Working in the Theatre

Four of Broadway's newest and brightest stars - Ashley Brown (Mary Poppins), Jonathan Groff (Spring Awakening), Alison Pill (Mauritius) and John Lloyd Young (Jersey Boys) - discuss their road to the Broadway stage, the mentors who helped them, where their drive to perform comes from, their earliest roles, how they handle the audition process, facing their fears, keeping their voices in shape and what roles they'd love to play in the future. Pia Lindstrom moderates.

In a one-on-one interview with playwright Horton Foote he talks about his early career as an actor, who was responsible for his becoming a playwright, how his connection to the past inspires his writing, what it was like to write for television's Golden Age, writing for different mediums, including his Oscar winning screenplays, and the influence his hometown of Wharton, Texas has had on his life and his work. He's then joined by four artists who have worked with him in recent years - his daughter, actress Hallie Foote; James Houghton, Artistic Director of Signature Theatre; Andrew Leynse, Artistic Director of Primary Stages; and Michael Wilson, Artistic Director of Hartford Stage - who discuss their roles in interpreting Foote's stories, the impact regional theatre has had in presenting his works, and how Horton Foote's plays relate to today's audiences. Howard Sherman moderates.

A panel of current New Dramatists playwrights -- Carlyle Brown, David Grimm, Quiara Alegría Hudes and Lucy Thurber -- talk about their differing styles of playwriting, what inspired them to start writing, how the world of the playwright has evolved and changed, what influences their writing and the challenges in getting their work produced. The program also includes an interview with New Dramatists Artistic Director Todd London, discussing how New Dramatists serves as haven for emerging playwrights and describing the new voice of the playwright, the opportunities for playwrights on and off Broadway and the different types of work being written today. Jeffrey Eric Jenkins moderates.

A panel of acclaimed, Tony Award-winning composers and lyricists - Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty, William Finn and Adam Guettel - discuss their first theatrical experiences, the process of writing and composing, what's involved in working with a partner, early influences on their music, and where they find inspiration; offer advice for students; and demonstrate their craft by playing a bit of their work. Pia Lindstrom moderates

The Artistic Directors of four off-Broadway not-for-profit theater companies - Douglas Aibel of Vineyard Theater, Charlotte Moore of Irish Repertory Theater, Tim Sanford of Playwrights Horizons and Jim Simpson of The Flea Theater - share their thoughts about attracting audiences to their shows, the cost of keeping their theaters going, the challenges they face competing with commercial productions, how they choose the works performed on their stages and what they hope to accomplish for their companies in the next several years. Howard Sherman moderates.

Our panel of stage performers - Helen Carey, Elizabeth Franz, Jayne Houdyshell and Zeljko Ivanek - discuss their roles as featured actors and actresses, the range of work available to them, how they become their characters, dealing with stage fright and forgetting their lines, the audition process, performing in regional theater and how they prepare for each evening's performance. Pia Lindstrom moderates.

Our distinguished panel of theatre directors - Anne Bogart, Scott Ellis and Daniel Sullivan - discuss their early influences in theatre and how that impacted their work as directors, why they have such a strong and emotional reaction to the idea of "concept" in the directing process, their opposing opinions on the role of assistants, what plays interest them and which works they wouldn't direct, whether they each approach the process differently when directing a new work or a revival, and whether they feel directing is something that can be taught. Howard Sherman moderates.

Ranging from their start in a church basement in 1976 to their current Broadway production of August: Osage County, Steppenwolf Theater Company Co-Founder Jeff Perry and Steppenwolf Ensemble Members Laurie Metcalf, Amy Morton and Rondi Reed discuss their formative years as a rebel theater group in Chicago, what they did in those early years to attract audiences, how the ensemble has evolved, how Steppenwolf transformed from upstart to institution, the development of August: Osage County, and the challenges that a New York success like August places on their work back home in Chicago. Ted Chapin moderates.

With backgrounds rooted in rock and roll, television comedy and comics, our 4 guests have made the leap from their day jobs to the stages of Broadway and Off Broadway with their musicals. Ben Katchor (The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island), David Javerbaum (Cry-Baby), Heidi Rodewald (Passing Strange) and Stew (Passing Strange) discuss adjusting to the collaborative world of theater, the rules of theater they think were made to be broken, their reaction to producers' notes, and how they feel their shows fit within the context of traditional musicals. Ted Chapin moderates.

Actors Roger Bart (Young Frankenstein), Brian d'Arcy James (Next To Normal), Priscilla Lopez (In The Heights) and Sherie Rene Scott (The Little Mermaid) - collectively veterans of more than 30 Broadway and off-Broadway musicals - talk about the differences between performing in musicals and straight plays; acting techniques and voice training; how they prepare for a performance; dealing with the "triple threat" of acting, singing and dancing; balancing their lives on and off stage and their opinions on today's new composers. Melissa Rose Bernardo moderates.

A trio of classical theatre veterans - Kate Fleetwood, Peter Francis James and Laila Robins - share their thoughts about the importance of language in performing the classics and the physical connection they feel to the language; why the classics force audiences to think; the reaction of younger audiences to classical theatre; tackling the pre-conceived ideas held by audiences about the classics; and their opinion on setting the plays in different eras. Howard Sherman moderates

What is the role of a producer? That was the question that started the discussion among four of Broadway's top producers - Roger Berlind, Margo Lion, Jeffrey Richards and Jeffrey Seller - as the conversation turned to whether they produce for profit or passion and how they balance between the two; what the shows they produce reveal about themselves; what the opportunities are for new producers; the increased role the internet and other new media plays in theater today; the escalating cost of producing a show on Broadway today; and what they feel are the major issues facing theater producers as they look to the future. Gordon Cox moderates.