Working in the Theatre

Director David Esbjornson ("The Ride Down Mt. Morgan"), director David Leveaux ('The Real Thing"), playwright Becky Mode ("Fully Committed"), director Richard Nelson ("James Joyce's The Dead"), and director/choreographer Lynne Taylor-Corbett ("Swing!") discuss how they became theatre professionals, their work ethic, and their reasons for remaining and working in theatre. Pia Lindstrom & George White moderate.

The production team of Elton John and Tim Rice's "Aida" - musical director Paul Bogaev, press representative Chris Boneau, director Robert Falls, book writer David Henry Hwang, vice president of creative affairs Stuart Oken, and producer Thomas Schumacher - follows the show from its creative inception, through its early production at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, the Chicago tryout, to the Broadway opening.

Actors Jennifer Ehle (Tom Stoppard's "The Real Thing"), Cherry Jones ("Moon for the Misbegotten", "The Heiress"), Adam Pascal ('Aida", "Rent"), John Shea ("The Wild Party", "Jelly's Last Jam"), John Shea ("The Director"), and Patrick Stewart ("A Christmas Carol", "The Ride Down Mt. Morgan") discuss how and why they chose to be performers, their education and training, their work ethic, how one embodies a character, the craft of acting, and why they work in the theatre. Peter Stone moderates.

Playwrights David Auburn ("Proof") and Charles Busch ("The Tale of the Allergist's Wife"), director/choreographer George Faison ("For Colored Girls"), choreographers David Marques ("The Adventures of Tom Sawyer") and Jerry Mitchell ("The Full Monty"), and director John Rando ("The Dinner Party") discuss their experiences in professional theatre, including their backgrounds, creative processes, rehearsals, and transfers to Broadway from off-Broadway and out-of-town productions. Ted Chapin moderates.

The creative and production team of the Broadway musical The Full Monty -- producer Thomas Hall, press representative Michael Hartman, producer Lindsay Law, director Jack O'Brien, general manager Charlotte Wilcox, and composer/lyricist David Yazbek -- follows the show from its inception as a work for the stage, adapted from the 1997 hit comedy film, through to the production on the Great White Way. Roy A. Somlyo.

Oscar, Emmy and five-time American Theatre Wing Tony Award winner, Peter Stone moderates this discussion with lyricist Susan Birkenhead ("Triumph of Love", "Jelly's Last Jam"), composers/lyricists John Kander and Fred Ebb ("Cabaret", "Chicago", "Woman of the Year", 'Steel Pier", "The Act'), composer Marvin Hamlisch ('A Chorus Line", "They're Playing Our Song", "The Sweet Smell of Success"), and award-winning country songwriter/composer Don Schlitz (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer). The panel talks about the process of musical songwriting, collaboration with other writers, writing songs in conjunction with the book, learning from influential composers, through-composed shows compared to book musicals, pros and cons of workshops, their backgrounds, and their first shows. Peter Stone moderates.

Actors Len Cariou, Patrick Cassidy, Andre De Shields, Michael Learned, Mary Louise Parker, and Marian Seldes talk not only about their careers and their training, but also about the drive, the passion, and the knowledge needed to achieve a career in the theatre. Pia Lindstrom moderates.