Over 60 years ago, theatre directors joined forces with community leaders around the country and created what is today a vibrant ecosystem of literally thousands of nonprofit theatres. These theatres have become inextricably bound to the character of a region, a city, a town. Large and small, these companies produce theatre at the highest level while serving as anchors for economic development and the fostering of an informed citizenry. Now a generation or two removed from their founders, the mi...
Aug 14, 2018•1 hr 12 min
“Risk is here, so you’ve gotta move through it.” – Nataki Garrett, 2018. Hosted by M. Graham Smith , we are delighted to bring you the twelfth episode of our podcast series – SDCF Podcast Series : Regional Originals with M. Graham Smith – a series of interviews with some of the most exciting Directors and Choreographers working in America’s regional theatres today. Today M Graham Smith is with Nataki Garrett , Artistic Associate Director with Theatre Company at Denver Center for Performing Arts ...
Apr 24, 2018•44 min
“People are going to say no to you more than they say yes, and that’s hard. It takes strength.” - Torange Yeghiazarian. Today on our SDCF Podcast Series - Regional Originals podcast, M Graham Smith is with Torange Yeghiazarian, Artistic Director of Golden Thread Productions . They discuss empowering playwrights to tell the stories that they want to tell, how working at Golden Thread can be a unique and often life-changing experience, and the biggest challenges of her ‘not-so-hidden-agenda'. Gold...
Apr 10, 2018•44 min
Hosted by M. Graham Smith , we are delighted to bring you the tenth episode of our podcast series – SDCF Podcast Series : Regional Originals with M. Graham Smith – a series of interviews with some of the most exciting Directors and Choreographers working in America’s regional theatres today. Today Graham is with Tony Taccone, the man who commissioned Angels in America and whose work at The Eureka Theater was so powerful and provocative that it was burned down as a political act. Now, as the Arti...
Mar 20, 2018•50 min
Hosted by M. Graham Smith , we are delighted to bring you the ninth episode of our podcast series – SDCF Podcast Series : Regional Originals with M. Graham Smith – a series of interviews with some of the most exciting Directors and Choreographers working in America’s regional theatres today. Today Graham is with Robert O'Hara. They talk about Robert's rehearsal room being a brain trust, but when it comes to an audience everyone is welcome but no one is safe. You can't do better unless you've don...
Mar 06, 2018•43 min
Hosted by M. Graham Smith , we are delighted to bring you the seventh episode of our podcast series – SDCF Podcast Series : Regional Originals with M. Graham Smith – a series of interviews with some of the most exciting Directors and Choreographers working in America’s regional theatres today. Today Graham is with Raymond Bobgan, the Executive Artistic Director of the Cleveland Public Theatre . They talk about activating a community, the Road to Hope, Pandemonium, and hosting giant pink elephant...
Feb 20, 2018•45 min
Hosted by M. Graham Smith , we are delighted to bring you the seventh episode of our podcast series – SDCF Podcast Series : Regional Originals with M. Graham Smith – a series of interviews with some of the most exciting Directors and Choreographers working in America’s regional theatres today. Today Graham is with Wendy C. Goldberg, the Artistic Director of the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center . They talk about mentoring young artists and Wendy's work with National New Play Network, surrounding you...
Feb 06, 2018•52 min
Hosted by M. Graham Smith , we are delighted to bring you the sixth episode of our podcast series – SDCF Podcast Series : Regional Originals with M. Graham Smith – a series of interviews with some of the most exciting Directors and Choreographers working in America’s regional theatres today. Today Graham is with Seth Rozin from InterAct Theatre. They talk about new play development and Seth's work with National New Play Network and the importance of directors getting in a room together, connecti...
Jan 23, 2018•43 min
Hosted by M. Graham Smith , we are delighted to bring you the fifth episode of our podcast series – SDCF Podcast Series : Regional Originals with M. Graham Smith – a series of interviews with some of the most exciting Directors and Choreographers working in America’s regional theatres today. This week Graham is with Kwame Kwei-Armah, who is about to make his move from Artistic Director of Baltimore Center Stage in the U.S. to Artistic Director of the Young Vic in the U.K. 'This is a moment to be...
Jan 09, 2018•41 min
Hosted by M. Graham Smith , we are delighted to bring you the fourth episode of our podcast series – SDCF Podcast Series : Regional Originals with M. Graham Smith - a series of interviews with some of the most exciting Directors and Choreographers working in America’s regional theatres today. This week Graham is with Mina Morita, Artistic Director of Crowded Fire Theatre Company . Mina is an artist that others say 'leads with love', what does this mean? What characterizes each region in this cou...
Dec 12, 2017•51 min
Hosted by M. Graham Smith , we are delighted to bring you the third episode of our podcast series – SDCF Podcast Series Regional Originals with M. Graham Smith: a series of interviews with some of the most exciting Directors and Choreographers working in America’s regional theatres today. This week Graham is with Dawn Monique Williams. They dig into Dawn's path to where she is today, her de-colonized practice, and her hopes for the future of American Theater....
Nov 28, 2017•44 min
Hosted by M. Graham Smith , we are delighted to bring you the first episode of our new podcast series – SDCF Podcast Series Regional Originals with M. Graham Smith: a series of interviews with some of the most exciting Directors and Choreographers working in America’s regional theatres today. This week Graham is with Bill Rauch.
Nov 14, 2017•40 min
Regional Originals: a series of interviews, hosted by M. Graham Smith, with some of the most exciting Directors and Choreographers working in America’s regional theatres today. This week Carey Perloff welcomes us into her view of America's regional theaters.
Oct 31, 2017•47 min
Regional Originals: a series of interviews, hosted by M. Graham Smith, with some of the most exciting Directors and Choreographers working in America’s regional theatres today.
Oct 24, 2017•2 min
Join Stage Directors & Choreographers Foundation's Director David Roberts as he sits down with director Rachel Chavkin and artistic producer Jacob Padrón to discuss the the current climate of theatre organizations, funders, and freedom of expression. SDC Foundation’s One-on-One Conversation series illuminates the creative processes, secret mottos, and personal and professional experiences that guide today’s luminary directors and choreographers as they forge artistic careers in a profession ...
Sep 20, 2017•57 min
Welcome to SDCF Podcast Series Replay, which revisits podcasts that seem especially relevant this season. As we approach the 2017 “Mr. Abbott” Award Gala honoring director Kenny Leon, we will be featuring discussions by previous “Mr. Abbott” Award recipients. Today’s podcast features our last "Mr. Abbott" Award honoree James Lapine. Originally recorded - July 1985
Mar 20, 2017•1 hr 12 min
Welcome to SDCF Podcast Series Replay, which revisits podcasts that seem especially relevant this season. As we approach the 2017 “Mr. Abbott” Award Gala honoring director Kenny Leon, we will be featuring discussions by previous “Mr. Abbott” Award recipients. Also, in acknowledgement of Women’s History Month, this week’s podcast features two directors at the top of their game who also happen to be women; SDC President Pam MacKinnon and 2005 “Mr. Abbott” Award honoree Kathleen Marshall. Originall...
Mar 06, 2017•1 hr 38 min
Welcome to SDCF Podcast Series Replay, which revisits podcasts that seem especially relevant this season. As we approach the 2017 “Mr. Abbott” Award Gala honoring director Kenny Leon, we will be featuring discussions by previous “Mr. Abbott” Award recipients. Today’s podcast features George C. Wolfe. On April 18th, 1994 collaborator and colleague Hope Clarke sat down to interview writer-director George C. Wolfe. In this post-Jelly pre-Bring In 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk interview, Mr. Wolfe di...
Feb 20, 2017•1 hr 4 min
Welcome to SDCF Podcast Series Replay, which revisits podcasts that seem especially relevant this season. Today’s podcast features Hamilton director Thomas Kail in conversation with director Stafford Arima about their careers and the theatrical worlds that have shaped them.
Nov 21, 2016•1 hr 4 min
On May 8th, 2015, director Marshall Mason spoke to audiences at the SDC Collaboration Symposia in a keynote address. In this speech, Mason discusses how a director’s greatest challenge is often reconciling the invisibility of their work. Mason then relates this difficulty to the importance of collaboration and trust with other artists and focuses on the director’s relationship with the actor. Additionally, Mason describes his rehearsal process by illustrating how he navigates memorization, break...
Nov 07, 2016•56 min
Welcome to SDCF Podcast Series Replay, which revisits podcasts that seem especially relevant this season. Today’s podcast features Hamilton director Thomas Kail in conversation with director Leigh Silverman about ideal directorial skills, the value of readings, career beginnings, and much more.
Oct 24, 2016•1 hr 4 min
In a DCN focused on preparing for the first rehearsal, directors May Adrales, Anne Kauffman, and Lonny Price describe how they respectively get from picking a project to the rehearsal room. Listen in as these three master directors discuss how they prepare to stage a piece, how they initially approach the all important collaborations with their fellow artists, how they compartmentalize when juggling multiple projects in pre-production at the same time, and more broadly, how they approach time ma...
Oct 10, 2016•1 hr 5 min
Welcome to SDCF Podcast Series Replay, which revisits podcasts that seem especially relevant this season. Today’s podcast features Hamilton director Thomas Kail in conversation with director Lear deBessonet about their early-career experiences, from the importance of making work with friends to the advantages and disadvantages of assisting.
Sep 26, 2016•1 hr 6 min
On May 2nd, 2016, directors Rachel Chavkin and Bartlett Sher visited Emerson College and engaged in a conversation about their craft with a group of Boston-based directors. In this one-on-one discussion, Chavkin and Sher speak about the broad spectrum of their work—from preparing for meetings with designers, to the actor-audience relationship, to how space informs their approach on a given piece. Chavkin and Sher also engage in a layered discussion on form as they compare their experiences worki...
Sep 12, 2016•1 hr 33 min
On June 9, 2016, author Jennifer Tepper had a conversation with director Michael Grandage, who is best known in America for hit productions like Red , Evita , and Frost / Nixon . In their conversation, Michael speaks about his early years as an actor and what inspired him to become a director, as well as the advice he frequently gives to early career directors. Other topics include the ways in which accessibility, affordability, and diversity are important to theatre; skills for effectively usin...
Aug 22, 2016•44 min
On March 23, 2016, Jennifer Tepper, author and Director of Programming at 54 Below, interviewed director John Doyle about his craft and illustrious career. In this conversation, Tepper and Doyle dive into Doyle’s methods for contemporizing both classics and revivals, as well as discussing his current Broadway revival of The Color Purple and his upcoming role as Artistic Director of Classic Stage Company.
Jun 07, 2016•1 hr 16 min
Welcome to SDCF Podcast Series. This is the first installment of a series curated by Jennifer Tepper, author and Director of Programming at 54 Below in New York City, and released by SDCF to celebrate some of the many luminaries currently represented on Broadway. On February 15, 2016, Tepper interviewed Jerry Mitchell about the evolution of his wide-spanning career. Best known for Broadway hits like Kinky Boots , Hairspray , and the current production of On Your Feet , Mitchell discusses his jou...
Jun 06, 2016•47 min
On April 7, 2015 in Los Angeles, star of stage and screen Annette Bening sat down with director Tom Moore to discuss her career, the actor-director relationship, and the differences between working in film and theater. In this conversation, Bening and Moore discuss Bening’s production of The Ruth Draper Monologues, in which Bening served as her own director, the many ways in which actors and directors determine their working dynamic, the comparative need for detail in directing film and theater,...
Apr 21, 2016•1 hr 27 min
Welcome to SDCF Podcast Series Replay, which revisits podcasts that seem especially relevant this season. Today we replay a 2011 conversation with playwright and director Moisés Kaufman, best known for The Laramie Project , and Thomas Kail, director of the hit Broadway show Hamilton .
Mar 17, 2016•59 min
SDCF Podcast Series Replay re-releases podcasts that seem especially relevant this season. This 2014 podcast features directors Bartlett Sher and Julie Taymor, and is moderated by Anne Bogart.
Mar 04, 2016•1 hr 34 min
