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Reed and Austin talk about what a busy, hectic, and productive two years it’s been, and how weirdly similar 2012 will be. Featuring insight into the cyclical nature of theatre, tips on regeneration, a special appearance from Jon Weber, host of NPR’s Piano Jazz Rising Stars, and frustratingly vague references to our touring plans for summer 2012. (Length 15:34)
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Braden Abraham, the new artistic director of Chicago’s Writers Theatre, just announced the theater's 31st season, the first one he's programmed since joining the company. Braden talks about what goes into planning a season (and how that thinking never really ends); how a theatre season is like a great album; the importance of being in a learning and discovery phase; remaining in conversation with various overlapping communities; how programming a show in one city leads to a different show in another; the challenge of making each show an event; finding the right balance of scale and intimacy; and the value of bring some west coast energy to the north shore. (Length 19:18)
The About Face Theatre world premiere production of Gender Play, or what you Will is a tour-de-force for its co-creator and star Will Wilhelm, who transforms their own story as a nonbinary actor into a funny and powerful evening that's part seance and part dance party. Will shares their journey of discovery and how this play began as a thrown gauntlet; how Shakespeare’s plays are fundamentally queer, and how Will found themself in them; the difficulty of parsing gender identity, gender performance, and cross-dressing; the importance of creating easy on-ramps to appreciating Shakespeare; and how Gender Play will continue to be a gift to future queer performers who can make it their own. (Length 25:20)
David A. Goodman, the former president of the Writers Guild of America currently leading the negotiations and strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), takes a break from the picket lines to explain why this existential fight is so important. David reveals what's at stake, avoids heroic hyperbole; declines to craft narratives; confides who has the real power in Hollywood; explains the gutting of the American middle-class; possesses an admirable reluctance to participate in childish banter; and expresses gratitude for the extraordinary support the WGA is getting from its sister Hollywood unions. (Length 20:18)
1 Comment
Linda · January 7, 2012 at 10:28 pm
You guys are awesome. I actually have never been to a show but had seen a dvd of you. My sister thought that you were fantastic. She rented the dvd repeatedly and made me watch it. If I could find it again I would buy it. Any plans on being in Minnesota at any time?