Working in the Theatre

The panel of performers - Mary Alice ("Having Our Say"), Matthew Broderick ("How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying"), Alan Campbell ("Sunset Boulevard"), Gloria Foster ("Having Our Say"), John Glover ("Love! Valour! Compassion!"), Robert Sean Leonard ("Arcadia"), and Helen Mirren ("A Month In The Country") - talk about how they got started performing, what lessons and training they had, the challenges of working on their current productions, and the playwright's involvement in a production. Brendan Gill moderates.

The panel - playwright/actor Dan Butler ("The Only Thing Worse You Could Have Told Me"), playwright Tom Dulack ("Breaking Legs"), director Scott Ellis ("A Month In The Country"), playwright Keith Glover ("Dancing On Moonlight"), director Sean Mathias ("Indiscretions"), director Gregory Mosher ("Cryptogram"), director Lisa Peterson ("Slavs"), and literary agent Jack Tantleff - talk about where they began their careers, playwrights who direct their own work, funding for non-profit and regional theatres, and the role of casting directors. Brendan Gill & George White moderate.

The production team of "Love! Valour! Compassion!" - general manager Victoria Bailey, press representative Helene Davis, managing director Barry Grove, director Joe Mantello, playwright Terrence McNally, and artistic director Lynne Meadow - discuss giving playwrights a home at Manhattan Theatre Club, director and playwright working together for the first time, transferring to a Broadway production, ticket pricing, and participating in the Broadway Alliance. Brendan Gill & George White moderate.

Goodspeed Opera House's team - director/lyricist Martin Charnin ("Annie"), press representative Max Eisen, associate producer Sue Frost, musical supervisor Michael O'Flaherty, director Charles Repole ("Gentleman Prefer Blondes"), and general manager Howard Sherman - discuss Goodspeed's history and focus on the American musical, the business aspects of a regional theatre, being a part of the community, and the advantages of developing production at a distance from New York. George White moderates.

The panel of performers - Betty Buckley ("Sunset Blvd"), Liz Callaway ("Cats"), Valerie Harper ("Death Defying Acts"), Brian Murray ("Racing Demon'), Roger Rees (Tom Stoppard's "Indiscretions"), Frances Sternhagen ("The Heiress") - talk about the different ways they started in the business, training at the Royal Shakespeare Company, notable acting teachers, how to prepare for auditions, replacing in a show with an abbreviated rehearsal period, and how to keep performances fresh during a long run. Brendan Gill moderates.

The multi-disciplined panelists -- director/choreographer Jeff Calhoun ("Busker Alley"), director/playwright Michael Leeds ("Swinging on a Star"), actor/playwright Anne Meara ("After-Play"), director Mike Ockrent ("Big", "Crazy For You", "Me and My Girl"), director/choreographer Lee Roy Reams ("Hello, Dolly!" revival), director Lloyd Richards ("Fences"), and director John Tillinger ("Deathtrap") -- discuss the director's role in relationship to the playwright, the differences in developing of musicals and plays, directing revivals, the challenges of auditions, and the pros and cons of workshops. Brendan Gill & George White moderate.

The "Moon Over Buffalo" production team -- press representative Adrian Bryan-Brown, designer/producer Heidi Landesman, producer Elizabeth Williams, general managers Wendy Orshan and Jeffrey M. Wilson of 101 Productions, and Serino Coyne advertising representative Ruth Rosenberg -- discuss the process of bringing Ken Ludwig's play to Broadway, fro m the first reading, casting Carol Burnett, finding a director, creating the $2.4 million budget including an out-of-town tryout, to advertising, press coverage and opening night reviews. Adrian Bryan-Brown & Brendan Gill moderate.

The design team of "The Heiress" -- scenic designer John Lee Beatty, lightning designer Beverly Emmons, costume designer Jane Greenwood, director Gerald Gutierrez and actor Cherry Jones -- discuss the interwoven details of their production, from natural period lighting for the enclosed sets, to background colors complementing the costumes, and the advantages of collaborating on previous works. Mask/puppet designer Ralph Lee demonstrates the large puppets worn by actors in "Heart Of The Earth: A Popul Vuh Story". Tish Dace & Brendan Gill moderate.