On April 28, 2014, director/choreographer Susan Stroman visited the SDCF Symposium on Musicals. In this Q&A session with early-career directors and choreographers, Ms. Stroman shares the story of how her career began, imparting guidance about several dimensions of the craft—from the design process to working with a dance arranger. Listen in as this master director reminds her audience—and all of us—that the more directors know about their fellow collaborators, the more prepared they will be;...
Feb 28, 2016•1 hr 16 min
On June 23rd, 2014, Director Jack O’Brien visited the Emerging Artists Symposium for Plays and spoke with SDC Members about his career as well as his advice for the next generation. As O’Brien touches on his early days with the APA-Phoenix Repertory Company, his experiences with Porgy and Bess , his time at the Old Globe, and other phases in his career, he shares perspective gained on creating, re-creating, and directing. Overall, this is an insightful discussion that is sure to fascinate emergi...
Feb 01, 2016•1 hr 10 min
This is the first in a series curated by Thomas Kail, director of Hamilton and In the Heights, and featuring Kail in conversation with some of the most fascinating directors currently working on the American stage. In this podcast Kail and Stafford Arima engage in a lively conversation about their careers and the theatrical worlds that have shaped them. Throughout their hour-long session, the two artists discuss many questions that often come up in their work and ultimately engage in a critical ...
Nov 02, 2015•1 hr 4 min
On January 27, 2014, SDCF hosted a DCN with director Michael John Warren to discuss his experiences with filming “live captures” of Broadway musicals like RENT and Shrek .
Feb 19, 2015•1 hr 19 min
On August 25, 2014, director Jeremy Cohen moderated a conversation with panelists and fellow directors Leigh Silverman and Joel Sass at the Guthrie Theater. Listen in to learn about the views, experiences, and lives of these two master directors.
Feb 04, 2015•1 hr 32 min
On January 17, 2011, SDCF hosted a One-on-One Conversation with Berkeley Repertory Theatre Artistic Director Tony Taccone.
Jan 20, 2015•1 hr 17 min
At the 2013 Emerging Artist Symposium on Plays, SDC’s Executive Director Laura Penn spoke with acclaimed theatre and film director Daniel Sullivan on the art and practice of directing.
Jan 06, 2015•55 min
At the June 17, SDCF 2013 Emerging Artist Symposium on Plays, SDCF Producing Director Ellen Rusconi moderated a discussion with directors Shelley Butler, Benjamin Endsley Klein, and Tony Speciale about the transition from assistant to director. Listen as they compare stories and experiences illustrating their unique transitions into directing their own work.
Dec 16, 2014•1 hr 13 min
On April 30, 2012, Walter Bobbie and Sam Gold discussed their shared background in performance and respective discoveries that they are better suited for directing. Both directors go into great detail about how they find collaborators, how to give notes to a director, and the generous professionals who helped them when they were getting their start.
Dec 02, 2014•1 hr 23 min
At SDCF’s annual Emerging Artist Symposium on Musicals on May 20, 2013, SDCF Producing Director Ellen Rusconi moderated a conversation with Executive Board President and director/choreographer Karen Azenberg. Listen as they discuss Karen’s transition from working as a freelance director/choreographer to her current position as Artistic Director of Salt Lake City’s Pioneer Theatre Company, and how those experiences can help emerging artists in their careers.
Nov 18, 2014•50 min
On June 17, 2013, SDC Foundation hosted a symposia with the Director of Artistic Development at Manhattan Theatre Club, Jerry Patch on how new play development differs between New York and the regions.
Nov 04, 2014•57 min
On June 12, 2013, directors Pam MacKinnon and Kathleen Marshall spoke with SDCF Producing Director Ellen Rusconi about their work and career.
Oct 22, 2014•1 hr 38 min
On July 22, 2013, SDCF and New York’s Culture Project co-hosted a panel discussion on generating your own work. The panel consisted of three highly regarded artists: Rachel Alderman, Leigh Fondakowski, and Maija Garcia.
Oct 08, 2014•1 hr 9 min
On July 8, 2013, SDCF hosted a panel discussion focused on the future of musical theatre. The panel featured writer Rick Elice, songwriter Jeff Bowen, singer/songwriter Amanda Green, director Stafford Arima, choreographer Kelly Devine and songwriter Benj Pasek. This conversation zeroes in on collaboration, the audition process and accepted genres of music as changing factors in the development of musical theatre today.
Sep 24, 2014•1 hr 53 min
In June 2011, Thomas Kail sat in conversation with Joe Mantello backstage at the Golden Theater. From Mantello's dressing room, their conversation traces his arc from actor to director and back, and the responsibility of taking risks to continue to evolve throughout a career.
Sep 10, 2014•1 hr 1 min
Recorded in 1989 by SDC Foundation, How to Use A Dramaturg explores the invaluable and often misunderstood position of dramaturgy in the theatrical process. Moderated by James Leverett, the panel consisted of playwright Richard Dresser, New York Theatre Workshop Artistic Director Jim Nicola, freelance dramaturg Morgan Jenness, and Playwrights Horizons Literary Manager Tim Sanford.
Aug 27, 2014•1 hr 25 min
On March 24, 2014, director Sean Mathias and designer Derek McLane sat down for a One-on-One coversation at New York’s National Opera Center. Listen as they discuss the collaborative exchange between directors and designers while detailing many of their individual styles and techniques.
Aug 13, 2014•1 hr 31 min
On May 20, 2013, at the Emerging Artists Symposium on Musicals, SDCF hosted a panel discussion called “The Cycle of Assisting” with dir/chor Maija Garcia and directors Shaun Peknic and Seth Sklar-Hey.
Jul 23, 2014•1 hr
On April 29, 2014, director Anne Bogart moderated a One-on-One discussion with directors Bartlett Sher and Julie Taymor at New York’s National Opera Center. Listen as they discuss their respective backgrounds, training, and inspirations.
Jul 02, 2014•1 hr 34 min
At the SDCF 2013 Emerging Artist Symposium on Plays on June 17, 2013, SDCF hosted legendary director Marshall Mason to speak about his extraordinary collaboration with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lanford. Mason's collaboration with Wilson has been certified by Playbill as the longest collaboration between a writer and director in the history of the American theater, and is perhaps the finest example of collaboration in the recent American Theatre. Listen in is as Mason gives his personal a...
Apr 04, 2014•1 hr 6 min
At its 2013 Emerging Artist Symposium on Plays, SDCF hosted Artistic Director and Managing Director of The Builders Association, Marianne Weems and Erica Laird, in conversation on the process of directing and producing a production using multi-media elements. Listen as they share the intricacies involved in rehearsing and maintaining a piece when working with both human and non-human counterparts and how to fuse the two to symbiotically create a piece of holistic, organic art. The two will share...
Apr 04, 2014•1 hr 4 min
At its 2013 Emerging Artist Symposium on Musicals, SDCF hosted Tony nominated Dan Knechtges ( Lysistrata Jones, Xanadu, Spelling Bee ) in conversation with Producing Director Ellen Rusconi on his experiences directing and choreographing musicals from the classics to more contemporary works. From his theatre experiences while growing up in Cleveland to his transition from performer to the other side of the table, this discussion - peppered with a dash of humor, sentiment, and survival jobs - exam...
Apr 04, 2014•59 min
A Director's Life: Creative Development and Renewal: On June 18, 2011, SDCF Executive Director Laura Penn moderated a panel at the TCG conference featuring Gil Cates, Curt Columbus, Jeffrey Horowitz, Susan Medak, Madeline Puzo, and Julie Taymor to consider the centrality of the director's role in theatre today. This panel of well-regarded directors and national theatre leaders engages in thoughtful and dynamic discussion about how directors grow as distinctive artists over a lifetime and how the...
Apr 04, 2014•1 hr 22 min
Mary Overlie and Moisés Kaufman: On May 19th, 1999, Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation hosted a One-on-One Conversation with Moisés Kaufman, playwright, director and founder of Tectonic Theater Project, and Mary Overlie, the discoverer of Viewpoints. The two artists discuss the meaning behind theatrical theory and how that relates to their work. Kaufman describes his process in developing The Laramie Project as an exploration of relating theatre to recent current events. He and his co...
Apr 04, 2014•1 hr 29 min
Staging Revivals: Marcia Milgrom Dodge and Chet Walker: At the SDCF 2013 Emerging Artist Symposium on Musicals on May 20, 2013, internationally-acclaimed director/choreographers Chet Walker and Marcia Milgrom Dodge shared their expertise of applying a fresh perspective to the revival of a musical subsequent to an iconic production. They share their personal artistic processes, the questions they ask of a piece, and their thoughts on casting actors’ familiar with prior productions. This candid an...
Apr 04, 2014•1 hr 9 min
At its 2013 Emerging Artist Symposium on Musicals, Robyn Goodman, Commercial Producer and Founder of Second Stage Theatre, spoke with SDCF Producing Director Ellen Rusconi about discovering talent and developing new work in today's dynamic theatre climate. Goodman ( Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, Avenue Q, In the Heights, Altar Boyz ) infuses her perspective as an actor turned producer with a well-rounded view of a production from page to stage and everything in between. Listen to her as ...
Apr 04, 2014•1 hr 10 min
On July 13, 2013, Stage Directors and Choreographer Foundation hosted a One-on-One Conversation with acclaimed Director, Choreographer, and Movement Director Steven Hoggett ( Blackwatch, Peter and the Starcatcher, Once ), discussing his artistic vision, career trajectory, and rehearsal processes. Moderated by Ryan Donovan, the conversation explores Steven's journey from his beginnings as a self-sustaining artist in Wales with Frantic Assembly to his big-budget ventures on Broadway and around the...
Apr 04, 2014•1 hr 19 min
On June 12, 2013, award-winning directors Pam MacKinnon and Kathleen Marshall spoke with SDCF Producing Director Ellen Rusconi about their work and career. They discuss the nuts and bolts of the rehearsal process from the Illuminating qualities of auditions and early design meetings to the continuous evolution of a piece as gauged by audience, producers, and associates. Both speak to theatre as an apprentice art and the significance of mentor relationships when transitioning to different phases ...
Apr 04, 2014•1 hr 38 min
Director/Founder: On May 6th, 2013, Oliver Butler of The Debate Society and Jack E. Cummings III of Transport Group spoke with SDCF Producing Director Ellen Rusconi on their experiences simultaneously managing a directing career and theatrical company. The in-depth discussion follows the ebb and flow of two singular directing careers each affected by a loyalty to their own growing theatre companies. Each recounts the arduous yet fulfilling relationship that comes with being a founder and artisti...
Apr 04, 2014•1 hr 20 min
Fight Direction: On April 8, 2013, Fight Directors Erica Gould and Rick Sordelet spoke with SDCF Producing Director Ellen Rusconi to discuss the responsibilities and roles of theatre's fight directors. Listen in as Rick and Erica share their approaches to working with a director, to assessing actors' skills and potential for fight direction, and to creating a variety of fights for the course of one play to avoid "battle fatigue" in the audience. They share their experiences of working with parti...
Apr 04, 2014•1 hr 32 min
