Running Regional Theatres: On January 7, 1987, Artistic Directors Nagle Jackson (of Hartford Stage) and Mark Lamos (of McCarter Theatre) sat down with director Mary Robinson to speak about leadership in regional theatre. Jackson and Lamos discuss the challenges they face throughout their day-to-day routines and the struggle to balance the administrative and artistic aspects of the job. These artistic directors offer insight into the politics of and logistics behind choosing a season and the effe...
Apr 04, 2014•1 hr 22 min
On Tuesday, December 4, 2012, the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society hosted a panel on women directors and choreographers in Chicago with Rachel Rockwell, Joanie Schultz, Kimberly Senior, and Leigh Silverman. This informal town-hall discussion explores the positive and negative experiences women may encounter while pursuing a career as a director or choreographer. The conversation includes deliberation on the unique challenges and opportunities facing women directors and choreographers i...
Apr 04, 2014•1 hr 21 min
Playwright/Director 1987: In 1987, SDCF and the Dramatists Guild jointly held a panel discussion exploring the symbiotic and complex relationship between playwright and director. Peter Stone moderates a panel of playwrights and directors including Sam Bobrick, Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey, David Henry Hwang, Bernet Kellman, Tom Moore, David Rosenak, Gene Saks, and Stephen Tobolowsky. The consensus from this riveting 90-minute discussion is that the playwright/director relationship and the process o...
Apr 04, 2014•1 hr 23 min
On Tuesday, December 6, 2011, SDCF hosted a conversation between sound designers Jill BC Du Boff ( Good People, Bill Maher: Victory Begins at Home ), Brett Jarvis ( Kiki and Herb - Alive on Broadway!, The Donkey Show ), and Rob Kaplowitz ( Fela!, Pumpgirl ) to find out how to work with designers to maximize the creativity and productivity of sound design. Designing the sound of a production is not only about finding the right sound effects or choosing the right song - it is its own art form that...
Apr 04, 2014•1 hr 16 min
Understanding Automation: On January 7, 2013, SDCF spoke with Production Managers/Technical Directors David Benken and Martin Pavloff about "Understanding Automation: What Every Director Should Know Before Technical Rehearsals." This is a master class on automation from two practitioners who have supervised automated lights and scenery for Broadway and touring productions including The Lion King, Magic/Bird, Woman in White, Mary Poppins , and the 2008 - 2011 touring production of Dreamgirls . Pa...
Apr 04, 2014•1 hr 9 min
On December 17, 2012, SDCF and SDC hosted a discussion of Theatre for Social Change with guests Erik Ehn and Kamilah Forbes (Hip Hop Theatre Festival) moderated by SDCF Producing Director Ellen Rusconi. Erik Ehn, a playwright, director, and educator, produces the Arts in the One World conference yearly, is Current Director of Writing for Performance at Brown University, and a founder of the RAT movement. Kamilah Forbes is the Artistic Director of the Hip-Hop Theater Festival (HHTF), a non-profit...
Apr 04, 2014•1 hr 12 min
Robert Lewis: On November 2, 1987, SDCF hosted a talk by Robert Lewis, a founding member of Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, the Group Theatre, and the Actors Studio. He speaks with great charisma and dynamism of the founding of the Group Theatre, the Actors Studio, his experiences with some of the greatest stage actors of the 20th century (including Julie Harris, John Garfield), his views on a variety of topics including the reason for the lack of theatre companies, the absence of...
Apr 04, 2014•1 hr 1 min
On February 27, 1986, SDCF held a conversation on Effective Playwriting with Directors Stephen Porter and Howard Rossen, moderated by Playwright Stephen Fife. The jumping off point of this conversation is Somerset Maugham's quote "The purpose of prose drama is to afford delight. I do not think it can usefully concern itself with the welfare of humanity or the saving of civilization. In my opinion, what the theatre does best is to give pleasure by telling a story, delineating character, and by st...
Apr 04, 2014•1 hr 18 min
Downtown Opportunities for Directors and Choreographers: On October 1, 1998, SDCF hosted a panel on Downtown Opportunities for Directing and Choreography featuring producers from the vibrant downtown NY theatre scene including John Clancy, Ellie Covan, Kristin Marting, Wendy Rohan, Mark Russell, and David Tyree. These artistic leaders at the head of particularly prolific producing and presenting organizations discuss everything an artist or producer needs to know about working through these orga...
Apr 04, 2014•1 hr 19 min
On September 25, 1996, James Graves, Associate Director of SDCF, moderated a panel about Directing Opera. Panelists included Lillian Garrett-Groag, Mark Lamos, and Rhoda Levine. With great vibrancy and humor, the panelists consider the challenges of working in foreign countries, methods to navigate working in a foreign language, and the skills and knowledge necessary for theatre artists to work in opera. Most interestingly, their backgrounds are varied: a choreographer (Ms. Levine), a musician a...
Apr 04, 2014•1 hr 27 min
On November 20, 1996, SDCF in partnership with The Drama League explored the subject of Career Transitions with a panel of four Directors and Choreographers - Seth Barrish, Kathleen Marshall, Richard Sabellico, and Marlies Yearby - who had recently reached a new point in career. Listen to this discussion to discover how their transitions came about, the experiences and encounters that led these artists to new opportunities on projects with higher profiles, and the challenges to process that come...
Apr 04, 2014•1 hr 28 min
On October 1, 2012, Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation in partnership with Broadway Green Alliance (BGA) held a conversation entitled Directing Green at the New Amsterdam Theatre in New York. Director/Choreographer John Carrafa, SDC's representative to BGA, led this discussion, which starts with Allen Hershkowitz, Senior Scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), describing the state of the global environment and the critical role the entertainment industry can play in...
Apr 04, 2014•1 hr 25 min
In 1996, the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation and the Drama League co-sponsored a discussion with then SDC Executive Director Barbara Hauptman, SDC Attorney Ron Shechtman, and director Pamela Berlin moderated by David Diamond about protection of intellectual property rights for stage directors. Through personal anecdotes regarding the controversial productions of Love! Valour! Compassion! originally directed by Joe Mantello and The Most Happy Fella directed by Gerald Gutierrez which...
Apr 04, 2014•1 hr 23 min
On July 23, 2012, Director Stafford Arima (2012 revisal of Carrie, Altar Boyz ) and Director/Choreographer Christopher Windom ( Central Avenue Breakdown ) spoke with SDCF Producing Director Ellen Rusconi at a Director/Choreographer Network panel hosted by The New York Musical Theatre Festival discussion about developing new musicals. These two artists offer their experiences in developing musicals in a variety of ways - festivals, workshops, regional productions - and share insight into his indi...
Apr 04, 2014•1 hr 27 min
Critics' Perceptions of Directors' Work: On March 1, 1984 director James Furlong moderated a panel of theater critics featuring Theater Editor for Village Voice Erika Munk, Theater Critic for WNEW-TV Stewart Klein, and Theater Critic for New York Magazine John Simon. They address the impact of good and bad reviews and the dynamic relationship between theater artists and critics. The discussion includes what these particular critics perceive as good direction, the criteria they use when analyzing...
Apr 04, 2014•1 hr 8 min
On October 28, 1985, Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation invited Peter Zeisler to moderate a panel featuring journalists Thulani Davis and Erika Munk, playwright William Hoffman, and directors Rhoda Levine, Judith Malina, and Emily Mann. They speak in-depth about the role of theatre in society in the past, present, and how it is evolving into the future. In this conversation, theatre's reach and impact is compared to the mediums of film and television. Other topics include how fiction ...
Apr 04, 2014•46 min
Producers Symposium 1983: On February 25, 1983, director Nola Hague moderated a panel featuring esteemed producers Nelle Nugent, T. Edward Hambleton, and Michel Stuart, and director Judith Haskell. This passionate and experienced group spoke about the collaboration between directors and producers. Drawing from personal experience they share their beliefs on qualities that constitute a good director and producer. They divulge lessons learned from experiences over the span of their careers. Other ...
Apr 04, 2014•1 hr 30 min
Artistic Directors: In 1999, SDCF hosted a panel moderated by Executive Director of SSDC, Barbara Hauptman featuring Artistic Director of Adobe Theatre Company Jeremy Dobrish, Artistic Director of Drama Dept. Theatre Company Douglas Carter Beane, Artistic Director of Blue Light Theater Company Greg Naughton, Artistic Director of Abingdon Theatre Company Jan Buttram, and Co-Artistic Director of The Barrow Group Seth Barrish. The panelists discuss the importance of the collaborative approach and s...
Apr 04, 2014•1 hr 8 min
On April 24, 2012, SDCF hosted entertainment attorney Neil Rosini, of Franklin, Weinrib, Vassallo, and Rudell, to speak about how artists can use existing work to create new work without infringing on copyright. Rosini paints a clear picture of the nature of rights under copyright. He covers reproduction, adaptation, distribution, public performance, and public display. Other topics include the infringement of copyright and the fair use defense. Rosini also covers how to test for transformativen...
Apr 04, 2014•1 hr 27 min
On Saturday, May 19, 2012, Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation (SDCF) hosted a One-on-One Conversation at Playwrights Horizons' Peter Jay Sharp Theater with award-winning theatre makers Elizabeth LeCompte, Founding Member and Director of The Wooster Group, and Young Jean Lee, Artistic Director of Young Jean Lee's Theater Company. Moderated by Kristin Marting, Co-Founder/Artistic Director of HERE, these two highly accomplished, adventurous theatre artists talk about how they build their...
Apr 04, 2014•1 hr 15 min
On April 2, 2012, SDCF invited entertainment attorney Elliot Brown to speak about securing theatrical adaptation rights with SDCF Producing Director Ellen Rusconi. Brown gives animated examples of when adaptation rights are and are not necessary. He sheds light on how to start the process of engaging an attorney when interested in creating a piece of theater from an article, book, or film and he walks through what the concerns are of the rights-holder. Brown also speaks about standard arrangemen...
Apr 04, 2014•1 hr 14 min
On May 14, 2012, SDCF hosted a One-on-One conversation at the Axis Theatre Company in New York between theatre artists Lee Breuer and Taylor Mac, hybrid theatre artists of limitless imagination and inventiveness working mostly in experimental theatre both nationally and internationally, moderated by Mark Russell, Artistic Director and Producer of the Under the Radar Festival produced by The Public Theater. These artists, who work in multiple disciplines, discuss gaining power through their indiv...
Apr 04, 2014•1 hr 23 min
On April 30, 2012, SDCF hosted a One-on-One conversation between Walter Bobbie and Sam Gold moderated by John Clinton Eisner. They discuss their shared background in performance and respective discoveries that they are better suited for directing. Bobbie shares his career trajectory and the strategic choices he made in order to become the artist he wants to be. Gold speaks about building a New York based career and how the turning point in his career came so quickly. Both directors go into great...
Apr 04, 2014•1 hr 22 min
Directing Shakespeare: Casting - It's A Bear: On April 29, 2001 members of a Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation panel simulated a first casting session of The Winter's Tale . The discussion is moderated by Artistic Producer of the Joseph Papp Public Theatre/New York Shakespeare Festival Rosemarie Tichler and featured Casting Directors Stuart Howard and Jordan Thaler. Originally recorded - April 29, 2001. Running Time - 1:31:35 © 2001 SDCF
Apr 04, 2014•1 hr 32 min
On April 28, 2001, Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation invited Arthur Bartow, Artistic Director of the Drama Department at NYU Tisch, to moderate a conversation between Michael Lupu, Senior Dramaturg at the Guthrie Theater; Mark Bly, Associate Artistic Director of Yale Rep; Louis Scheeder of Classical Studio NYU Tisch; and freelance director Daniel Fish about working on Shakespeare. This discussion gives great insight into the role of dramaturgs in assisting directors; their visions of...
Apr 04, 2014•1 hr 12 min
On April 28, 2001, Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation invited Arthur Bartow, Artistic Director of the Drama Department at NYU Tisch, to moderate a conversation between Michael Lupu, Senior Dramaturg at the Guthrie Theater; Mark Bly, Associate Artistic Director of Yale Rep; Louis Scheeder of Classical Studio NYU Tisch; and freelance director Daniel Fish about working on Shakespeare. This discussion gives great insight into the role of dramaturgs in assisting directors; their visions of...
Apr 04, 2014•1 hr 16 min
In 2001, five directors in the "Directing Shakespeare Symposium" sat down with moderator and set designer Ming Cho Lee for a unique experiment regarding the relationship between director and designers, specifically concerning a Shakespearean text. A mock first production meeting was held for an imaginary staging of A Winter's Tale , with the designers being told to end the meeting with the inspiration to go home, pick up a pencil, and not need to talk with the director for the next two weeks. Th...
Apr 04, 2014•56 min
On Monday, June 27th, 2011, SDC's Gretchen Michelfeld talked to veteran scenic designers Rachel Hauck (The Public, BAM, The Vineyard, South Coast Rep, and Eugene O'Neill Resident Set Designer) and Nick Francone (Prospect Theater Company, SPF, Six Figures, New Georges, E.S.T., Santa Fe Opera, assistant on Wicked and Opera) about their experiences collaborating with a variety of directors. They discussed aspects of successful production meetings, dealing with repertory sets, the strangest designs ...
Apr 04, 2014•1 hr 22 min
On April 28, 2001, Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation invited NYU voice and dialect coach Deborah Hecht, Juilliard Chairman of Voice and Speech Ralph Zito, director Mark Lamos, actor Oni Faida Lampley, and actor Boris McGiver for a conversation about the importance of text work. Louis Scheeder, Director and Founder of Classical Studio at NYU Tisch moderates. Topics include speech interpretation, the process of making stylistic choices, and the necessities of physical endurance. Origin...
Apr 04, 2014•1 hr 25 min
2011 DCN: Broadway Stage Managers' Secrets Revealed: On May 25th, 2011, SDC's Gretchen Michelfeld spoke with three Broadway Production Stage Managers about their experiences. Stage Managers Jill Cordle ( Jerusalem ), Heather Cousens ( Spring Awakening ), and Ira Mont ( Arcadia ) give advice to early career directors on time management, speak to building trust and collaboration, and discuss the smartest things they've seen directors do. They offer first-hand knowledge on the relationship between ...
Apr 04, 2014•49 min
