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We love playing the Kennedy Center in Washington DC in the summer because we get to bring our kids. This week we find out what’s fun to do in DC if you’re a kid, and discover zip line safety tips, the semi-permanence of temporary exhibits, gateway card games, a special appearance by Holly Morris from Fox Morning News, and the difference between a grownup’s and a child’s definition of ‘fun’. (MP3. Length 18:31)
Podcast: Download (Duration: 18:31 — 17.0MB)
What happens when you’re a five-person theatre company whose stage manager is too sick to fly and the shipping company won’t deliver your props and costumes? Reed Martin explains what happened last month when those hiccups affected our performances of The Ultimate Christmas Show (abridged) in Oregon and Washington. It’s a tale of improvisation; scrambling and calling on reserves; promoting from within; early mornings and late nights; the beauty of muscle memory; all hands being on deck all across the country; getting the chance to admire beautiful scenery; not panicking; the show going on; and the whole thing turning into a Christmas (ultimate) miracle. (Length 19:47)
Mary Hartman, the director of education at Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival in Vancouver, BC, Canada, shares her philosophy for Shakespeare education and its emphasis on play. Mary reveals why threads is a better term than themes; how Shakespeare’s plays should not be poetry readings; how she's developed the Discovery Zone, an extensive free resource for both students and educators; and how so much of Shakespeare’s power is not just in his words, but in the relationship of actors to each other and to the audience. NOTE: This conversation was recorded the night before we learned Tina Packer, the Founding Artistic Director of Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, Massachusetts and an acclaimed director, actor, writer, and teacher, died at the age of 87. Tina was a mentor to generations of artists, scholars, and educators, including Mary, and so this conversation is an unintentionally timely tribute to and celebration of the legacy of Tina Packer. (Length 19:30)
Cathy Sandrich is the Emmy-winning casting director of The Pitt, HBO's Emmy-winning outstanding drama beginning its second season this week. A veteran of various "big boy movies," Cathy reveals how she sees thousands of actors for hundreds of roles; the supreme importance of lists; how one starts over with every project; the importance of strong and truthful choices; how casting directors have to audition just like actors and, also like actors, don't like to be pegged; how good is always good but sometimes not quite right; and, most encouragingly, how great auditions are never wasted. (Length 22:09)
7 Comments
Patricia · July 13, 2011 at 10:27 am
Thanks for a great show and for signing my book! I missed my Kodak moment though. 🙁 How long do you guys stay after each performance?
Also, do you know why you guys weren’t on the cover of the Playbill?
austin · July 13, 2011 at 6:38 am
We don’t use any language you can’t hear on network television (not a RINGING endorsement, I know), but most innuendo will fly over kids’ heads. We’ve had lots of kids come to show but you know your own kids best. Our standard answer is our shows are rated PG-13 – Pretty Good If You’re Thirteen.
RITA · July 13, 2011 at 6:27 am
Want to take family to 7/19 performance “Sports, etc.” . Don’t like bad (foul) language, how is this show? Thanx
Emily · July 12, 2011 at 4:06 pm
Have you checked out the Crime & Punishment Museum?
Also, I was surprised I didn’t hear Rippy or Dominic on the podcast, considering they’re RSC kids too, at least character-wise… 🙂
austin · July 7, 2011 at 8:27 pm
Thanks for the heads-up, Pat! We fixed it and it’s on iTunes now.
Pat · July 7, 2011 at 2:09 pm
The current podcast is not showing on ITunes.
Jay Roberts · July 6, 2011 at 4:49 am
Great show last night guys (except for the drunk lady), my gut is still hurting.
Sports will never be the same!
(Reed – Thanks for the brief conversation – Love your Mays jersey – Go Giants!!)