: “Child in His 50's.” Klein released “RobertKlein: The HBO Specials 1975-2005,” a collector's DVD box set to critical acclaim.His most recent special for HBO, “Robert Klein: Unfair and Unbalanced” aired on June 12th, 2010 and is also available as a DVD. This special earned him a second Emmy nomination in 2011 for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics.Among dozens of starring and guest-starring roles on television, he co-starred in the hit NBC series, “Sisters,” has a recurring guest-starring role on “Law and Order” and has guest starred on “The Good Wife” and “Royal Pains.” He regularly appeared on talk shows, making more than 100 appearances on “The Tonight Show” and “Late Show with David Letterman.” Currently, he can be seen on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,” where he is a show favorite.Klein has also appeared in many notable films including, “Hooper,” “The Owl and the Pussycat,” “Primary Colors,” “People I Know,” “Two Weeks Notice,” and “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,” and “The Back-Up Plan” with Jennifer Lopez.“The Amorous Busboy of Decatur Avenue,” his first book for Simon & Schuster, is an affectionate coming-of-age memoir about growing up in the ‘50s and ‘60s before embarking on a show business career. In it he recounts his journey from an apartment in the Bronx, developing his talent in Chicago and the beginning of his show business stardom. The book is pure Robert Klein: witty, honest, self-questioning and always contagiously funny. Publishers Weekly wrote: "...he unfurls an array of captivating anecdotes, writing with wry wit and honesty."Robert, a lifelong New Yorker, makes his home in Westchester and New York City.

Welcome to the Instant Trivia podcast episode 711, where we ask the best trivia on the Internet. Round 1. Category: June 1969 1: J. Edgar Hoover said RFK authorized the FBI to tap this black leader's phone. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.. 2: Riots that followed games in this sport set off a war between El Salvador and Honduras. soccer/football. 3: The U.N. security council voted to keep peace-keeping forces on this island near Turkey another 6 months. Cyprus. 4: Nixon became the 1st president to address the Supreme Court when this chief justice was sworn in. Warren Burger. 5: This president emeritus of the United Mine Workers "kicked the coal bucket". John L. Lewis. Round 2. Category: Wed To The Idea 1: The sacrament of marriage, it's "holy". matrimony. 2: "Marry in" this color "and you will always be true", hence the requirement for "something" of it. blue. 3: Apparel usually tied to the back of the newly-married couple's carriage. (baby) shoes. 4: Once, a groom paid a sum to the bride's family and she came with a collection of money and property known as this. a dowry. 5: A married couple may start off as a DINK couple, an acronym for this. double income, no kids. Round 3. Category: Name The Playwright 1: "A Doll's House". Henrik Ibsen. 2: "Summer And Smoke". Tennessee Williams. 3: "The Sisters Rosensweig". Wendy Wasserstein. 4: "Rhinoceros". Eugene Ionesco. 5: "Murder In The Cathedral". T.S. Eliot. Round 4. Category: Red, White Or Blue 1: It's a synonym for Bolshevik. Red. 2: The largest living animal on earth has this color in its name. a blue whale. 3: The one that's not a label of Johnnie Walker. White. 4: It's the color of the flag that stops an auto race before the finish. red. 5: Jack London's follow-up doggie tale to "The Call of the Wild". White Fang. Round 5. Category: What The "H" Is It? 1: These phenomena are also known as tropical cyclones. hurricanes. 2: Hawaii favorite flowering here. Hibiscus. 3: Das kapital of das Keystone State. Harrisburg (Pennsylvania). 4: The pagan New Year festival of Samhain evolved into this current observance. Halloween. 5: The government departments, jurisdiction and authority associated with the Vatican. the Holy See. Thanks for listening! Come back tomorrow for more exciting trivia! Special thanks to https://blog.feedspot.com/trivia_podcasts/

150 Years!  Tamsen remembers the Trim-a-Tree Shop ca 1976. Wendy Wasserstein's Third.  Roger Federer. Cheating in Chess.  Old coin. Really old.  Japan still loves a telegram.  Remembering Architect Brian Carey. Samurai Swimming (nihon eiho) ! Credits: Talent:  Tamsen Granger and Dan Abuhoff Engineer:  Ellie Suttmeier Art:  Zeke Abuhoff

Katie checks in with playwright (The Power of Punctuation, The Day the Butcher Shop Closed, Party Hop Off-Broadway; upcoming: All Nighter), Natalie Margolin.

We are honored to host this very special conversation between some of the most thoughtful people who are currently a part of the movement for visibility on behalf of the Jewish community in America. With the persistent and horrific rise of antisemitism across the globe, including the recent synagogue attack in Dallas and the banning of Pulitzer-winning graphic novel Maus in Tennessee, the Gayborhood team felt compelled to provide a platform for several of the Jewish people in our lives who have been our beloved allies and trusted friends. We're thus proud to welcome a star-studded panel (in alphabetical order): Dylan Alban, whose aid work in international non-profits took him around Asia for years before he joined APDS, an education technology company that provides resources to justice-involved individuals across the US; Jordan Daniels, who identifies as a Fat Queer Afro-Jew writer and photographer and who focuses on Queer experiences, anti-racism, belonging for Jews of Color, and Fat activism; Jonathan Lipnicki, movie icon and Jewish activist, whose blockbuster films include the Oscar-winning Jerry Maguire, The Little Vampire, Like Mike, and the Stuart Little franchise; and Broadway actress and singer Jaime Rosenstein, who has graced the stage in the recent Sunday in the Park with George revival and the Wicked national tour.  Our panelists discuss a variety of topics, including the many and complex definitions of Jewish identity, their families' generational relationships to America, and their hopes for the future regarding how the Jewish community is depicted in the media. We also dive deep into how we can all be advocates for the Jewish community, not just now but always. Go on Instagram to follow Dylan at @dylra1, Jordan at @johodaniels, Jonathan at @jonathanlipnicki, and Jaime at @jaimero1, and learn everything you can about the Jewish people and organizations highlighted in this week's Gayborhood Watch: the 92nd Street Y, the Anti-Defamation League, Blake Flayton, Eve Barlow, Hila Love, Adam Eli, The Empress Mizrahi, Keshet, the Jews of Color Initiative, the Black-Jewish Liberation Collective, the Jewish-Asian Film Project, San Diego's the HIVE at Leichtag Commons, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, Bend the Arc, Tony Kushner, Wendy Wasserstein, and Theatre Dybbuk. And don't forget to follow @rogerq.mason, @lovell.holder, @miachanger, and @dgonzalezmusic on Instagram for all your Gayborhood updates! 

Intro: Gina is co-hostless and doing her best. PLEASE SUBSCRIBE, RATE, and REVIEW you beautiful Survivors!Interview: SUNY Geneseo, Boston University, Tisch, Juilliard, Playwriting MFAs, competition in writing programs, Marsha Norman, Cry It Out, MAID on Netflix, Hollywood sea changes, female-centered shows, domestic violence, emotional abuse, Hulu, theatre is behind, denial, making mistakes, bad reviews.COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT (unedited):1 (10s):And I'm Gina Polizzi. We went to theater school2 (12s):Together. We survived it.1 (14s):We didn't quite understand it. 20 years later, we're digging deep talking to our guests about their experiences and trying to make sense of it all2 (21s):Survived theater school. And you will too. Are we famous yet?1 (34s):Hello? Hello. Hello survivors. This is Gina. This week. We are sons' cohost, just one host today. I'm missing my better half BAAs. His boss is actually attending to a friend who got terrible health news this week. And she is in her very boss like way being there for her friend and being the amazing person and friend that she is, which is why everybody loves buzz. Anyway, she'll be back next week if you're not. But today we have, honestly, you guys, this is the interview I have been waiting for.1 (1m 19s):Molly Smith. Metzler is a writer extraordinaire. You may have heard of her latest project made number three on Netflix entering its 28th day online, which has some very special meaning for Netflix that I hope to know more about one day and previous to me being the showrunner for maid, she also worked on shameless and several other successful television shows. And before that she was a playwright. And actually I got to know her work because I directed a play of hers called cry it out.1 (1m 59s):And it was a fantastic experience. And I started communicating with her over email when I was directing. And I was so impressed with the way that she responded to me. I mean, a that she responded to me at all that she was available to me at all. And not something you always get with a playwright and B that she really took her time with her responses and see that her responses ended up being pretty impactful for me, just not necessarily related to the play, but as a person. And I'm a little embarrassed that when I talked to her and I told her the way that she had impacted me, I just started seriously just crying, crying, crying.1 (2m 45s):And I was having this thought like, I, this is not a moment I want to be crying. And I'm generally in life. I, I welcomed here as, as a person who struggles to access their emotions. I do. I welcome a good cry, but it not want to be crying to Molly Smith Metzler in this great interview. But you know, it is what it is. If I'm going to be honest, I have to be honest. I can't be choicy about when I'm being myself. That's my, that's my mantra. Recently you have to be yourself in all the ways. Some of those ways are ugly and disgusting and you know, unsavory, and some of them are fine and some of them are be even beautiful.1 (3m 31s):So I'm working on embracing the, a mess that I am, but I really think you're going to enjoy this interview with Molly. She's fantastic. Even without the always wonderful presidents, presidents presence, maybe she should be president even without the always wonderful presence of BAAs. We still managed to have a great conversation and actually that whole experience of her at the last minute, not being able to do this and this being the first time we're doing this with one host, turns out to have been a good thing for us to go through, to learn that.1 (4m 14s):Yeah, sometimes we're not both going to be available and sometimes when I'm not available, she'll be doing an episode on her own. So, you know, whatever we're growing, changing learning, Hey, we're in 22 countries. Now, if you have a, not a subscribed to this podcast, please do. If you have not rated this podcast or given it a review, please, please, please, please, please, please do it seriously. Please do it, please. I'm begging you. Please do it, but okay. Anyway, here's Molly Smith message.0 (4m 53s):Well,1 (5m 0s):No problem whatsoever. Fortunately, my partner is Jen. Her very good friend just got diagnosed with cancer yesterday and she's with her right now helping. So she's not going to be able to join us. This is actually the first time we're doing an interview with just me. So we'll see how it goes.3 (5m 23s):Yeah,1 (5m 24s):It is. And she just, she has a lot of experience with, with cancer. So she's sort of like the first people, first person people call, which is like,3 (5m 38s):Yeah,1 (5m 38s):Exactly, exactly. But anyway, congratulations, Molly Smith. Metso you survived theater school and you're going to have to clarify for me because it looks like you went to four schools, but you didn't go to four theater schools. Did you?3 (5m 52s):I went to four schools. I did. They're not all theater schools, but I went to undergrad, SUNY Geneseo in Western New York and I was an English major. And then I went to Boston university and got a master's in creative writing with a concentration in playwriting. And then I went to Tisch and got an MFA in playwriting dramatic writing. And then I went to Juilliard, which is, you don't really get a degree there. It's called an artist diploma, but it's just finishing school basically.1 (6m 20s):Oh, okay. So the decision to, to do the MFA, were you thinking at that time that you, maybe you were going to be a teacher, I'm always curious about MFA's and writing because you know, if you learned what you needed to know and you know, why not just put yourself out there and be a writer?3 (6m 40s):I think it's very scary to take that jump. The thing about school that I got addicted to is that I'm actually way too social to be a writer. I like being around other writers and every, and every time you get a graduate program, you're with a bunch of writers and you have deadlines and you kind of, you know, it's a really public way to study writing versus alone in your apartment while way to say, you know, and I kept getting academic support to attend the programs. And so that was part of it. I'm not sure I would have gone deep into debt to get all those degrees, but I think giving me aid, I kept going. Yeah.1 (7m 16s):Okay, fantastic. And did you always know from day one that you, I mean, since you were in high school anyway, that you wanted to be a writer that you wanted to write dramatically?3 (7m 26s):I always loved writing. I had journals and I'm from a very young age. I love to write, but I had a sort of more academic feeling about it. I thought I was going to get a PhD in English and join the academy and be a professor. And I didn't know, I was creative in the sense of dramatic writing until my senior year of college. When I took a playwriting class, I didn't know I was a playwright. And I also didn't know. I was funny. Those two things emerged at the same time. Wow.1 (7m 54s):Oh, so you didn't have experience with theater before then?3 (7m 58s):Well, I grew up a ballerina, so I had a great sense of the stage and the relationship between an audience and someone onstage. I really like, I understood light and the power of an audience, but I, no, I didn't grow up a theater nerd at all. I grew up a nerd nerd, like an actual,1 (8m 18s):So that must've been like just a whole new, exciting world. Did you decide pretty much right away that you were going to be getting your MFA when you discovered that you liked to play with?3 (8m 27s):Yeah, I did. I took this introduction to play right in class and it was one of those things. People talk about this, like in a romantic relationship where you're just like, it changes your whole life. And I didn't have that in a romantic relationship, but I had that with playwriting. One-on-one where, you know, I just, I, it came, I don't want to say easily to me cause it was really easy to play it, but it came, it was like a big release in my life that I arrived at playwriting and loved doing it. And it's like a big jigsaw and you can stay up all night doing it. And I knew from the very first, basically from the first act of a play that I wrote that it's what I wanted to do. I'm very lucky. It was very clear.1 (9m 5s):Yeah. Yeah. That is really lucky. So we have talked to almost 60 people now, the majority of them have been actors. So we've really delved deep into like everything about being an actor, especially at the age of undergrad and what that's like to be growing up, you know, just growing up and then trying to figure out yourself well enough to be an actor and all the stuff that comes along with that, including, you know, the competitive best with your cohort. But I imagine that's what it, well, I don't want to imagine what it's like, what is it like with your cohort when you're all writers and you're presumably reading each other's work critiquing each other's work, does it get really competitive?3 (9m 55s):I suspect that it can, you know, I feel very lucky cause I have never experienced that directly in a graduate program situation. Part of it is I think I went to really great places where everyone had gotten in was incredibly talented and brought such a unique point of view and voice that none of us were trying to raise the same place. So it was really easy to just support each other. And also it's fun, you know, you're reading it aloud. So if something's in the south, you're trying an accent and it's super bad cause you're a playwright. So I found it, you know, I became close with the other writers and I mean, I'm married. One of them, I call him my husband, he and I were in the same graduate program at Tisch. And there is something beautiful about meeting someone in a writing workshop because you're just sort of naked.3 (10m 41s):It's all, you know, I imagine it's like, I understand my actors fall in love too. It's like, you're just so vulnerable and you know, each other in a deep way. But my experience has been that writers are pretty, pretty darn supportive of each other. And if you're not, you kind of don't fit in, like if you're a jerk, if you're competitive jerk, like you're not meant to be a playwright, playwrights need to love people. Cause that's what we do, you know? Yeah.1 (11m 1s):Yeah. That's a very good point. Actually, we talked to CISA Hutchinson yesterday and basically said, yeah, isn't she awesome?3 (11m 8s):She's in a beautiful inside and out like just, but yeah.1 (11m 12s):Yeah. She, and she echoed the same thing in what you're saying. So I guess we're going to stop asking this question about competition. It's just that it's so much of a part of like the act. And I think it's part of just how the program is structured. I mean, you're literally up for the same parts against each other and they PO posted on a wall and everybody shows up to3 (11m 35s):Absolutely. And you know, I was at Juilliard where they still cut people. You know, that system has changed a little bit, but I was at the, the version of Juilliard that was structured to drop 10% of the class out. And I feel like you don't get, I don't know. I learned a lot about that cause they cut playwrights as well. And I feel like that doesn't, that doesn't bring forth good creative work from anybody that pressure of, you know, is Sally going to get cut instead of me that's that's, that's not good skills. I don't think1 (12m 5s):It's true. And at the same time, like a lot of the people who were cut from our program went on to have better careers than the majority of us. So it's just like not a lot of rhyme or reason to it.3 (12m 15s):It's like SNL. Yeah. I mean, yes. It's not a predictor. You got it. Right.1 (12m 20s):Exactly. Okay. So you graduated or you've finally finished school with Julliard after doing it for, for a number of years then what happened next? You were, you were married or you're in a relationship and w how did, how do two writers figure out what their next steps are going to be when school's over?3 (12m 40s):Well, I don't know how to writers in general would do, but I can tell you how Colin and I did it, which is that we we've never been competitive because we write really different plays. Like I am talking to, you know, especially as a playwright, my, my work tends to, I mean, I've written Boulevard, comedy. It's like, I really like to laugh. My husband's play is everyone's on meth and they're an Appalachian. It's like, we are, we are really young and yang. And, but I think being, I really recommend being married to, or spending your life with another writer, if you are a writer because they get it and they get you in like a deep, deep way. So if you have to stay up to four o'clock in the morning, cause you're inspired and you have to finish the scene, you know, there's, there's just a, there's no jealousy about that.3 (13m 25s):There's an acceptance. And our, it really, I think I often say, I don't think I'd be a playwright. Certainly won't be any of the things that I am a mother, you know, like everything is because it's all. And I, I had someone who believed in me more than I believed in myself and at points that is everything because, you know, your play opens in New York, you get just the worst reviews in the world and you take, you know, you'd take to the bed and you don't think you're ever going to write again. And it's so important who you decided to spend your life with because, you know, con only saw me as a writer first and foremost. And you know, it's like at the same goes for him. So we, yeah, but just technically do we have money? You know, we lived in a apartment in Brooklyn that we got to kind of like a hookup.3 (14m 9s):My husband was, he managed the bar downstairs, so he knew the guy. And so we got this apartment that we could actually afford, but we both worked full time waiting tables and bartending. And then if I get into the O'Neil, for instance, he would do extra bartending support me being at the O'Neil. And you know, he went up to LA for a few months and did a bunch of meetings and screenwriting stuff. And I supported him with the Juilliard money. Like we just have always worked it out. And for the last handful of years, when we finally don't have to, we can both be working in. It's great.1 (14m 39s):Yeah. That's nice that, by the way, that makes so much sense about the difference in your writing because in watching made, you know, I remember getting to the end of the first episode that he wrote and not, not having known throughout the episode that he wrote it and being like, wow, this is really, really different than Molly's writing. And of course it, it was his, and I kind of tend towards that darker stuff too. So yeah. And by the way, the series is fantastic. It is so good. And how you were having such a moment, you're getting great reviews. People are loving. I saw even today, it's number three on Netflix. How are you doing with success? Because people assume that it's all great, but I'm guessing it's not.1 (15m 23s):And I'm guessing it's kind of scary too.3 (15m 27s):Oh, well this is all pretty, just great. You know, like I think there's probably two things that are tricky about it, which I'll tell you in a second, but the fact is, it's just, it's great. Especially because it's made, you know, made is the closest to play writing. I've done for the screen. I see the show as 10 individual plays and it's really just about cleaning and feelings. It's the most character driven thing I've seen on TV in a long time. There's no murder. There's no cool accents. We're not in Hawaii. It's just about one woman's cleaning and feelings. And every time we turned in an episode, I thought Netflix would call and be like, you know, this is too weird.3 (16m 9s):Like the couch can't eat her. That's just too weird, you know, but they let me make this like, you know, artistic, I think like they're beautiful thing. And I didn't really believe that they were going to air it. And then I didn't really believe that people were going, gonna watch it. And so the fact that the fact that it is exactly what I wanted it to be and people love it. It's very, I don't really, I think it's really exciting just as a writer, it's exciting. It's like, oh, maybe we can return to doing harder things on the screen and on the stage again, you know, I think audiences weren't deterred by the fact that it was difficult, you know, they leaned in. And so I feel like it's really, it's mostly just fantastic.3 (16m 49s):I am surprised that people love it this much, but no, I'm just, I'm so proud of it. So it feels great. That's all there is. Do it.1 (16m 57s):What were the, you said there you'll tell me about the two things that have been challenging.3 (17m 1s):Yes, it is challenging. I, and I know you'll relate to this, but coming up in the theater, there are so many of us that, that are just working hard and waiting tables and waiting for a break. And that was me as well. And you want to help every single one of those people and you want to help every single one of those people whose cousin is also in LA. So like, that's the part that's really hard for me is that I can't, I can't do for everyone. And I want to, and especially theater people, like if you, if someone sends me a cold email that the subject is like a MF playwright, like I read it and then I, you know, I, I can't help it.3 (17m 42s):So that's a little hard cause I want to be good to everyone. And, and can't so that's, that's hard for me. And the other thing that's just hard is, you know, I spend my life in sweatpants and now suddenly have to do a bunch of stuff where I look, I have to look very, you know, Like, you know, writers or writers were writers for a reason. And so, so suddenly I have to like I to buy lipstick. And so that part of it is a little being articulate. Like next to Margot, Robbie is very difficult for me, but1 (18m 14s):I didn't realize until just today that she was the producer. So she's, she's the person who optioned the book.3 (18m 20s):So she and John Wells got the book together. John Wells is a very famous producer. He did west wing ER, and shameless, which is how I know him. I worked in my last four seasons of shameless is a writer on the show. So when he and Margo got the book, LA had just done cry it out, it was cried out, was up like, like had just closed when they got the book and it's a play about moms. And I think they were like, oh, we know a person who writes about moms and they handed me the book. It was so kismet.1 (18m 49s):Wow. That's fantastic. And, but you had to, I mean, I read the book too. You had to create a whole narrative. That's not in the book. So how does that, I'm curious about that process and how it works. Is it that you kind of sit down as the show runner and hatch a basic idea that you, that you then have some writers help you with or do you have to outline all of the stories and everybody else just writes them? Or how does it work?3 (19m 20s):Well, it's a, it's a little bit different with every project. Oh, I'm with a story like made, you know, whenever the memoir I learned so much, like it was, it's really an educational tool and I didn't want to sacrifice any of that. On the other hand, when you go and sit down with your husband or wife and Saturday night to watch Netflix, you don't want to lecture and you don't want to like TV, shouldn't taste like TV, shouldn't taste like broccoli, right. It should taste like it should be a sneak attack. Kind of like my plate is like, I like to sneak people into learning something. So I knew kind of off the bat that that made was an incredible engine, the memoir, and that I wanted all the takeaway to be the same. But I also knew that we were going to have to create a lot of story to do that.3 (20m 1s):So to answer your question, when I first said I would do the book and when we were taking out and pitching it to Netflix, pitching it to HBO, you know, all the places I would have to say, this is what I'm going to do. You know, we're gonna, we're going to do 10 episodes. Her mom's going to be a huge character. Her dad's got a huge character. We're going to really build up. Sean. We're going to get to know some of the people in the houses we're going to get to know Regina, she's an invented character, but this is how she'll structure in the plot. And you really have to know the nuts and bolts of what you're going to do. And the tone of it, like it's kinda like giving a 45 minute presentation on what the show will be. And then hopefully someone like Netflix is like, okay, great. Here's, here's a green light and get your writer's room. So then you hire a handful.3 (20m 42s):If you're lucky, you know, I could, I didn't have any, no one told me what to do. I got to hire whoever I wanted. And I hired only four writers, three of whom are playwrights, three of whom. I'm sure. You know, cause it's Colin, Becca bronzer, Marcus Garley so really accomplished playwrights. And then Michelle, Denise Jackson, who is not a playwright, but should be like, she's an honorary playwright, you know? And so w and then the five of us sit down and we take what I've said, you know, about the show, the 45 minute presentation, and we flush it out. What are we doing in every episode? What does this look like? And that, that process in the writer's room is the closest, you'll get to a table read in the theater, you know, where you're just at the table, you're reading that play.3 (21m 24s):And then you talk about it for, you know, nine days. That's a writer's room is that every day. So it's very, very, very cool experience and everyone's sharing secrets and, and we disagree sometimes and we do puzzles and there's a lot of talk about lunch.1 (21m 43s):That's what everybody says.3 (21m 47s):But also what was cool that mean is that these five, these four writers and me, the five of us, we all really connected to different things in the memoir. And we also, all of us come from all of us can relate to the memoir in different ways. And so you get five different perspectives on something. And I think, you know, Becca brown center did so much of the writing of Regina, and I think she could really connect to Regina. And, you know, that character would not feel quite as beautifully drawn if Becca weren't in the writers room. Like, so, so much of it is it's a dinner party. And the result of that dinner party is character. You know? So it's really, it's the most important thing you do is those writers.1 (22m 26s):That is okay. So I also just learned that today that you didn't write that Regina monologue, because, and this is about my own projection that when I'm watching it, I'm going, oh my God, this is so similar to Claire, Claire. Is that the name of the character and cry it out. That lives up high, up on the hill.3 (22m 45s):Oh, Adrian. Adrian.1 (22m 47s):Yeah. Thank you. Sorry. I was thinking, I was thinking, it sounded like an Adrian, my likes. So that's fascinating that, that,3 (22m 53s):Well, let me explain one further thing, which is, so that's how the show gets written. And yes, Becca brown said, I wrote that monologue, but the other thing that the show runner does is it is my job to then go through all 10 episodes and make sure it sounds like one person wrote them. And, and so the showroom, so you kind of divide the writing in the room and then all funnels back to me and I rewrite it or fix things. Or sometimes, you know, sometimes you're doing a major rewrite sometimes you're just like with Regina monologue, it was so beautiful. You know, we, we had to cut a couple of things for production, but like, it's, it's back as work. And, but it's, that's what TV writing is. It's like, there'll be stuff that Becca wrote in episode seven that she didn't write, or, you know, like TV is very collaborative and then it all funnels through the showrunner who does a pass to make sure it's, it's up to the standard that I want.3 (23m 44s):It's totally what I want. You know, it is, it is a writing job as a group, and then it is ultimately one person's writing job it's book. Does that make sense?1 (23m 51s):Yeah, it does. And thank you so much for answering that question because I have always wondered. And also even on television shows that have, have a different director, every episode, I'm always thinking, how are they keeping true to the tone, but not now, now I understand it. Well, I have so many things to ask you. I want to talk to you about just one thing is that you have said that you love writing about class, which is a big part of made and your, and your place. But, so I want to talk a little bit about that, but I also kind of want to talk maybe first about the thing that you said you were surprised that people like to made, and I've heard a lot of female writers express, something like that.1 (24m 36s):I'm surprised. And maybe people just say it in a way as, as you know, not, not trying to try to be humble. Right. Okay. But I believe that you are surprised by it because it does seem like a kind of recent thing that the universe is allowing us to tell women's stories and having them at the forefront. I mean, it seems really pretty recent. And so are you, do you feel like this is you're part of a big sea change in terms of what's being represented on screen?3 (25m 7s):You know, absolutely. I was talking to Netflix yesterday and they said last year it was Bridgford, you know, these are a lot of things, but they were saying last year, people, the surprise was everyone loved Britain and love Queens gambit. And this year one loves squid game and loves made, which cracks me up. But, but they think to be in the same sentence as Queens gambit as the limited series. I mean, I think that's so exciting as a female writer, because she was an alcoholic kind of like piece of crap who was amazing at chess and went on this like beautiful arc that was not traditionally feminine. It was usually that's a man, like that's usually a male going through that and were riveted by his addiction and his dysfunction and made his, you know, I think we're continuing what Queens gambit did as well.3 (25m 50s):Like it's, you know, Alex has a lot of things, but she's not a woman. She is a character going through an arc and she makes a ton of mistakes and she, you know, is a product of where she comes from. And that is enough to carry a show. And I feel like that is it you're right. It's so recent. And I therefore assumed it would be treated like a, you know, like a niche, you know, maybe 500,000 people will watch it kind of like, cause we don't show up for those shows, but all of a sudden we really show up for those shows and we want to see a multidimensional and rich and layered woman at the story of her own dance story. It's really like exciting.3 (26m 31s):It's exciting.1 (26m 33s):That's what I think about stuff like this. I just imagine, you know, the people who are traditionally in charge of these things, I just mentioned it, but I imagine a bunch of guys sitting around being like, can you imagine people really want to hear about these dang? I mean, I feel like it must be a surprise to, to sort of the old guard that, you know, because of course everything does have to be motivated about what's going to be a return on your investment. And that, that that's understandable. It's I'm not saying anybody's bad for that, but it is curious to me that there was just this, there was an assumption that if you made a female centered show, nobody would want to watch it.1 (27m 16s):Except for every time they make a female centered, anything people want to watch it. Why is this keep being a surprise?3 (27m 24s):I think it's going to stopping a surprise pretty soon because this cracked me up. But my friend was doing a pitch yesterday at Hulu. And I guess like the conversation kind of organically came up with like, well, what's our main, you know, like what's the, you know, the producer was in it, but like, you know, people are starting to look for the, the queen scam, but you know, trying to look for the female, you know, the unconventional sort of what's the would be a surprising female story. We're starting to like, not only are we starting to have it at the table, that the market is the, market's starting to recognize that we're going to get eyes on the screen and it's, you know, I shouldn't be so surprised by made.1 (28m 5s):Right. Right. And it helps that we have people like Margot, Robbie and Reese Witherspoon and females who are having more of a say about what gets produced, you know, with what, what books get optioned and then what gets produced.3 (28m 17s):Absolutely. And, and more and more women are taking those jobs and taking those positions. And it's a good, it's a sea change. I also dare say, I think TV and film has ahead of it than theater. I have to say, I think1 (28m 29s):Girl, that's another thing I was going to say. Cause you had a quote in something I read theater is behind theater is so behind and this is, unfortunately it came as a surprise to me. Like when I woke up to the fact that theater is so behind, it was sad and it also doesn't make sense. It also, you know, it should be it's, it was 40 years ago. It was the most progressive part of art, I think.3 (28m 55s):Yeah. Well the theater doesn't treat women as, as minority voices and they have, and like that's, what's so crazy is we've, you know, I think we've carved out space for there's so much equality and, and like, it's exciting to see the programming in theaters change. And like it's not just white men anymore. That's all, that's very, very exciting. But heterosexual women stories that mother's stories about our struggles stories about, you know, me and my friends, there's no space for us on the New York stage. There's no space for my friends and I on the New York stage. And I feel like, and then, you know, you don't go up in New York, then you don't go all across the regions.3 (29m 36s):And I think a great example is actually cried out because that had a huge regional presence because I think people are starved for players like that, that are about women and just, you know, and not women on Mars and not, not necessarily, you know, like it just normal women, women having, you know, the Wendy Wasserstein plays of today are not produced in New York. And it's, it's a, it's a huge issue I think.1 (30m 0s):Yeah, yeah, it is. So, okay. So the other thing is that you love to write about class, which I find fascinating. I love to read about it in any case, what is your personal connection to your fascination with that issue?3 (30m 17s):Well, I think I grew a group of the Hudson valley, the daughter of two teachers. So, you know, I, I, I can't relate to made, for instance, in the sense of, I always had food and I always had a certain amount of like structure and S and security, but I, my parents were incredibly well educated and they kind of like my dad went to Cornell and it was sort of something we heard a lot about, even though we didn't kind of grow up in a moneyed area or money to house, there was a sense of, there was a sense of you could scholarship your way into the next strata. And I think that I find that fascinating because it's just not true. I, it's almost impossible.3 (30m 59s):It's almost impossible to change your class in America. And it's, it's, I feel like those walls are getting higher, not lower. And I watch people through everything they have at, at, at those chances to change, you know, change their stripes. And I just think the way we, we work in this country is we it's, we've made that harder and harder. There is no bootstrap narrative there. It does. There's no bootstraps it doesn't, it's not a thing in this country. So I find that fascinating because I felt very jipped. You know, I felt like I worked very, very hard and like I was always getting A's and being sophisticated and like, I couldn't graduate and get a, you know, a little studio in New York and intern at a publishing house.3 (31m 42s):You know, like a lot of my friends who came from money could, and there's just, it's so ingrained in our culture and it makes me mad and it's not, you know, it's not fair. Especially when I had a child and started thinking about cried out and just the way we treat that money directly affects maternity leave in this country too. And like, I can't compete with somebody who has a trust fund, you know, I had to put queer where I could afford her. And it's just bullshit that you can claw your way out of the class that you're born into. It's it's extremely rare. So I love that1 (32m 16s):It's bullshit and it's really dangerous cause it makes people feel so inadequate when they can't, you know, and that, that's also a great scene. I think it's in the first episode. Yeah. It's in the first episode when she goes and she's talking to the social worker and she's saying, so I can't get a job because I don't have a daycare and I can't get daycare cause I don't have a job. So I have to get a dog to prove that I didn't deserve daycare. I mean, it's, it's also3 (32m 40s):Backwards. Yeah. You're at a humongous disadvantage. If you are born into, you know, if you're born into poverty, you're at a humongous disadvantage in this country and it's like getting worse. That's the other thing is it's not, I mean, I have to leave. That's part of why made is, is touching so many people's sense of justice too. It's like, oh yeah, it's getting worse. Like, why aren't we talking about this? It's you know, Alex and I are, are not facing the same problems. And it's just by where I was born and where she was born and you know, you what family, your brand and who dictates so much of your struggle.1 (33m 17s):Yeah. And, and that, that the sort of historical narratives would have you believe that it's, it's the opposite of that and that, and that everybody left England to get away from that. But then yeah, just creative things I think here. So another thing that I heard or read that you said that really took my breath away is you said that when you became a mother, your, you didn't say your resolve for your career. You, the phrase that I that's sticking out to me, as you said, I went from being the secretary of my own company to the CEO. And it just, that just really like hit me in the center of my chest.1 (33m 58s):Can you just say a little bit more about it? What, what you meant by that?3 (34m 3s):Sure. I think that we'll probably like probably like many women when they become moms. I, I was frustrated that I had, I had this thing that I was good at, that I had studied for so many years that I've given so much time and love to my playwriting career and that it did not love me back in the sense that I could not afford to take core to a music class, you know? And it made me very, it made me very frustrated that, you know, I, I had devoted my, my self to this, this field that I had a passive relationship with. Like I was waiting for someone to call and tell me they were going to do a reading or, you know, or I was waiting for my career to start.3 (34m 50s):And I think what happened when I had, when I had Cora was I, I wanted to provide for her. And I also wanted to, I wanted to show her that you could be tough and you could be an active participant in your career like that. I didn't have to wait for it to happen. And so part of it was, I was, I just kind of said the things we all want to say out loud as a women, but I actually said them, which was like, Hey agents, what the F I am funny and talented. I want to work in TV. I want to take a music class with my daughter. What do I have to do to do that? And I you'd be shocked. I think how freeing and wonderful it is to just stand up for yourself and to make demands. And, you know, and I wanted to, I wanted to take an expensive music class with my daughter and I wanted to have a career.3 (35m 32s):And I was like, I'm not going to wait for it to happen because I know if someone gives me a chance I'm going to do, I'm going to go far in this field. Like, cause I don't know. Does that make sense? So I kind of like, wait, I said, waiting for the phone to ring and started making the calls.1 (35m 45s):Yeah. And also what I'm hearing is you stopped just blindly participating in the myth that everything can only work a certain way, which I feel like is something that we can all relate. I mean, it's something that boss and I talk a lot on this podcast about like just making so many assumptions about what, what we're definitely not entitled to have and what we're, you know, let's definitely for other people and not for us without ever once actually saying that out loud or asking for what we want. And actually yesterday chiefs have said the exact same thing. She said she, she was trying to be humble and say it's because she doesn't know how the system works. So she didn't know, she couldn't ask which you know. Okay. Maybe, but it's very inspiring to hear that.1 (36m 29s):Now you could just decide what you want to do with your life and your career. You could decide that you want to have a work-life balance and then have it.3 (36m 37s):Yeah. And you know, I think actors have this too. We are always waiting for the phone to ring. And at a certain point, I think that's a really tough way to be a mom because you can't count on anything and you're spread so thin. And I'm just kinda like, no, I'm going to generate, I'm going to generate this. And I can't really define the moment, but I will say for me it was emotional. I, I stopped, I stopped letting theater. Tell me how to feel about myself a little bit theater. I mean, it's a little bit like the terrible boyfriend that you just can't leave. Right. Like I would be like, I would be like, here's my new play. Do you love it? And they'd be like, maybe, you know, maybe we'll do a reading of it.3 (37m 19s):And I'd be like, let's my full heart. And I love you. And then, you know, and I finally like kind of broke up with that boyfriend in the sense that like, no, I'm really good at this. And like, I'm going to go where the love is. And I'm going to figure out how to pay my bills doing this and maybe you'll miss me and come back. You know, you know, it's hard as an artist, you can't let someone else tell you what your worth is. And theater is very conducive to that.1 (37m 40s):Yeah. Oh my God. That's so true. And that's, by the way, like a big part of the character of Alex, she does that too. I mean, she, with not that much to leverage did still find a way to just be very active about asking for what she wants. And I can see what you're saying about how, how having a kid makes that very clear. Whereas maybe you don't feel so I'm entitled to ask for what you want when it's just you, but when you know that it's somebody else who's depending on you, then it's that it doesn't feel like you're asking for yourself. It feels like you're asking for your family.3 (38m 15s):Yeah. And you see injustice with fresh eyes when you have a child, you know, because I don't know. I feel, I feel like certainly in my case, I w I would, I was so focused on being a good collaborator, being polite, being like, you know, you know, being grateful for the breadcrumbs that I got, you know, in my life. And I mean, honestly, it was a professional change, but it was primarily an emotional change. I was like, yeah, I don't want breadcrumbs anymore because my daughter deserves better than breadcrumbs. And so it just sort of filtered across all the fields, but yeah, another had does that.1 (38m 50s):Yeah, it does. It does well. So I don't know if I ever told you this, the reason I was looking through our emails earlier, as I wanted to see if I, I was sure I had said this thing to you, that I can not find in my email. So I'm going to say it to you now, which is that when I was directing your play, I wrote to you just about some things that I wondered if we could change. And you gave me the most thoughtful responses, which was, is to say you didn't invalidate that I was asking you, but you still stood up for what you, for the integrity of the play. I feel like I'm going to cry. I never saw anybody do that before.1 (39m 36s):And it was a really great, I wish I wasn't crying as I started to say this to you, but it was a great thing to, it was a, you were a great role model for me in that moment. And I always appreciate that. So thank you.3 (39m 52s):Oh, Tina, thank you. Well, you know what, thank you for wanting to have a conversation with me about it. Cause like I also think that's the sign of a fantastic director that you let me into your process and your thoughts about it. And I know you did a fantastic job with the play cause I had Scouts in that area who saw it and you know, so whatever you were, whatever you were working with, you artistically, you certainly landed that ship for you. You know, landed that plan beautifully.1 (40m 15s):Thank you. I had, and I had so much fun doing it. So tell me about some of your mentors. We had a nice discussion the other day about the power of mentors and some people go kind of through their whole training and never really feel like they connect with a mentor. Did you have mentors along the way?3 (40m 35s):Yes. I'm very lucky. Actually. I'm very lucky. I'm sure most people who go to Julliard and say this, but I, in my case, it's, it's really, really true that Marsha Norman was a wonderful mentor to me. I met her at Tisch and Tisha's a funny place because it's a larger program. You know, you don't have that. One-on-one with your professors that you do with Juilliard where there's just a handful of you, but, and I didn't stand out at Tisch. I sort of, my husband was, you know, my husband's sort of the star over player at, in class and I hadn't found my voice and I was sort of, I just wasn't like the star student and she was, she saw something in me and I don't think she saw like a Polish playwright yet, but she saw, I think there's just, she saw a way to help me find my voice.3 (41m 18s):And she hired me as her assistant coming out of that MFA program. And I always think like it was sort of charity work because she didn't need an assistant. She was so on top of her life. But I think she wanted to let me hang out with her and see how she conducted her business. So she was working on law and criminal intent. Yeah. Yeah. And so I was on set with her. I get to do research with her, for the scripts. She was doing the color purple and I got to go to rehearsal usually just to bring a coffee that I could watch. And it was, you know, she's also a mother and I don't know it was really, it, it was so generous of her because I got, I just got to see that you, what a woman in power looks like and, and a woman on her voice.3 (41m 59s):And she also says no a lot. And I grew to really respect that. Especially later when I became a mom, but you don't F with Marsha. I mean, she'll shut stuff down. She's really, I mean, she's such a generous person here. She did this thing for me, I'm a total stranger, but she's also like she knows her worth. So I was very grateful. It's been those years with her. And then, and then she invited me to Julliard. And then when I was ready really gave me, I mean, Juilliard is so much pressure. And the thing about Julia is you have to know what your voice is to go there. And so it's almost like she was helping me find my voice. And then when I found it gave me this incredible opportunity to go to Julliard. So sh honestly like very, very good to me in such a mentor in a very lucky.3 (42m 41s):And then on the west coast, I've had a wonderful mentor in John Wells because he, he's just one of the most terrific showrunners and producers, but it's funny cause I, everybody knows that that's not a secret in LA, but to work for him as a writer and to be in his writer's room. I learned so much from him about how to empower the people around you. How did it become like, you know, there's so many toxic writing rooms and toxic jobs with my friends, tell me, and it sounds terrible, but everyone at a John Wells show is thrilled to be there and very lucky to have that job. And they know it and like just that there's a way to do things gracefully. So he, and, and then he got this book and handed it to me and gave me my first chance to be a show runner.3 (43m 23s):So I had a, I've been very lucky to have him as a mentor on this coast1 (43m 28s):And the toxic. I've heard a lot of stories too, about toxic writers' rooms. And maybe that's also something that's going to get phased out because like so many of these things, you just, you just need more samples. You need, you know, you need more samples in your dataset so that, you know, I mean, if 99% of everything is run in one certain way, then there's little, there's little chance that it's going to change. But when, when the tide starts to shift, maybe there's a little, few more samples in your dataset that show, well, you can just be a regular nice person and still get the same, you know, get the same job done. That's that's nice to hear.3 (44m 9s):Yeah. Yeah.1 (44m 12s):So dah, dah, dah, oh, one, another favorite line from made is when Alex is talking to her dad about, I think this is, might be at the last episode or near then. And she says, she's trying to tell him that her or her, whatever boyfriend abused her and her, father's not taking it in. And she says, do you hear the words that are coming out of my mouth right now? That was another thing that really hit me because, you know, denial is really not a passive thing. Like you have to work pretty hard at defending your denial on something.1 (44m 56s):And I'm really familiar with saying something that feels, you know, that's a truth for me to people who, I mean, act as if you're, you know, like you're invisible and that turns out to be a really shaping force in a lot of people's lives. And you know, so anyway, I'm just curious about your own relationship and experience with denial.3 (45m 22s):Well, I love that you love that moment because I remember with that scene feeling like something was missing. And I remember, you know, I know a lot of it denial, but what I really know a lot about is gaslighting and denial is a form of gaslighting where you're just like, I'm, I'm not going to acknowledge a reality. And you know, I learned this tool a few years ago from a fantastic therapist that like, it's okay to just pause and be like, but you actually are hearing me, right? Like this is English. And you understand these words like, and I've, I've actually tried that tool in my life and steal at someone, not, not like, not be able to confirm that they're hearing the words.3 (46m 3s):And so it was when I, and then when I put it in the scene that it felt like, oh, that's what was missing is just this, like, how far are you going to take this denial? And he still can't write. I mean, I think Billy might nod, but he doesn't say anything. Like, I think gaslighting in denial and emotional abuse, I mean, I could write 40 Marsha was about this. I am fascinated by it. And the thing we don't talk about it as a form of abuse. And we should, it's like weirdly I think as well as violent, if not more violent than physical abuse, because you don't realize it's happening like Alex in the pilot, she doesn't know she's a victim of abuse and she is such an, a victim of abuse, which I hope we demonstrate in the show that you have to go on that ride with her, but you know, it's so corrosive and there's nothing worse than having someone tell you what what's real is not real day after day, year after year.3 (46m 56s):Like this is an area that I know a lot about I sent you do to1 (47m 1s):Yes. And actually my kind of where I put my energy in terms of recovery is with codependency and denial and codependency, or just, I mean, that's, that's the it's denial is the perfume of codependency. It's just, it's everywhere. And what I think really gets triggered for people who want to keep pretending, like they hear the words you're saying is because I find this in my family, like the way that denial really shows up in my family is if I acknowledge a truth, that's too true. I think what happens to other people is they feel that if they even just validate that that's my truth, that that somehow means that they have to acknowledge it for their own selves and their own lives.1 (47m 51s):And that's really like the forbidden thing that, you know, that people who don't want to go there can't do, they can't, it's like the Pandora's box. If I start to look at, you know, if I acknowledge that, what you're saying about this is true, then I can't help, but start to acknowledge all of the other things as well.3 (48m 9s):I think what you just said is, is brilliant because I think people think denial is just inactive, but it's aggressive. It's so aggressive. It's really violent, you know, intense denial that gaslighting of like, I will not even acknowledge. I hear the words you're saying it's, it's, it's so active. It's I mean, it's so aggressive. What you said was really, really smart really. Right. Yeah. And I love the people. I love the people are flipping out about Hank with me. Like how does he just sit there and let Sean treat her like that? And like, you know, and that's what I mean, I think she's mistreated throughout the show, but I think what Hank does to her in that moment with the denial is, is I think a lot of us recognize that.1 (48m 49s):Yeah. And I really appreciate the w the way you rolled out this whole concept of emotional abuse, because even I who feel like I've spent so much time working on this stuff, and I was a therapist, even I was found myself being like, oh, he didn't hit her. You know, she left, he didn't hit her. Hmm. I really had to check that in myself. And I was because one of the things that denial, I mean, in the absence of act, you know, saying you're wrong or whatever, and it's just, I don't hear you. You just assume that what you're saying, isn't valid, it's it becomes this thing that you do to yourself where you, you know, if somebody invalidates you enough, you start to invalidate yourself.1 (49m 38s):So I loved how you rolled that out in the series that are people talking to you a lot about that.3 (49m 45s):Yes they are. And how about in episode eight, where you are like, oh, Sean's changed and he's turned around and he's going to be a carpenter, you know? And like you it's in you, you find yourself. Or at least I did. And I assume it seems like audiences to just kind of like, oh, maybe this is a happy, love story. Like maybe he like, you know, and, and that, you know, that is all by calculated manipulative writing that I like my secret agenda with me. It was, you know, and I claimed 10 hours cause I wanted, I wanted the audience to go on the actual experience of that cycle and to get thrown off by it and caught up in it like, oh my gosh, I'm back, I'm back. And I'm in the pit, how did this happen?3 (50m 26s):And I wanted to show you how it happened. I also was like, I dare you to wash made and tell me that that's not domestic violence because it is emotional abuse is violent. It, what happens to her is violent. So that was like my secret mustache totally goal with the show.1 (50m 43s):Yeah, no, it, it hit, it totally played. And, and I think the other thing that's great about that is that when we have seen depictions of violence against women in film, I mean the best we could entail television, the best we could have hoped for is some woman who's abused who isn't a total idiot, because mostly what it is, how it's portrayed is some dumb person who doesn't, who's too dumb to know she's being abused. So therefore she goes back and also the various, the subtle, wow. I don't know if it's settled, but the, the subplot with the first roommate that she has when she goes to the, not roommate, but you know, the woman who lives in the shelter with her who introduces her to, you know, how, how to do life there.1 (51m 31s):I love I, that was heartbreaking her story of, because it is that you, you, you, yes, in the audience were saying, yeah, maybe sh maybe Sean is a good guy. Maybe, maybe all he really needed was to sober up and become the good person he was meant to team.3 (51m 50s):Yep. I mean, it's funny. I did an interview yesterday where this gentleman was like, is Sean okay? Like, does he end up okay. In life? And, and I, and I found myself sort of being like, I've never really thought of that cause he, you know, he's fictional, but I, I don't know. I'm not sure that that guy is ever going to make it out of that trailer, you know? And I'm not sure that he's going to get sober and be a great dad. I'm not. But I do feel like when he says at the end, I'm going to get sober and come see her all the time. I don't believe him. And, and I think that's his TV show, right? That's his cycle that he has to break. But my goal was to show that he's caught in his own cycle too.3 (52m 29s):Like, we are all kind of caught in our own cycles and it's so hard to break, you know, an Alex barely makes it out. And most women and men in her situation, the show ends in episode eight under the, in the pit. Most people don't get out of the pit and she is so smart and driven that she can, but she's the exception and not, she's a great exception. Yeah.1 (52m 53s):Yeah. Yeah. So we're, I want to be honoring your time. I told you we're only going to talk for an hour, but, but before we begin to wrap up, I just want to ask you, so since we've spent a lot of time talking about your success, let's hear about some of your failures. What have been some mistakes that you've made, maybe, maybe you maybe even like when you, when you made first, the transition from playwriting to writing and Hollywood, what were some of the mistakes that you made along the way?3 (53m 23s):Well, I, I think the, one of the great learning opportunities I've had as a human being, not just as a writer, was my first big production as a playwright in New York. And it was, you know, I was barely out of school and I felt I'm just so grateful for the opportunity. You know, it was a big production with stars in it and fancy director and everyone there was fancy except me and the process I have to say kind of went that way, like, like, huh, there's this element of it's actually, it's when I play close up space is about a dad and a daughter. It's about grief and pain and there's a lot of magical realism and I'm sure it's far from the perfect play, but it got obliterated by the press and squarely blamed on me the most inexperienced person in the production.3 (54m 11s):But what I learned from it is that I knew things about it were wrong. I knew immediately things about the production were wrong and I didn't use my voice. I didn't, you know, what happened with the play is my fault. I didn't, I didn't ring the bell. I didn't say, well, I didn't refuse the rewrites. Like I, you know, and everybody there had good intentions. Everybody wants to have a hit play, but people saw it a different way than I did. And, and it was wonderful people. There was no reason why I couldn't have said, Hey, yo, this isn't what I wrote. And I really, it was a crushing blow to have that play go so badly and to, to get such her, I mean, if you went for that and just Google it, it's the worst reviews. It's like, one of the, one of the reviews was like, is she sleeping with the director?3 (54m 53s):Like, why did she even get this product? You know, it's just straight on misogyny. I mean, it was, it was so mean, but what it taught me was I, since that moment I've really listened to my gut. And if my gut says this isn't right, I say it, and I don't worry about how it's going to come across. It sounds like I did that with you, but I have my sense of like, no, and, and it, and I learned the hard way in that moment that nothing is more important than your own gut. And so, and, you know, kind of re I had like a, kind of, a lot of momentum as a playwright really stop that momentum. It sent me into a deep depression. I mean, the, I lost so much because I didn't listen to my voice.3 (55m 36s):So that was my big theater lesson, which is applied to everything. But the big mistake I've made in TV to film, I've actually been really, really, really lucky and worked with fantastic people. But I think that stuff can go sideways here. It's a, it's a funny town, you know, and I've worked with wonderful people, but once in a while, you know, something's happening and then it just disappears. And so, you know, like that, you're gonna, you know, I, right before me and I came so close to having another job that I really wanted and was passionate about, it would have been my first time kosher running something, show running something, and, you know, we were all but celebrating.3 (56m 21s):And then the whole thing fell apart because the actress wanted her friend to write it and like bull, bull, crap. Like that happens all the time in LA. And so it's a hard time. It's a hard lesson the first time, you know, where I was like, oh, people don't, you know, like my agent sent me champagne. Like it was, it was happening. And then it very suddenly wasn't. And so I think it made me realize that don't pop the champagne until the contract is signed1 (56m 51s):And put that on a t-shirt.3 (56m 57s):That was a tough lesson to learn though, because I was like, wait, oh my God. Like, I went from like sky high to, and you know, nobody really, nobody apart, it was just very sobering. So,1 (57m 7s):And writing is so personal that it's really hard not to take both the criticisms to heart and then the, the opposite of the criticisms. And, you know, it's, it's hard not to make it. It's hard to stop making it about personal validation. You know, when, when somebody likes or doesn't like your stuff. Yeah. That's the journey I'm on right now. Not making it about, you know, like if somebody didn't like my play doesn't mean they don't, it doesn't have anything to do with whether or not they like me.3 (57m 40s):Yeah. You know, that's, I'm glad you're learning that because I also can tell you, I just staffed a writing room for the first time. And so that experience was really opening because I read unbelievably fantastic things and I didn't meet with them because, you know, you're designing a dinner party with five people and you kind of have to, and like you, the truth is, like I said, I passed on a lot of wonderful writers whose work I freaking loved. And like, can't wait to read for the next thing and have mentioned and recommended to other people. And that's part of it is like, you don't know how people are experiencing your work and the fans that you're building along the way. And I think we quickly assume the worst. Right? I know I do. But like, but the fact is like, you don't, you don't know how close you got it.3 (58m 24s):My guess is you're getting close to stuff and you don't know. And aren't able to know that1 (58m 29s):At the end of the day, the only thing you have control over is whether or not you go back to your computer later that day and just keep writing.3 (58m 36s):Yeah. You got to run, run your own race, which is so hard to do. I mean, listen, it really, really is. But yeah. The only thing you, the only thing you can control is your output true. Which is horrible. I mean, I, I, for the first time, in two years that don't have anyone calling me today to be like, where are the pages? You know? Like, I mean, part of it too is it's, it's helpful when you have deadlines and pressure. That's why I love to grad school because I'm the second Monday of October, I was reading my play out loud. And so I had to go right. You know, make sure I write it. So I also feel like that's, without that, it's also, that's a hard thing about feeling like you're not moving forward too, is that lack of deadlines.3 (59m 19s):But again, you don't, you don't, you don't know how far your work is going and how who's reading it and what it will lead to the next time. And I mean, I've gotten, I've gotten rejected on so many things that have led to a meeting later, you know, like so many things that, so many jobs I wanted that I didn't get, but then later someone's like, oh, we read her for that. We should meet her for this. And I didn't get that job either, but, but it's like, it's just funny. So yeah,1 (59m 48s):Like leaving a whole blanket of your career and you never know, you know, w where this, where the threads are going to end up.3 (59m 55s):Absolutely. And every time I get bummed out, which is a lot, because I'm a writer, all writers gets on debt. I, I try to think about and visualize the stack of things. I'm going to write in my life. And when I get terrible notes or when I get clobbered with notes and I feel depressed, I also think about the stack of work that I'm going to do in my life and how this piece that I'm writing right now is just one of them, you know? And that, that's my, that's my real tombstone like that pile, you know?1 (1h 0m 22s):Oh, I love that. What a great image and what a great note to end on.4 (1h 0m 37s):If you liked what you heard today, please give us a positive five star review and subscribe and tell your friends. I survived. Theater school is an undeniable Inc production. Jen Bosworth, Ramirez, and Gina plegia are the co-hosts. This episode was produced, edited, and sound mixed by Gina for more information about this podcast or other goings on of undeniable, Inc. Please visit our website@undeniablewriters.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Thank you.

The Naked Parent Podcast   Parents with special needs children are overwhelmed, The Naked Parent Podcast assists parents while they build the life and family of their dreams.   Everyday, you can join Chad Ratliffe, father of 7 and 2 with special needs as he interviews parents and professionals in an effort to deliver what it's like to raise special needs children. They don't shy away from tough subjects. You will hear the good, the bad and the ugly in order for parents to make the adjustments necessary to live the life they always dreamed of.   If raising a special needs child isn't what you signed up for, you're struggling and overwhelmed with what it takes to raise a special needs child or you are looking for community and other parents who can understand where you are coming from, then, join Naked Parent Nation because this show is for you!   Naked Parent Nation is an international community of parents with special needs children who believe that raising a child with unique needs doesn't have to hold a family back from living a life beyond their wildest dreams. We just have to implement tips, tricks, plan ahead, raise our emotional intelligence & do it together.   In today's show, you will meet Kelsey, diagnosed with autism and 2 of her children. She talks about her journey of raising children with special needs while also taking proper self-care for herself.    "Don't live down to expectations. Go out there and do something remarkable." -Wendy Wasserstein

Theatre has long been considered a feminine interest for which women consistently purchase the majority of tickets, while the shows they are seeing typically are written and brought to the stage by men. Furthermore, the stories these productions tell are often about men, and the complex leading roles in these shows are written for and performed by male actors. Despite this imbalance, the feminist voice presses to be heard and has done so with more success than ever before.  In From Aphra Behn to Fun Home: A Cultural History of Feminist Theatre (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2019), Carey Purcell traces the evolution of these important artists and productions over several centuries. After examining the roots of feminist theatre in early Greek plays and looking at occasional works produced before the twentieth century, Purcell then identifies the key players and productions that have emerged over the last several decades.  This book covers the heyday of the second wave feminist movement—which saw the growth of female-centric theatre groups—and highlights the work of playwrights such as Caryl Churchill, Pam Gems, and Wendy Wasserstein. Other prominent artists discussed here include playwrights Paula Vogel Lynn and Tony-award winning directors Garry Hynes and Julie Taymor. The volume also examines diversity in contemporary feminist theatre—with discussions of such playwrights as Young Jean Lee and Lynn Nottage—and a look toward the future. Andy Boyd is a playwright based in Brooklyn, New York. He is a graduate of the playwriting MFA at Columbia University, Harvard University, and the Arizona School for the Arts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Theatre has long been considered a feminine interest for which women consistently purchase the majority of tickets, while the shows they are seeing typically are written and brought to the stage by men. Furthermore, the stories these productions tell are often about men, and the complex leading roles in these shows are written for and performed by male actors. Despite this imbalance, the feminist voice presses to be heard and has done so with more success than ever before.  In From Aphra Behn to Fun Home: A Cultural History of Feminist Theatre (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2019), Carey Purcell traces the evolution of these important artists and productions over several centuries. After examining the roots of feminist theatre in early Greek plays and looking at occasional works produced before the twentieth century, Purcell then identifies the key players and productions that have emerged over the last several decades.  This book covers the heyday of the second wave feminist movement—which saw the growth of female-centric theatre groups—and highlights the work of playwrights such as Caryl Churchill, Pam Gems, and Wendy Wasserstein. Other prominent artists discussed here include playwrights Paula Vogel Lynn and Tony-award winning directors Garry Hynes and Julie Taymor. The volume also examines diversity in contemporary feminist theatre—with discussions of such playwrights as Young Jean Lee and Lynn Nottage—and a look toward the future. Andy Boyd is a playwright based in Brooklyn, New York. He is a graduate of the playwriting MFA at Columbia University, Harvard University, and the Arizona School for the Arts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/gender-studies

Theatre has long been considered a feminine interest for which women consistently purchase the majority of tickets, while the shows they are seeing typically are written and brought to the stage by men. Furthermore, the stories these productions tell are often about men, and the complex leading roles in these shows are written for and performed by male actors. Despite this imbalance, the feminist voice presses to be heard and has done so with more success than ever before.  In From Aphra Behn to Fun Home: A Cultural History of Feminist Theatre (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2019), Carey Purcell traces the evolution of these important artists and productions over several centuries. After examining the roots of feminist theatre in early Greek plays and looking at occasional works produced before the twentieth century, Purcell then identifies the key players and productions that have emerged over the last several decades.  This book covers the heyday of the second wave feminist movement—which saw the growth of female-centric theatre groups—and highlights the work of playwrights such as Caryl Churchill, Pam Gems, and Wendy Wasserstein. Other prominent artists discussed here include playwrights Paula Vogel Lynn and Tony-award winning directors Garry Hynes and Julie Taymor. The volume also examines diversity in contemporary feminist theatre—with discussions of such playwrights as Young Jean Lee and Lynn Nottage—and a look toward the future. Andy Boyd is a playwright based in Brooklyn, New York. He is a graduate of the playwriting MFA at Columbia University, Harvard University, and the Arizona School for the Arts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history

Theatre has long been considered a feminine interest for which women consistently purchase the majority of tickets, while the shows they are seeing typically are written and brought to the stage by men. Furthermore, the stories these productions tell are often about men, and the complex leading roles in these shows are written for and performed by male actors. Despite this imbalance, the feminist voice presses to be heard and has done so with more success than ever before.  In From Aphra Behn to Fun Home: A Cultural History of Feminist Theatre (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2019), Carey Purcell traces the evolution of these important artists and productions over several centuries. After examining the roots of feminist theatre in early Greek plays and looking at occasional works produced before the twentieth century, Purcell then identifies the key players and productions that have emerged over the last several decades.  This book covers the heyday of the second wave feminist movement—which saw the growth of female-centric theatre groups—and highlights the work of playwrights such as Caryl Churchill, Pam Gems, and Wendy Wasserstein. Other prominent artists discussed here include playwrights Paula Vogel Lynn and Tony-award winning directors Garry Hynes and Julie Taymor. The volume also examines diversity in contemporary feminist theatre—with discussions of such playwrights as Young Jean Lee and Lynn Nottage—and a look toward the future. Andy Boyd is a playwright based in Brooklyn, New York. He is a graduate of the playwriting MFA at Columbia University, Harvard University, and the Arizona School for the Arts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Theatre has long been considered a feminine interest for which women consistently purchase the majority of tickets, while the shows they are seeing typically are written and brought to the stage by men. Furthermore, the stories these productions tell are often about men, and the complex leading roles in these shows are written for and performed by male actors. Despite this imbalance, the feminist voice presses to be heard and has done so with more success than ever before.  In From Aphra Behn to Fun Home: A Cultural History of Feminist Theatre (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2019), Carey Purcell traces the evolution of these important artists and productions over several centuries. After examining the roots of feminist theatre in early Greek plays and looking at occasional works produced before the twentieth century, Purcell then identifies the key players and productions that have emerged over the last several decades.  This book covers the heyday of the second wave feminist movement—which saw the growth of female-centric theatre groups—and highlights the work of playwrights such as Caryl Churchill, Pam Gems, and Wendy Wasserstein. Other prominent artists discussed here include playwrights Paula Vogel Lynn and Tony-award winning directors Garry Hynes and Julie Taymor. The volume also examines diversity in contemporary feminist theatre—with discussions of such playwrights as Young Jean Lee and Lynn Nottage—and a look toward the future. Andy Boyd is a playwright based in Brooklyn, New York. He is a graduate of the playwriting MFA at Columbia University, Harvard University, and the Arizona School for the Arts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

Theatre has long been considered a feminine interest for which women consistently purchase the majority of tickets, while the shows they are seeing typically are written and brought to the stage by men. Furthermore, the stories these productions tell are often about men, and the complex leading roles in these shows are written for and performed by male actors. Despite this imbalance, the feminist voice presses to be heard and has done so with more success than ever before.  In From Aphra Behn to Fun Home: A Cultural History of Feminist Theatre (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2019), Carey Purcell traces the evolution of these important artists and productions over several centuries. After examining the roots of feminist theatre in early Greek plays and looking at occasional works produced before the twentieth century, Purcell then identifies the key players and productions that have emerged over the last several decades.  This book covers the heyday of the second wave feminist movement—which saw the growth of female-centric theatre groups—and highlights the work of playwrights such as Caryl Churchill, Pam Gems, and Wendy Wasserstein. Other prominent artists discussed here include playwrights Paula Vogel Lynn and Tony-award winning directors Garry Hynes and Julie Taymor. The volume also examines diversity in contemporary feminist theatre—with discussions of such playwrights as Young Jean Lee and Lynn Nottage—and a look toward the future. Andy Boyd is a playwright based in Brooklyn, New York. He is a graduate of the playwriting MFA at Columbia University, Harvard University, and the Arizona School for the Arts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/film

Theatre has long been considered a feminine interest for which women consistently purchase the majority of tickets, while the shows they are seeing typically are written and brought to the stage by men. Furthermore, the stories these productions tell are often about men, and the complex leading roles in these shows are written for and performed by male actors. Despite this imbalance, the feminist voice presses to be heard and has done so with more success than ever before.  In From Aphra Behn to Fun Home: A Cultural History of Feminist Theatre (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2019), Carey Purcell traces the evolution of these important artists and productions over several centuries. After examining the roots of feminist theatre in early Greek plays and looking at occasional works produced before the twentieth century, Purcell then identifies the key players and productions that have emerged over the last several decades.  This book covers the heyday of the second wave feminist movement—which saw the growth of female-centric theatre groups—and highlights the work of playwrights such as Caryl Churchill, Pam Gems, and Wendy Wasserstein. Other prominent artists discussed here include playwrights Paula Vogel Lynn and Tony-award winning directors Garry Hynes and Julie Taymor. The volume also examines diversity in contemporary feminist theatre—with discussions of such playwrights as Young Jean Lee and Lynn Nottage—and a look toward the future. Andy Boyd is a playwright based in Brooklyn, New York. He is a graduate of the playwriting MFA at Columbia University, Harvard University, and the Arizona School for the Arts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/performing-arts

Pam MacKinnon (TW:@pammackinnon) is a Tony Award and Drama Desk Award winner and she is no stranger to the Bay Area, having directed Victor Lodato’s 3F, 4F at Magic Theatre in 2005 and Amélie, A New Musical at Berkeley Repertory Theatre in 2015. MacKinnon grew up in Toronto, Canada as well as just outside Buffalo, New York. She majored in economics and political science at the University of Toronto and UC San Diego, and briefly pursued a Ph.D. in political science, before turning to her other passion: theater. Since then, MacKinnon has become one of American theater’s most beloved directors, a supporter of new American playwrights, and a leading interpreter of playwright Edward Albee’s work. She is an alumna of the Drama League, Women’s Project Theater, and Lincoln Center Theater’s Directors Labs. She is also Executive Board President of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers (SDC). MacKinnon has directed multiple plays on Broadway, including Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, starring Tracy Letts, Amy Morton, Carrie Coon, and Madison Dirks. MacKinnon won a Tony Award for her direction, and the play received the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play. Other Broadway productions include Bruce Norris’s Clybourne Park (Obie Award for Excellence in Directing); Amélie, A New Musical; the world premiere of David Mamet’s China Doll with Al Pacino; Wendy Wasserstein’s The Heidi Chronicles with Elizabeth Moss; and Edward Albee’s A Delicate Balance with Glenn Close and John Lithgow. MacKinnon has also directed extensively off Broadway at Playwrights Horizons, Manhattan Theatre Club, and Roundabout Theatre Company, as well as around the country at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company, San Diego’s Old Globe, and Washington, DC’s Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.

Pam MacKinnon (TW:@pammackinnon) is a Tony Award and Drama Desk Award winner and she is no stranger to the Bay Area, having directed Victor Lodato’s 3F, 4F at Magic Theatre in 2005 and Amélie, A New Musical at Berkeley Repertory Theatre in 2015. MacKinnon grew up in Toronto, Canada as well as just outside Buffalo, New York. She majored in economics and political science at the University of Toronto and UC San Diego, and briefly pursued a Ph.D. in political science, before turning to her other passion: theater. Since then, MacKinnon has become one of American theater’s most beloved directors, a supporter of new American playwrights, and a leading interpreter of playwright Edward Albee’s work. She is an alumna of the Drama League, Women’s Project Theater, and Lincoln Center Theater’s Directors Labs. She is also Executive Board President of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers (SDC). MacKinnon has directed multiple plays on Broadway, including Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, starring Tracy Letts, Amy Morton, Carrie Coon, and Madison Dirks. MacKinnon won a Tony Award for her direction, and the play received the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play. Other Broadway productions include Bruce Norris’s Clybourne Park (Obie Award for Excellence in Directing); Amélie, A New Musical; the world premiere of David Mamet’s China Doll with Al Pacino; Wendy Wasserstein’s The Heidi Chronicles with Elizabeth Moss; and Edward Albee’s A Delicate Balance with Glenn Close and John Lithgow. MacKinnon has also directed extensively off Broadway at Playwrights Horizons, Manhattan Theatre Club, and Roundabout Theatre Company, as well as around the country at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company, San Diego’s Old Globe, and Washington, DC’s Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.

This week Meg and Shannon discuss three one acts from Leading Women: Plays for Actresses 2. This episode has everything- too many college references, drunk choreography, YA fiction conspiracies, on stage car accidents. Plays featured in this episode are Lost by Mary Louise Wilson, Medea by Christopher Durang and Wendy Wasserstein, and No Shoulder by Nina Shengold. All references and quotes are protected under fair use. This podcast's goal is to spread a love for theatre and highlight incredible artists and work. Learn more about the Quileute Nation's Move to Higher Ground Initiative at mthg.org Check out the New Play Exchange at newplayexchange.org Content warning for language. Find the podcast on Instagram @stumbleduponpodcast Thank you for listening! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

It's episode two everyone! This week Meg and Amber talk about everything from mid-2000's infomercials to Edward (or is it Andrew???) Snowden while exploring Wendy Wasserstein's Isn't It Romantic. All references and quotes are protected under fair use. This podcast's goal is to spread a love for theatre and highlight incredible artists and work. Content warning for language. Find us on instagram at @stumbleduponpodcast Subscribe and leave a review of the show where you can! Thank you for listening! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

In this episode, Dr. Bob has a wonderful and very meaningful conversation with Rabbi Steve Leder. They talk about the true meaning of the Sabbath, the importance of having one rest day every week and the positive impact it can have on your family and your life. This is absolutely a must listen episode. After receiving his degree in writing and graduating Cum Laude from Northwestern University, and time studying at Trinity College, Oxford University, Rabbi Leder received a Master's Degree in Hebrew Letters in 1986 and Rabbinical Ordination in 1987 from Hebrew Union College. He currently serves as the Senior Rabbi of Wilshire Boulevard Temple, a prestigious synagogue in Los Angeles with two campuses and 2,400 families. Rabbi Leder is currently concluding his 225 million dollar campaign to develop the congregation's historic urban campus encompassing an entire city block. The campus is soon to include a new building by Pritzker Prize winning architect Rem Koolhaas. In addition to his many duties at Wilshire Boulevard Temple Rabbi Leder taught Homiletics for 13 years at Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles. He is a regular contributor and guest on The Today Show, writes regularly for TIME, Foxnews.com, Maria Shriver's Sunday Paper, contributed a chapter to Charles Barkley's book Who's Afraid of a Large Black Man?, and has published essays in Town and Country, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today and the Los Angeles Jewish Journal where his Torah commentaries were read weekly by over 50,000 people. His sermon on capital punishment was included in an award winning episode of The West Wing. Rabbi Leder received the Louis Rappaport Award for Excellence in Commentary by the American Jewish Press Association and the Kovler Award from the Religious Action Center in Washington D.C. for his work in African American/Jewish dialogue and in 2012 presented twice at the Aspen Ideas Festival. In the New York Times, William Safire called Rabbi Leder's first book The Extraordinary Nature of Ordinary Things “uplifting.” Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Wendy Wasserstein said he “is everything we search for in a modern wise man; learned, kind, funny, and non-judgmental, he offers remarkably healing guidance.” Rabbi Leder's second book More Money Than God: Living a Rich Life Without Losing Your Soul received critical and media attention including feature articles in the New York Times, Town and Country and appearances on ABC's Politically Incorrect, NPR, and CBS This Morning. His third book More Beautiful Than Before; How Suffering Transforms Us was reached #4 on Amazon's overall best sellers list in its first week. It remains a best seller in several categories and has been translated into Korean and Chinese. More Beautiful Than Before has helped tens of thousands of people suffering from emotional or physical pain and continues to receive prestigious media attention including CBS This Morning, The Talk, The Steve Harvey Show, and four appearances on NBC's Today Show. He is now at work on his next book The Beauty of What Remains; What Death Teaches Us About Life, to be published by Penguin Random House in the spring of 2021. Newsweek Magazine twice named him one of the ten most influential rabbis in America but most important to Steve is being Betsy's husband and Aaron and Hannah's dad. He is also a Jew who likes to fish. Go figure. How to contact Rabbi Steve Leder: Website: http://steveleder.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/steve_leder Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/steve_leder/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RabbiSteveLeder/ How to contact Dr. Bob: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChztMVtPCLJkiXvv7H5tpDQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drroberthamilton/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bob.hamilton.1656 Seven Secrets Of The Newborn website: https://7secretsofthenewborn.com/ Website: https://roberthamiltonmd.com/ Pacific Ocean Pediatrics: http://www.pacificoceanpediatrics.com/

SHOWS: Titanic, On Your Feet, Uncommon Women and Others Get on your feet because we have one of Broadway's most beloved actresses, Alma Cuervo, who joins us to discuss her career which include appearances in Once In A Lifetime, Bedroom Farce, Censored Scenes From King Kong, Is There Life After High School, Quilters, The Heidi Chronicles, Titanic, Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown, and On Your Feet to name just a few. Alma pulls back the curtain on her career to discuss how she got into the Yale School of Drama, what it was like working with Wendy Wasserstein, and why On Your Feet was the thrill of a lifetime! Also, Alma shines the spotlight on Meryl Streep, Gloria Estefan, and Carrie Fisher! Become a sponsor of Behind The Curtain and get early access to interviews, private playlists, and advance knowledge of future guests so you can ask the legends your own questions. Go to: http://bit.ly/2i7nWC4 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the third time, the boys of No Script discuss a play from the robust library of Wendy Wasserstein. Her script "The Sisters Rosensweig" is a funny, poignant portrayal of three sisters whose lives are forever changed by one weekend in London.  ------------------------------ We are nearing the end of Season 4! After this episode, there will be one more episode released to round out the season, and then we will be on a short break. Season 5 will begin sometime mid-summer.  ------------------------------ Please consider supporting us on Patreon. For as low as $1/month, you can help to ensure the No Script Podcast can continue.  https://www.patreon.com/noscriptpodcast  ----------------------------- We want to keep the conversation going! Have you read this play? Have you seen it? Comment and tell us your favorite themes, characters, plot points, etc. Did we get something wrong? Let us know. We'd love to hear from you. Find us on social media at:  Email: noscriptpodcast@gmail.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/No-Script-The-Podcast-1675491925872541/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noscriptpodcast/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/noscriptpodcast/ ------------------------------ Our theme song is “Upbeat Soda Pop” by Purple Planet Music. Credit as follows: Music: http://www.purple-planet.com ------------------------------ Thanks so much for listening! We’ll see you next week.

A Career Retrospective Conversation with Amy Ryan, currently starring in Lost Girls, on March 5, 2020. Moderated by Mara Webster. Amy Ryan is an Academy Award nominated actress, well-known for her work on the big and small screen, as well as her Tony-nominated work on stage. Ryan will next be seen in the Netflix Independent film, LOST GIRLS, which premiered at Sundance in January 2020 to critical acclaim. The Liz Garbus-directed film recounts a true story of the “Craigslist Killer,” who used the waterfront roadside on Long Island's South Shore as the dumping ground for his victims. Amy Ryan stars as ‘Mari Gilbert’ who tries to uncover what happened to her daughter following her sudden disappearance. LOST GIRLS will officially premiere on March 13, 2020. Amy Ryan also starred in a second film premiere at Sundance this year; WORTH, starring opposite Michael Keaton and Stanley Tucci. Keaton and Ryan play famed attorneys Ken Feinberg and Camille Biros who oversaw the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund. Additional past film credits include the critically-acclaimed Amazon film, BEAUTIFUL BOY, opposite Steve Carrell, Timothée Chalamet and Maura Tierney and directed by Felix van Groeningen. She was also seen in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Oscar®-winning BIRDMAN, for which she received the 2015 SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in A Motion Picture, STRANGE BUT TRUE, CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE, LOUDER THAN BOMBS, Steven Spielberg's BRIDGE OF SPIES, GOOSEBUMPS, DON VERDEAN, and ABUNDANT ACREAGE AVAILABLE. Ryan is perhaps best known on the big screen for her performance in Ben Affleck’s GONE BABY GONE, for which she was recognized with Academy Award, Golden Globe and SAG Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress. She also won numerous Best Supporting Actress awards for this role, including those from the National Board of Review, the Broadcast Film Critics Association, the New York Film Critics Circle and the L.A. Film Critics. Her other film credits include LATE NIGHT opposite Mindy Kaling, Emma Thompson and Reid Scott, BREATHE IN with Guy Pearce and Felicity Jones, CLEAR HISTORY directed by Greg Mottola and co-starring with Larry David, DEVIL’S KNOT directed by Atom Egoyan and co-starring with Colin Firth, Tom McCarthy's WIN WIN, MOSTER TRUCKS, THE INFILTRATOR, ESCAPE PLAN, BOB FUNK, THE MISSING PERSON, GREEN ZONE, JACK GOES BOATING, CHANGELING, BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU’RE DEAD, CAPOTE, DAN IN REAL LIFE, WAR OF THE WORLDS, KEANE, and YOU CAN COUNT ON ME. Amy is also widely acclaimed for her work on the small screen, including her memorable portrayals as Holly Flax on THE OFFICE, Adele on IN TREATMENT and Officer Beatrice ‘Beadie’ Russell on THE WIRE. Additional television credits for Ryan include HIGH MAITENANCE, ROBOT CHICKEN, BROAD CITY, CLEAR HISTORY, MILDRED PIERCE, KIDNAPPED, LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT, M.O.N.Y., AMERICAN EXPERIENCE, LAW & ORDER, THIRD WATCH, HACK, BASEBALL WIVES, 100 CENTRE STREET, LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT, HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREET, THE NAKED TRUTH, ER, and I’LL FLY AWAY. On stage, Amy Ryan had her Broadway debut in Wendy Wasserstein’s The Sisters Rosensweig. She received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her work in the 2000 production of Uncle Vanya, and she received her second Tony nod for her portrayal of ‘Stella’ in A Streetcar Named Desire. Ryan has also appeared in London’s West End during Neil LaBute’s The Distance From Here and Lisa D’Amour’s critically-acclaimed play Detroit, directed by Anne Kauffman at Playwrights Horizons.

Make way for one of our most prestigious guests! Actress, dancer, choreographer, and teacher Carmen de Lavallade joins us this week and becomes our first ever Kennedy Center Honoree. You Might Know Her From Carmen Jones, Odds Against Tomorrow, House of Flowers, and a Streetcar Named Desire. Carmen dishes on her beginnings as a dancer with Alvin Ailey, being cast in the historic movie musical Carmen Jones starring Dorothy Dandridge and Harry Belafonte, and teaching at Yale where her students included a young Meryl Streep. An embarrassment of riches that could only be topped by the news that Busta Rhymes was a true gentleman. *cue Soul Bossa nova* Follow us on social media: @damianbellino || @rodemanne    Discussed this week: Julainne Hough energy removal Julianne:  is “not straight”  Is a cult leader of Kinrgy (also here)  Is in Burlesque  Has been given an platform by Oprah Marie Osmond dances as a doll on DWTS Tom Bergeron charms us (narrow shoulders,) Shira Piven improv teacher Carrie Ann Inaba was a Fly Girl Rosie Perez starred in revival of The Ritz CBS Sunday Morning on Carmen’s Kennedy Center honor (other honorees that year: Norman Lear, LL Cool J, Herbie Hancock) Sondra Lee connected us to Carmen Was married to Geoffrey Holder Dance teachers: Lester Horton, Carmelita Maracci, Melissa Blake Cecchetti method  Took Alvin Ailey to his first dance class Carmen Jones (dir: Otto Preminger || choreo: Herbert Ross) Dorothy Dandridge, Harry Belartone, Pearl Bailey, Diahann Carroll Bar scene in Carmen Jones = ”Beat Out dat Rhythm on a Drum” Susan Hayward’s handmaiden in Demetrius & the Gladiators (w/ Victor Mature) Lydia Bailey choreographed by Jack Cole Danced with Josephine Baker at The Olympia in Paris 1964 Mentor to Misty Copeland  Mildred Dunnock got her to Yale where she taught movement to Meryl, Sigourney, Wendy Wasserstein, and Joe Gifasi Yale 1975: A Midsummer Night’s Dream she played Titania opposite Christopher Lloyd’s Oberon (+Tony Shalhoub Meryl, and Alvin Epstein). Christopher Lloyd injured tendon during production Sang at Carnegie hall with Benny Goodman Lotte Lenya; Billie Holliday interpreters of song “Flores para los muertos” streetcar directed by Debbie Allen Odds Against Tomorrow (dir: Robert Wise) Dancing to Soul Bossa Nova (Wuiny Joncrs)  Refused Kennedy Center White House reception Hand kissed by Busta Rhymes

This week on "No Script," Jacob is joined by special guest Karen Bohm Barker. Together, they discuss Wendy Wasserstein's play "The Heidi Chronicles," which documents one woman's journey through late 1900s feminism.  ------------------------------ Please consider supporting us on Patreon. For as low as $1/month, you can help to ensure the No Script Podcast can continue.  https://www.patreon.com/noscriptpodcast   We want to keep the conversation going! Have you read this play? Have you seen it? Comment and tell us your favorite themes, characters, plot points, etc. Did we get something wrong? Let us know. We'd love to hear from you. Find us on social media at:  Email: noscriptpodcast@gmail.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/No-Script-The-Podcast-1675491925872541/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noscriptpodcast/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/noscriptpodcast/ ------------------------------ Our theme song is “Blessed” by Purple Planet Music. Credit as follows: Music: http://www.purple-planet.com ------------------------------ Logo Design: Jacob Mann Christiansen Logo Text: Paralines designed by Lewis Latham of http://lewislatham.co/ ------------------------------ Thanks so much for listening! We’ll see you next week. ------------------------------

Today I sit down with the mesmerizing Kathryn Grody. We talk everything from motherhood to acting to being a good human. Not to be missed. Kathryn Grody fled Los Angeles, arrived in New York City, and found herself employed on Broadway in Scapino, . Off-Broadway followed with appearances at Joseph Papp’s Public Theatre including Fishing by Michael Weller, Museum, by Tina Howe, Nasty Rumors and Final Remarks by Susan Miller and Lulu Bett directed by Jack Hofsiss at the Berkshire Theatre Festival. Ms. Grody received Obie Awards for her performances in Top Girls by Caryl Churchill, directed by Max Stafford-Clark and The Marriage of Bette and Boo by Christopher Durang, directed by Jerry Zaks as well as a Drama Desk nomination for her performance in her three character one woman play, A Mom’s Life, all at the Public Theatre. (( Other performances include Dusa Fish Stas and Vi at the Manhattan Theatre Club, The Split at Ensemble Studio Theatre, Cause Maggie’s Afraid of the Dark, The 49 Years by Liz Swados, with Estelle Parsons at the Actors Studio Raw Space, Waxing West by Savianna Stanescous at The Lark, and Victoria Roberts cartoon come to life directed by Linda Mancini at Dixon Place. )) Film appearances include Limbo, written and directed by John Sayles and Men With Guns, also by Mr. Sayles, My Body Guard, directed by Tony Bill, Lemon Sisters with Diane Keaton and Carol Kane, Another Woman by Woody Allen and Reds by Warren Beatty. Ms. Grody’s television appearances include “The Sunset Gang” with Uta Hagen, “Execution of Private Slovik” with Martin Sheen and many after-school specials. (( And of course, Law And Order-Criminal Intent in NYC..)) Kathryn Grody performed with A.C.T. in San Francisco, the Actors Theatre of Louisville and was a company member at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. ) Her essays have appeared in The Mountain Record, Harpers Bazar, Oprah magazine, and her narrative version of the original Mom’s Life was published by Avon. She appeared in the world premiere of two new Wendy Wasserstein plays, ((directed by Michael Barakeeva ))at Theatre J in Washington D.C., originated the role of Maggie in The Penetration Play by Winter Miller, ((directed by Josh Hec))t at The Mint, performed the classic role of Nell in Beckets Endgame, with Alvin Epstein, Adam Heller and Tony Roberts,(( directed by Charlotte Moore,)) at the Irish Repetory Theatre . She braved the Barrow Street Theatre with Tim Crouch in the Oak Tree, and was proud to participate in the Caryl Churchill reading at NYTW, Seven Jewish Children-a play for Gaza…... She played Hinda in Zuzka Kurtz’s My Inner Soul at The Lion, appeared in the 59th st shorts in Tina Howes’ The Woman Who Lost Her Head and was seen as Hilary Clinton in the Performance Art Biennial, I Feel Your Pain, by Liz Magic Laser..And was Lola in Donald Margulies A Model Apartment, directed by Evan Cabnet.. Falling Apart....together , the sequel of A Mom’s Life, was seen at CSC, directed by Timothy Near..Most recently played Gaby in Susan Millers’ 20th Century Blues, directed by Emily Mann at the Signature. She is a Ususal Suspect at NYTW, works with the IRC and Search For Common Ground and is on the board of Downtown Women For Change., Dances for A Variable Population and Noor Theatre.

Amy was last seen onstage in Mike Bartlett’s play LOVE LOVE LOVE at the Roundabout theatre directed by Michael Mayer, for which she earned an Obie award. She made her Broadway debut in Wendy Wasserstein’s THE SISTERS ROSENSWEIG.  Amy was nominated for two TONY awards as  best featured actress for her performances in UNCLE VANYA and A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE. Other theatre credits include DETROIT by Lisa D’Amour’s Detroit,  at Playwrights Horizons, Amy is perhaps best known for her acclaimed performance in Ben Affleck’s GONE BABY GONE, for which she was earned an Academy Award nomination. She can be seen in the upcoming films, STRANGE BUT TRUE and LOST GIRLS. Other film credits include: BEAUTIFUL BOY,BIRDMAN, CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE, BRIDGE OF SPIES, GOOSEBUMPS, ABUNDANT ACREAGE AVAILABLE, LOUDER THAN BOMBS, DON VERDEAN, BREATHE IN,  CLEAR HISTORY, DEVIL’S KNOT ,WIN WIN, GREEN ZONE, JACK GOES BOATING, CHANGELING; BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU’RE DEAD, CAPOTE, DAN IN REAL LIFE, WAR OF THE WORLDS, and KEANE. Amy’s television work includes “The Office” “In Treatment” and “The Wire.”

While he was known by many as The Butcher of Broadway, Frank Rich is still considered to be one of the greatest critics who ever covered The Great White Way. Despite that savage moniker, he was, and is, a proud theater geek whose desire to collect obscure anecdotes and musicals makes him a kindred spirit to all of us. Frank pulls back the curtain on his career to discuss how he first fell in love with the theatre, what it was like battling some of Broadway's greatest names, and why David Merrick was a consistent source of frustration and inspiration! Also, Frank shines the spotlight on Stephen Sondheim, Arthur Gelb, and Wendy Wasserstein. Become a sponsor of Behind The Curtain and get early access to interviews, private playlists, and advance knowledge of future guests so you can ask the legends your own questions. Go to: http://bit.ly/2i7nWC4 To book a room at Shetler Studios, head on over to: https://www.shetlerstudios.com 

It would be hard pressed to find someone who, in the past thirty years, has influenced the development of the American Theatre more than Andre Bishop. For ten years, he was Artistic Director of Playwright's Horizons, which was followed by his current stint as the Artistic Director of Lincoln Center Theatre, which has given the American musical theatre such new works as A New Brain, Parade, Contact, and The Light in The Piazza, as well as revivals of South Pacific, The King & I, and My Fair Lady. Andre pulls back the curtain on his career to discuss how he became the artistic director of Lincoln Center Theater, what it was like cultivating such works as Falsettos, Sunday in the Park with George, and The Heidi Chronicles, and why his biggest goal for LCT has still yet to be achieved! Also, Andre shines the spotlight on Wendy Wasserstein, William Finn, and Bartlett Sher! Become a sponsor of Behind The Curtain and get early access to interviews, private playlists, and advance knowledge of future guests so you can ask the legends your own questions. Go to: http://bit.ly/2i7nWC4 To book a room at Shetler Studios, head on over to: https://www.shetlerstudios.com

Wendy Wasserstein's best known play, "The Heidi Chronicles," won both the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play in 1989. Many of the themes of this feminist classic were already evident in "Uncommon Women and Others," a play written by Wasserstein a decade earlier. "Uncommon Women" is on stage at the Princeton Summer Theater through July 22nd. For this podcast, producer Susan Wallner spoke to the Dean of the College at Princeton University and author of a book about Wendy Wasserstein, Jill Dolan. Dolan points out that the hopes and fears of young women about to make critical life choices after college continue to resonate today.

This week Kristen and Zane will chat with Mary Littlejohn about which of life's truths can be gleaned from the hilarious semi-improvised musical - The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee!MARY'S LINKSFabulist Theatrewww.thebroadwaychorus.com- FURTHER READING -WikiiTunesSpotify- CELEBRITY SHOUTOUTS -William Finn, James Lapine, Sarah Saltzberg, Wendy Wasserstein, Julianne Boyd, Dan Fogler, Robb Sapp, Jose Llana, Dashiell Eaves, Derrick Baskin, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Lisa Howard, Marina Prior, David Campbell, Magda Szubanski, Lisa McCune, Tyler Coppin, Bert Labonte, Natalie Mendoza, Betsy Wolfe, James Monroe IglehartLike us on Facebook! Follow us on Twitter! Support us on Patreon!Email us: musicalstaughtmepodcast@gmail.comVisit our home on the web thatsnotcanonproductions.comOur theme song and interstitial music all by the one and only Benedict Braxton Smith. Find out more about him at www.benedictbraxtonsmith.com

It's Fourth of July week! Jackson and Jacob are celebrating by talking about Wendy Wasserstein's play "An American Daughter." The story follows a nominee to Surgeon General, Lyssa Dent Hughes. Lyssa is being interviewed on television when she and her family/friends accidently say a few things that get... misconstrued?... by the media and the country. This sends Lyssa's life and confirmation into chaos. Join us as J&J talk about infidelity, feminism, and the many wrongdoings of President Grant.  ------------------------------ We had so much fun talking about this play, and we’d love to keep the conversation going! What were some of your thoughts if you’ve read or have seen the play? What are you favorite themes? Characters? Plot Points? Or do you disagree with us on any of our thoughts? We’d love to hear from you. Check us out on social media or email at: Email: noscriptpodcast@gmail.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/No-Script-The-Podcast-1675491925872541/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noscriptpodcast/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/noscriptpodcast ------------------------------ Our theme song is “Blessed” by Purple Planet Music. Credit as follows: Music: http://www.purple-planet.com ------------------------------ Logo Design: Jacob Mann Christiansen Logo Text: Paralines designed by Lewis Latham of http://lewislatham.co/ ------------------------------ Thanks so much for listening! We’ll see you next week. ------------------------------

  New Podcast with Actor Matt Czuchry!   In this episode of "Kahnversations," we interview Matt Czuchry. After graduating college in May of 1999 with B.A. degrees in History and Political Science from College of Charleston, Matt was set on law school as his next life path.  But when thinking of his true passion, he was brought back to the indelible memories of his childhood.  Moments etched on his heart such as exiting a dilapidated movie theatre crying inconsolably after experiencing E.T.: THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL, or running around in his purple dyed underwear smashing couches while watching THE INCREDIBLE HULK on TV.  When thinking of his adult life, Czuchry could not ignore the magical moments captured through story, imagination, and character that had impacted his youth with such pure happiness. This childlike love of movies and television, combined with his horrible Law School Admission Test scores, pushed Matt’s gut towards an unexpected career choice.  In September of 1999, Czuchry took one of the most important risks of his life and decided to pursue a profession in acting.  On a perfectly nondescript Wednesday morning, Matt filled his car with everything he owned and left his hometown in Tennessee for a new life in California.  Since completing that life changing drive from Johnson City to Los Angeles, Czuchry has worked with Oscar® winners, Emmy® winners, and Tony Award® winners, while establishing himself as a leading man through credits spanning theatre, television, and film. Just one month after arriving on the West Coast, Matt found himself working with actor James Franco and writers Paul Feig, Mike White, and Judd Apatow in a small role on the critical darling FREAKS AND GEEKS.  Czuchry’s work on the classic fan favorite would turn into a major guest starring arc in the DAWSON'S CREEK spinoff series titled YOUNG AMERICANS, starring actress Kate Bosworth.  Although this show itself was short lived, Matt’s work on the project would garner the necessary attention to further his early career with the best creative minds in the business on television shows such as David E. Kelley’s THE PRACTICE and films like EIGHT LEGGED FREAKS, starring Scarlett Johansson. Two key television series, HACK and GILMORE GIRLS, would propel Czuchry’s early career towards leading man status.  While playing swindling thief Jamie Farrel on the series HACK from 2003-2004, Matt was able to hone his craft by learning from the show’s stars, Drama Desk Award winner David Morse and Emmy® winner Andre Braugher.  His work on HACK readied Czuchry for his breakout performance on the critically acclaimed hit GILMORE GIRLS.  From 2005-2007 Matt embodied the role of billionaire newspaper heir Logan Huntzberger.  For his work on the beloved series, Czuchry would go on to be nominated for three Teen Choice awards while gaining press in countless magazines and popularity on television sets across the globe. After completing his three year run on GILMORE GIRLS in 2007, Czuchry matured in his craft by choosing work in different genres spanning theatre, television, and film.  In September of 2007, Czuchry was on stage in the title role of Third, alongside Oscar® winner Christine Lahti, in Wendy Wasserstein’s West Coast premier of the play by the same name.  He followed this performance at the Geffen Theatre with a recurring arc on the Emmy® winning series FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS.  In 2008, Matt took on the controversial lead character of Tucker Max in the movie adaptation of the New York Times best selling book, I HOPE THEY SERVE BEER IN HELL.  Although the public’s response to the comedy was divisive, Czuchry’s performance was lauded by critics such as Owen Gleiberman in Entertainment Weekly who wrote, “Matt Czuchry, in a star performance, plays Tucker like a Ferris Bueller who bloomed into a charming sociopath.” Czuchry’s varied performances and choices across all genres in different mediums from 2007-2008 led to an offer to play the role of a manipulative lawyer in the two-time Emmy® nominated THE GOOD WIFE. Matt's seven seasons as Cary Agos on CBS Television’s THE GOOD WIFE (2009-2016) firmly established him as a leading man and a rising star while also earning him prestigious recognition from both The Hollywood Reporter and Variety’s annual Emmy® Contenders lists in 2015. Prior to these honors Czuchry won the Entertainment Weekly Best Supporting Actor EWwy Award (2011), received nominations for three consecutive SAG Ensemble Awards (2009-2011), and also garnered the highest praises from numerous critics such as David Hiltbrand of The Philadelphia Inquirer who wrote “Czuchry may be the best young actor on TV.”  Matt Richenthal of TV Fanatic further affirmed those sentiments by stating, “Cary is played brilliantly by Czuchry with the right combination of swagger, confidence, and vulnerability.”  Matt’s tireless dedication to his craft on THE GOOD WIFE, and over the course of his career, led to a defining performance on one of TV’s best shows while working alongside multiple-award winners Archie Panjabi, Christine Baranski, Julianna Margulies, Chis Noth, Josh Charles, Alan Cumming, Michael J. Fox, Matthew Perry, and F. Murray Abraham. In 1999, Matt Czuchry took a life changing risk by following his passion and gut to pursue his love of story, imagination, and character.  Today, Czuchry surrounds himself with the great talents of stage, television, and film on some of the most desirable projects in the entertainment industry, in an effort to make his own indelible mark on the hearts of others.  As Matt continues to tirelessly study his craft, he sets his sights on even greater career heights.  Knowing that his past work has laid the groundwork for future success, but each new performance and project choice demands an even better excellence. You can download or subscribe to the podcast for FREE by clicking below. If you like “Kahnversations,” please leave a rating or review on our iTunes page!     There are so many inspiring podcasts with fabulous stars out there. But their careers feel light years away from ours, don’t they? Wouldn’t it be great to hear from the guy who just booked his first pilot? Or the kid finally doing a studio pic after a bunch of low budget indies? Or the woman who’s been a series regular a few times but is only now becoming a name? What about the guy who’s been on a show for years and you know his face but what’shisnameagain? Or that actress who is now a freakin’ showrunner???? How’d THEY do it, right? How did they transition from relative obscurity, bartending and bottle service, to buying that house in Brentwood? We’re producing “Kahnversations,” a podcast that provides access to THOSE people -- your immediate predecessors -- so that you can learn from them while their battle scars are still fresh. In “Kahnversations,” our own Ryan Bailey interviews some of Lesly Kahn & Company’s working actors, directors, and writers in order to learn how they got started in Hollywood, the challenges and hurdles they faced, and how they overcame the odds. (They also dish out some crazy stories!) Listen in and enjoy as these entertainers speak candidly about their paths, processes, and experiences. You might even hear a bit about how Lesly and the Kahnstitute have influenced and shaped their careers.

Betsy Borns interviews multiple Tony Award winning singer/actress Penny Fuller. Penny has starred on Broadway in plays and musicals from Wendy Wasserstein's “An American Daughter” to Comden and Green's “Applause.” Their discussion covers everything from Penny's thoughts on theater to Penny singing simultaneously as Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin in a song from her brilliant one woman show “13 Things About Ed Carpolotti.” Trust me... this is one you won't want to miss! Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

André Bishop has been the artistic director of Lincoln Center Theater since January 1992. He has developed and produced new plays and musicals by many of America's leading playwrights, composers and lyricists. His many successful productions at that theater included three Pulitzer Prize winners: The Heidi Chronicles, Driving Miss Daisy and Sunday in the Park with George. Recent Lincoln Center Theater seasons under Mr. Bishop's artistic direction have included new plays and musicals, revivals and new adaptations of classic works, and solo performances, including Wendy Wasserstein's The Sisters Rosensweig, An American Daughter and Third; five-time Tony Award winner Carousel; and the award winning revivals of The Heiress, A Delicate Balance, and Awake and Sing! on Broadway. He sat down with me to tell me all about his journey and . . . Why he’s an Artistic Director that never wanted to direct. Why he never considers the audience when picking shows for his theaters. How he chooses the right directors for his projects. Where he would start if he was a young writer . . . commercial or non-profit. His thoughts on the Broadway turf war between commercial and non-profit productions. Keep up with me: @KenDavenportBway www.theproducersperspective.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonathan Slavin was born on a marine base in North Carolina, and grew up in rural Pennsylvania. A bit of a shy weirdo to his peers, he found his voice when he was cast in his first play. After high school, he landed in New York and performed in some truly abysmal theater, before being cast to play the sexually confused protagonist in “The Best of Schools” at Ubu Rep. From there, he moved to Lincoln Center and then Broadway in Wendy Wasserstein’s “The Sisters Rosensweig”, to Dallas to do “Six Degrees of Separation”(a production that was visited and subsequently cited by the Dalllas Vice Squad), and finally to Los Angeles, to appear in the West Coast premiere of Larry Kramer’s “The Destiny of Me.” After a few months playing a string of “insert occupation here” Guy television guest stars(Flower Delivery Guy, Fish and Chips Guy, Computer Tech Guy) Slavin graduated to more memorable roles. He has appeared as a series regular on Better Off Ted, Andy Richter Controls the Universe, Mission Control, Union Square, and voiced Ogo, a neurotic and slightly deranged robot on the cartoon Robot and Monster. He has recurred on Better With You, Family Tools, and My Name is Earl, to name a few. Recent and notable guest stars include Legit, Suburgatory, Castle, Grey’s Anatomy, Weeds, The Glades, and Perception. His feature film credits include Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day, Dirty Girl, Hard Pill,and My Mother’s Hairdo. Slavin is an activist, dedicating much of his time to animal rights, and is a longtime vegan and animal rescuer. As a gay man, he is equally committed to LGBT rights, and has twice participated in the California Aids Ride, a nearly 600 mile bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles, raising funds for HIV services provided by the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center. ______________________________________ The Boyz talk with the new Associate Director for American Diabetes Association in Central Washington, Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho Julie Lockhart. She also has over 10 year’s experience working in the non-profit arena; primarily in healthcare and education. Also in Studio with Julie Lockhart is Mike Jackson is a diabetic who has been championing education and advocacy efforts throughout the Northwest; He has worked side-by-side with the American Diabetes Association as one of our key volunteers. Mike is leading the charge once again as Team Captain of the Inland Imaging Corporate Team for Tour de Cure- raising funds and creating awareness for our cause.TO LEARN MORE AND TO GET INFORMATION: www.diabetes.org/spokanetourdecure www.diabetes.org https://www.facebook.com/adaspokane ———————————————– Morgan now calls New York her home and has embraced its culture and diversity. She has taken musical theatre training workshops with Laura Benanti, Jason Robert Brown, Sierra Boggess and film/TV with casting director, Maria Hubbard. She studies voice with vocal coach and music director, Kevin David Thomas and Laura Menard. Her dance training includes: theatre, tap, ballet and jazz at Broadway Dance Center. She enjoys singing at Birdland Jazz Club on Monday nights at Jim Caruso’s Cast Party. Morgan is currently on tour with Disney’s 1st National Broadway Tour of Newsies as Katherine Plumber. She has worked extensively in the Pacific Northwest. Regional theatre includes: Sandy (Grease), Natalie (Next to Normal), Narrator (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat), Pinky Tuscadero (Happy Days), Star to Be (Annie) at Spokane Civic Theatre. Liesl – Understudy (Sound of Music) at Coeur D’Alene Professional Summer Theatre, Dorothy (Wizard of Oz) and Gertrude (Seussical) at CYT Spokane. Morgan has appeared in several in concert performances including: Songs for a New World with Jason Robert Brown, Anybody’s (West Side Story) and Helen Burns (Jane Eyre). Commercial credits: Fox TV New York and My 50 Radio Chicago with producer David Cebert. Film: “The Undefeated” for Victory Film Group. In her spare time Morgan enjoys rock climbing, anything that has to do with make–up, theme park adrenaline rides, Paper Mill Playhouse, traveling and sharing experiences with family and friends.MORE INFO AND PURCHASE TICKETS: HTTP://WCEBROADWAY.COM/SHOWS/NEWSIES/

Six Time Tony Award winning costume designer William Ivey Long brings Rob and Kevin into his studio to discuss his process and to share his memories of working on such shows as Nine, Guys and Dolls, and Contact. Also, William camps out at the Hotel Chelsea, gets Wendy Wasserstein to sell his wares, and how Gauguin shows up in Guys and Dolls. Plus: Tommy Tune, Sigourney Weaver, and the mumps of Anita Morris! 

Patty & Emily talk to actress Tracee Chimo about the revival of The Heidi Chronicles, now through May 3rd, Wendy Wasserstein, feminism, Sutton Foster, and dog walking. If you haven’t seen her show, see it before it closes! And make sure … Continue reading →

Bainbridge Island's very talented actors and writers are showcased in the Fifth Annual One Act Festival - “Fifty Shades of Funny.” In this podcast, director Dinah Manoff tells us about the origin of this popular festival of short plays written by well-known playwrights as well as by three local writers. These are performed by extraordinary array of 32 of her talented students, many of whom are familiar to regular BPA theatre fans. This year, the plays are eclectic, racy, entertaining, and all very funny. There are 11 one-act plays: “The Adventures Of…” by Kathleen Warnock; “You Don't Have to be Jewish” by Bob Booker and George Foster; “Workout” by Wendy Wasserstein; “Consolidated Worldwide” by Jim Anderson; “That Word” by Mark Harvey Levine; “Ties That Bind” by Eric Coble; “Arabian Nights” by David Ives; “The Mercury and the Magic” by Rolin Jones; “The Angle of Death” by Michelle Allen; “A View from the Porch” by Warren Read. There are just three performances from January 16-18, plus the "pay-what-you-can" preview on Thursday, January 15th. Tickets are on sale now at the BPA website. Credits: BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters

Jill Morley  just  finished the feature documentary, “Fight Like A Girl,” about women using boxing to fight their demons and empower themselves.  It played at several festivals, winning “Best Documentary” at the Other Venice Film Festival, and was presented with an award from the World Boxing Council for inspiration, education and courage.   “Fight Like a Girl”  is still in the process of finding distribution. Jill’s critically acclaimed documentary film, “Stripped” won awards at festivals, ran theatrically in New York and LA, internationally and ran on the Sundance Channel. Other shorts she directed and shot played festivals such as AFI, and the Santa Barbara Film Festival. Jill is honored to have her monologues published in several monologue collections by Gerald Lee Ratliff along with Arthur Miller, Steve Martin, David Hare,and Wendy Wasserstein.

Wendy Wasserstein and Daniel Sullivan: In October, 1992 Wendy Wasserstein and Daniel Sullivan sat down at Marymount Manhattan College with SDCFoundation and Dramatist Guild members and the general public to talk about how and why they work together. Originally recorded - October 14, 1992. Running Time - 40:57 ©1992 SDCF

On this episode, Bob Wilcox and Gerry Kowarsky review (1) BOEING BOEING, by Marc Camoletti, trans. by Beverley Cross, at Dramatic License Productions, (2) NEXT TO NORMAL, by Tom Kitt & Brian Yorkey, at New Line Theatre, (3) THE BOOK OF MORMON, by Trey Parker, Matt Stone, & Robert Lopez, at the Fox Theatre, (4) LILIES OF THE FIELD, adapted by F. Andrew Leslie from William E. Barrett, at Kirkwood Theatre Guild, (5) BRIEFS: A FESTIVAL OF SHORT LGBT PLAYS, at That Uppity Theatre Co. & The Vital Voice, (6) THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE, by William Finn & Rachel Scheinkin, at St. Louis Univ., and (7) UNCOMMON WOMEN AND OTHERS, by Wendy Wasserstein, at Webster Univ. Conservatory.

RAPTURE, BLISTER, BURN playwright Gina Gionfriddo discusses the evolution of her play (and the issues it explores), her secret love of true crime stories, and her fascination with Wendy Wasserstein's THE HEIDI CHRONICLES. (2011/12 season)Music by Jennifer O'Connor. (http://jenniferoconnor.net)

Julie Salamon discuses her portrait of the Pulitzer and Tony Award winning playwright.

Veteran director Daniel Sullivan (2001 Tony Award Winner for Best Direction of a Play for “Proof”) talks about his suddenly busy 2010-11 Broadway season, which will see transfers of his productions of “Time Stands Still” from Manhattan Theatre Club, “The Merchant of Venice” with Al Pacino from The Public's Delacorte Theater, as well as the premiere of David Lindsay Abaire's “Good People” for MTC. He also talks about getting his start as an actor and his early experiences with the San Francisco Actors Workshop, run by Herbert Blau and Jules Irving; moving to New York with the Workshop when it became the Repertory Theater of Lincoln Center; working as Stage Manager and Assistant Director on the original production of “Hair”, and why he had to restage the show almost every night; getting his first directing opportunity with the debut of A.R. Gurney's first play, “Scenes From American Life”; how quitting his first directing job at Seattle Rep (a production of “The Royal Family”) didn't impede his becoming Resident Director there, and two years later, Artistic Director, a post he held for 16 years; why his greatest disappointment at Seattle Rep was ultimately the inability to create a full resident company of artists; how it felt to embark on a freelance career again in 1997; and his thoughts on the playwrights with whom he's most associated: Herb Gardner, Wendy Wasserstein, Donald Margulies, Charlayne Woodard, Jon Robin Baitz and David Lindsay Abaire.

Veteran director Daniel Sullivan talks about his suddenly busy 2010-11 Broadway season, which will see transfers of his productions of "Time Stands Still" from Manhattan Theatre Club, "The Merchant of Venice" with Al Pacino from The Public's Delacorte Theater, as well as the premiere of David Lindsay Abaire's "Good People" for MTC. He also talks about getting his start as an actor and his early experiences with the San Francisco Actors Workshop, run by Herbert Blau and Jules Irving; moving to New York with the Workshop when it became the Repertory Theater of Lincoln Center; working as Stage Manager and Assistant Director on the original production of "Hair", and why he had to restage the show almost every night; getting his first directing opportunity with the debut of A.R. Gurney's first play, "Scenes From American Life"; how quitting his first directing job at Seattle Rep (a production of "The Royal Family") didn't impede his becoming Resident Director there, and two years later, Artistic Director, a post he held for 16 years; why his greatest disappointment at Seattle Rep was ultimately the inability to create a full resident company of artists; how it felt to embark on a freelance career again in 1997; and his thoughts on the playwrights with whom he's most associated: Herb Gardner, Wendy Wasserstein, Donald Margulies, Charlayne Woodard, Jon Robin Baitz and David Lindsay Abaire. Original air date - September 29, 2010.

Veteran director Daniel Sullivan talks about his suddenly busy 2010-11 Broadway season, which will see transfers of his productions of "Time Stands Still" from Manhattan Theatre Club, "The Merchant of Venice" with Al Pacino from The Public's Delacorte Theater, as well as the premiere of David Lindsay Abaire's "Good People" for MTC. He also talks about getting his start as an actor and his early experiences with the San Francisco Actors Workshop, run by Herbert Blau and Jules Irving; moving to New York with the Workshop when it became the Repertory Theater of Lincoln Center; working as Stage Manager and Assistant Director on the original production of "Hair", and why he had to restage the show almost every night; getting his first directing opportunity with the debut of A.R. Gurney's first play, "Scenes From American Life"; how quitting his first directing job at Seattle Rep (a production of "The Royal Family") didn't impede his becoming Resident Director there, and two years later, Artistic Director, a post he held for 16 years; why his greatest disappointment at Seattle Rep was ultimately the inability to create a full resident company of artists; how it felt to embark on a freelance career again in 1997; and his thoughts on the playwrights with whom he's most associated: Herb Gardner, Wendy Wasserstein, Donald Margulies, Charlayne Woodard, Jon Robin Baitz and David Lindsay Abaire. Original air date - September 29, 2010.

One of "God of Carnage"'s current combatants on Broadway, Christine Lahti, talks about playing the range of emotions that consume her character over the course of the play's mere 80 minutes, and how the new ensemble developed the rapport for such a physical and intimate work. She also discusses her college years, including the dual lures of social activism and theatre performance; her experience understudying Madeline Kahn and Sigourney Weaver in the premiere of John Guare's "Marco Polo Sings a Solo"; her early Broadway work in plays by Michael Weller and Steve Tesich; being directed by and co-starring with the legendary George C. Scott in "Present Laughter", along with Broadway newbies Nathan Lane and Kate Burton; how studying with another iconic figure, Uta Hagen, taught her how to be "director-proof"; her multiple appearances in Jon Robin Baitz's monologue-driven "Three Hotels"; and her great affinity for the work of Wendy Wasserstein, evidenced by her performances in "The Heidi Chronicles" (on Broadway), "Third" (at the Geffen Playhouse) and "An American Daughter" (for television). Original air date - February 10, 2010.

One of "God of Carnage"'s current combatants on Broadway, Christine Lahti, talks about playing the range of emotions that consume her character over the course of the play's mere 80 minutes, and how the new ensemble developed the rapport for such a physical and intimate work. She also discusses her college years, including the dual lures of social activism and theatre performance; her experience understudying Madeline Kahn and Sigourney Weaver in the premiere of John Guare's "Marco Polo Sings a Solo"; her early Broadway work in plays by Michael Weller and Steve Tesich; being directed by and co-starring with the legendary George C. Scott in "Present Laughter", along with Broadway newbies Nathan Lane and Kate Burton; how studying with another iconic figure, Uta Hagen, taught her how to be "director-proof"; her multiple appearances in Jon Robin Baitz's monologue-driven "Three Hotels"; and her great affinity for the work of Wendy Wasserstein, evidenced by her performances in "The Heidi Chronicles" (on Broadway), "Third" (at the Geffen Playhouse) and "An American Daughter" (for television). Original air date - February 10, 2010.

The panelists - theatre critic Howard Kissel, Artistic Director of Manhattan Theatre Club Lynn Meadow, actor/director Zakes Mokae ("The Song Of Jacob Zulu"), producer/general manager Dorothy Olim, producer/general manager Albert Poland, general manager Ben Sprecher, and playwright Wendy Wasserstein ("The Sisters Rosensweig") - discuss how not-for-profit and regional theaters differ from commercial productions, developing plays out of town, escalating production costs, and viable stage careers compared to television and film.

The panelists -- theatre critic Howard Kissel, Artistic Director of Manhattan Theatre Club Lynn Meadow (who steered the organization to Tony wins for Love! Valour! Compassion!, Proof and Doubt), actor/director Zakes Mokae (Tony winner for Mastor Harold… and the Boys), producer/general manager Dorothy Olim, producer/general manager Albert Poland, general manager Ben Sprecher, and playwright Wendy Wasserstein (The Sisters Rosensweig and Tony winner for The Heidi Chronicles) -- discuss how not-for-profit and regional theaters differ from commercial productions, developing plays out of town, escalating production costs, and viable stage careers compared to television and film.

Theatre Development Fund executive director Victoria Bailey talks about the newest icon of Broadway, the red steps of the redesigned TKTS Booth in Times Square, and talks about both how the lines at the booth have created a "town square for the casual theatregoer," as well as what TDF is doing to combat their discovery that many of the people lounging on the steps don't necessarily realize they can buy discounted theatre tickets directly below where they're seated. She talks about her own career in theatre, from her early days taking classes and performing in Washington DC and Minneapolis to her nearly two-decade long tenure at the Manhattan Theatre Club; what drew her to TDF and what she hopes the organization can focus on in the coming years; how TDF's subsidy program for theatre productions works; TDF's efforts to introduce students to theatre, with particular attention to the Open Doors program created by Wendy Wasserstein and boasting mentors including William Finn and Frank Rich; and identifies what she believes is perhaps TDF's least known but most influential program. Original air date - September 14, 2009.

Theatre Development Fund executive director Victoria Bailey talks about the newest icon of Broadway, the red steps of the redesigned TKTS Booth in Times Square, and talks about both how the lines at the booth have created a "town square for the casual theatregoer," as well as what TDF is doing to combat their discovery that many of the people lounging on the steps don't necessarily realize they can buy discounted theatre tickets directly below where they're seated. She talks about her own career in theatre, from her early days taking classes and performing in Washington DC and Minneapolis to her nearly two-decade long tenure at the Manhattan Theatre Club; what drew her to TDF and what she hopes the organization can focus on in the coming years; how TDF's subsidy program for theatre productions works; TDF's efforts to introduce students to theatre, with particular attention to the Open Doors program created by Wendy Wasserstein and boasting mentors including William Finn and Frank Rich; and identifies what she believes is perhaps TDF's least known but most influential program. Original air date - September 14, 2009.

Director Pamela Berlin ("Steel Magnolias", "Crossing Delancey"), playwright Cindy Lou Johnson ("Brilliant Traces"), playwright/director Garson Kanin ("Born Yesterday") and playwright Wendy Wasserstein ("The Heidi Chronicles") discuss how they first got involved in playwriting and directing from other areas of writing and theatre, their first professional shows, and play development at Playwrights Horizons and the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center Playwrights Conference.

Director Pamela Berlin (Steel Magnolias, Crossing Delancey), playwright Cindy Lou Johnson (Brilliant Traces), playwright/director Garson Kanin (Born Yesterday) and playwright Wendy Wasserstein (Tony winner for The Heidi Chronicles) discuss how they first got involved in playwriting and directing from other areas of writing and theatre, their first professional shows, and play development at Playwrights Horizons and the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center Playwrights Conference.

Playwrights Horizons artistic director Andre Bishop, legal counsel Marsha Brooks, stage manager Roy Harris, advertising representative Mike Mones, and producer James Walsh discuss Wendy Wasserstein's Pulitzer Prize-winning play "The Heidi Chronicles" and its transfer to Broadway.

Playwrights Horizons artistic director André Bishop, legal counsel Marsha Brooks, stage manager Roy Harris, advertising representative Mike Mones, and producer James Walsh (Tony Awards for I’m Not Rappaport and The Will Rogers Follies) discuss Wendy Wasserstein's Pulitzer Prize-winning play The Heidi Chronicles and its transfer to Broadway.

In October, 1992 Wendy Wasserstein and Daniel Sullivan sat down at Marymount Manhattan College with SDCFoundation and Dramatist Guild members and the general public to talk about how and why they work together.

Lyricist David Zippel discusses the development of "Pamela's First Musical", the challenges posed by the untimely passing of two of his collaborators on the project -- composer Cy Coleman and author Wendy Wasserstein, and the upcoming benefit performance which will mark the show's first public performance. He also talks about his earliest lyric writing efforts, including the pre-Broadway "Rotunda" and "Going Hollywood", an adaptation of "Once in a Lifetime" which is about to get a new workshop presentation 38 years after Zippel first thought to adapt it; how he came to collaborate with Coleman and Larry Gelbart on "City of Angels", before the show's acclaimed dual-story structure was even in place; what drew him to musicalize "The Goodbye Girl"; and the challenge of creating the lyrics his first through-sung musical "The Woman in White", a collaboration with Andrew Lloyd Webber. Original air date - April 25, 2008.

Lyricist David Zippel, who won a 1990 Tony Award for his lyrics to City of Angels, discusses the development of Pamela's First Musical, the challenges posed by the untimely passing of two of his collaborators on the project -- composer Cy Coleman and author Wendy Wasserstein, and the upcoming benefit performance which will mark the show's first public performance. He also talks about his earliest lyric writing efforts, including the pre-Broadway Rotunda and Going Hollywood, an adaptation of Once in a Lifetime which is about to get a new workshop presentation 38 years after Zippel first thought to adapt it; how he came to collaborate with Coleman and Larry Gelbart on City of Angels, before the show's acclaimed dual-story structure was even in place; what drew him to musicalize The Goodbye Girl; and the challenge of creating the lyrics his first through-sung musical The Woman in White, a collaboration with Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Lyricist David Zippel discusses the development of "Pamela's First Musical", the challenges posed by the untimely passing of two of his collaborators on the project -- composer Cy Coleman and author Wendy Wasserstein, and the upcoming benefit performance which will mark the show's first public performance. He also talks about his earliest lyric writing efforts, including the pre-Broadway "Rotunda" and "Going Hollywood", an adaptation of "Once in a Lifetime" which is about to get a new workshop presentation 38 years after Zippel first thought to adapt it; how he came to collaborate with Coleman and Larry Gelbart on "City of Angels", before the show's acclaimed dual-story structure was even in place; what drew him to musicalize "The Goodbye Girl"; and the challenge of creating the lyrics his first through-sung musical "The Woman in White", a collaboration with Andrew Lloyd Webber. Original air date - April 25, 2008.

New York Times reporter Warren St. John discusses how he got one of the main players in the J.T. Leroy hoax to 'fess up, and Jessa Crispin talks about the passing of Betty Friedan and Wendy Wasserstein and which feminist writers should take their place. Also, the UK report from Mark Thwaite, and some letters-to-the-editor.

New York Times reporter Warren St. John discusses how he got one of the main players in the J.T. Leroy hoax to 'fess up, and Jessa Crispin talks about the passing of Betty Friedan and Wendy Wasserstein and which feminist writers should take their place. Also, the UK report from Mark Thwaite, and some letters-to-the-editor.

Bachelor Girls