TA(L)KING DIRECTION

In Conversation with Philip Arnoult and Yury Urnov

Recorded on December 9, 2020
Over the last 30+ years, The Center for International Theatre Development (CITD) has been a catalyst for theatrical global exchange, uniting performing artists from around the globe to work collaboratively on cross-cultural projects. CITD’s Director and Founder Philip Arnoult along with Associate Director Yury Urnov, who also serves as Wilma Theater’s Lead Artistic Director for the 2020-2021 season, have dedicated their careers to this work, forging a path for artists from East Africa, Russia, Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, Slovakia, and Romania to enter the American theater scene, and vice-versa. In this episode of TA(L)KING DIRECTION, The Drama League’s Artistic Director Gabriel Stelian-Shanks sits down with Arnoult and Urnov to discuss their ongoing work to amplify intercontinental exchange in the arts.
The Drama League gratefully recognizes The Trust for Mutual Understanding (TMU) for making this conversation possible with their generous support for the International Stage Directors Exchange.
For more information about TMU: http://www.tmuny.org/
For more information about CITD: https://www.citd.us/ 
If you're a director needing assistance, visit our COVID-19 resources and emergency relief programs here: dramaleague.org/covidresources/covid19resources 
Help support The Drama League: http://bit.ly/DLdonations
Editing Services @catalinmedia

In Conversation with Classical Directing Fellow 2020: Emma Rosa Went

Recorded on December 3, 2020
Since its founding in 1984, The Directors Project has been the core of The Drama League’s activity and mission as a developmental program for early and mid-career directors, providing talented emerging directors with transformative experiences and opportunities in the professional theatre through various fellowships and residencies. In a typical year, these year-long fellowships and residencies would result in DirectorFest, a multi-week theater festival highlighting the work of select fellows in January, but in a season unlike any other, the program and festival have been reworked to meet artists and audiences in this moment.For the premiere of this year’s reimagined DirectorFest, The Directors Project Classical Fellow Emma Rosa Went directs a benefit reading of Gallathea, written by John Lyly, presented in collaboration with Red Bull Theater. In this week’s episode, The Drama League’s Artistic Director Gabriel Stelian-Shanks joins Went to dive into the queer love story set inside of a classical myth now joyfully reclaimed for 2021, while also exploring what it means to create classical theater in a time where the present is so urgent. 
For more information about Emma Rosa Went visit: http://www.emmawent.com/ 
To access tickets to Gallathea visit: https://www.redbulltheater.com/gallathea 
For more information about Red Bull Theater: https://www.redbulltheater.com/about 
For more information about DirectorFest 2021: https://directorfest.org/ 
If you're a director needing assistance, visit our COVID-19 resources and emergency relief programs here: dramaleague.org/covidresources/covid19resources 
Help support The Drama League: http://bit.ly/DLdonations
Editing Services @catalinmedia

In Conversation with Wayne Brady

Recorded on February 15, 2021
 
Wayne Brady is a household name, bringing joy and laughter into American homes for decades via television set in “Whose Line is it Anyway”, “The Wayne Brady Show”, “Let’s Make a Deal” and more. What many don’t know about the Emmy Award-winning entertainer, who has made his mark on Broadway in shows like Chicago, Kinky Boots, and Freestyle Love Supreme, and most recently Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical, is that his artistry began in the world of community theater, and to this day Brady is an outspoken champion for community arts access, education, and mental health awareness. In this week’s episode, he joins The Drama League Alumni / Board Member and Associate Artistic Director of McCarter Theatre Center Nicole A. Watson in a conversation about his ongoing work as an advocate and an artist.
 
For more information about Nicole A. Watson: http://www.nicoleawatson.com/ 
 
If you're a director needing assistance, visit our COVID-19 resources and emergency relief programs here: dramaleague.org/covidresources/covid19resources 
Help support The Drama League: http://bit.ly/DLdonations
Editing Services @catalinmedia
 

In Conversation with Liesl Tommy

Recorded on February 3, 2021
Born in Cape Town during the apartheid era and having moved to the states in her teens, Liesl Tommy is one of America’s most celebrated directors. She has staged work in theaters across the country and on Broadway, most notably becoming the first woman of color to be nominated for the Tony Award for Best Director of a Play with Danai Gurira’s Eclipsed. With an expansive TV directing career and big film projects like “Respect” starring Jennifer Hudson and Trevor Noah’s “Born A Crime” in the works, Tommy is paving the way for a new generation of inspired directors ready to make change on stages and screens all over the world. In this episode of TA(L)KING DIRECTION, The Drama League’s Artistic Director Gabriel Stelian-Shanks joins Tommy in conversation to discuss her genre-defying career journey and her hopes for a post-pandemic world.
If you're a director needing assistance, visit our COVID-19 resources and emergency relief programs here: dramaleague.org/covidresources/covid19resources 
Help support The Drama League: http://bit.ly/DLdonations
Editing Services @catalinmedia

Artistic Stamp: Theater In Your Mailbox

Over the last year, theater companies have innovated radically to adapt to a new landscape brought on by COVID-19, several turning to digital platforms to produce their work, and some taking a different route. Artistic Stamp, a new theater company headed by Drama League alumni West Hyler and Shelley Butler, is using handwritten correspondence to connect audiences with their artists through the postal service, creating an intimate and interactive theatrical journey told through a series of letters sent directly to your mailbox. In this week’s episode, The Drama League’s Artistic Director Gabriel Stelian-Shanks joins the two Artistic Stamp co-creators to discuss the new theater company’s revolutionary approach to storytelling and how it’s breaking the mold for immersive theatrical experiences one letter at a time.
For more information about Artistic Stamp: https://artisticstamp.com/ 
If you're a director needing assistance, visit our COVID-19 resources and emergency relief programs here: dramaleague.org/covidresources/covid19resources 
Help support The Drama League: http://bit.ly/DLdonations
Editing Services @catalinmedia

The Shape of Training: Undergraduate Programs (Northeast Edition)

Recorded on November 9, 2020
Since the 1950s, educators have played a critical role in guiding the artform and establishing its core principles, but now with the industry’s landscape evolving as artists and patrons continue to challenge antiquated systems, how are the institutions responsible for training young artists adapting, and what role will they play in our ever-changing future?Join The Drama League’s Associate Artistic Director Nilan in conversation with theater educators from around the country in this podcast mini-series covering the ins and outs of undergraduate theater programs. In this week’s episode, we explore institutions in the Northeast United States with Marcus Giamatti (Temple University), Adrienne Kapstein (Pace University), Elizabeth Margid (Fordham University), Dr. Beth Schachter (Muhlenberg College), and Jill Stevenson (Marymount Manhattan College).
For more information about Temple University visit: https://www.temple.edu/ 
For more information about Pace University visit: https://www.pace.edu/ 
For more information about Fordham University visit: https://www.fordham.edu/ 
For more information about Muhlenberg College visit: https://www.muhlenberg.edu/ 
For more information about Marymount Manhattan College visit: https://www.mmm.edu/ 
If you're a director needing assistance, visit our COVID-19 resources and emergency relief programs here: dramaleague.org/covidresources/covid19resources 
Help support The Drama League: http://bit.ly/DLdonations
Editing Services @catalinmedia 

The Shape of Training: Undergraduate Programs (Midwest/South Edition)

Recorded on November 5, 2020
Since the 1950s, educators have played a critical role in guiding the artform and establishing its core principles, but now with the industry’s landscape evolving as artists and patrons continue to challenge antiquated systems, how are the institutions responsible for training young artists adapting, and what role will they play in our ever-changing future?Join The Drama League’s Associate Artistic Director Nilan in conversation with theater educators from around the country in this podcast mini-series covering the ins and outs of undergraduate theater programs. In this week’s episode, we explore institutions in the Midwest and South United States with Mark Castle (Samford University), Douglas Finlayson (Webster University), Paul Gatrell (Belmont University), and Matt Schwader (Avila University). 
For more information about Samford University visit: https://www.samford.edu/ For more information about Webster University visit: https://www.webster.edu/ For more information about Belmont University visit: https://www.belmont.edu/ For more information about Avila University visit: https://www.avila.edu/ 
If you're a director needing assistance, visit our COVID-19 resources and emergency relief programs here: dramaleague.org/covidresources/covid19resources 
Help support The Drama League: http://bit.ly/DLdonations
For a transcript of this episode, click here. 
Editing Services @catalinmedia 
 

Direconomics Pt. 3

The interviews in this episode were recorded over the course of October, November, and December 2020
Directors at their core are creators, leaders, and storytellers, and often the stories they share with audiences bring great success, both artistically and financially. However, the path to financial independence as a director isn’t as clear as one might expect. How can artists, producers, and patrons work together to create a more sustainable and tangible industry for its creative teams, and at what cost – literally.
Join Drama League Associate Artistic Director Nilan and Directors Project alumni Danny Sharron along with some of our industry’s most critically-acclaimed directors Saheem Ali, David Cromer, Colette Robert, Jacob Padrón, Leigh Silverman, and Gabriel Stelian-Shanks in a season premiere three-part conversation about the economics of theater, pulling back the curtain on the class divisions built into the commercial and non-profit theater while reimagining a more equitable future for the industry.
For more information about Danny Sharron visit: http://www.dannysharron.com/ For more information about Saheem Ali: https://www.saheemali.com/For more information about David Cromer: https://www.steppenwolf.org/artists/david--cromer/For more information about Colette Robert: https://www.coletterobert.com/ For more information about Jacob Padrón: http://www.solproject.org/jacob-padroacuten.htmlFor more information about Leigh Silverman: https://sdcweb.org/staff/leigh-silverman/
If you're a director needing assistance, visit our COVID-19 resources and emergency relief programs here: dramaleague.org/covidresources/covid19resources 
Help support The Drama League: http://bit.ly/DLdonations
For a transcript of this episode, click here.
Editing Services @catalinmedia 

Direconomics Pt.2

The interviews in this episode were recorded over the course of October, November, and December 2020
Directors at their core are creators, leaders, and storytellers, and often the stories they share with audiences bring great success, both artistically and financially. However, the path to financial independence as a director isn’t as clear as one might expect. How can artists, producers, and patrons work together to create a more sustainable and tangible industry for its creative teams, and at what cost – literally.
Join Drama League Associate Artistic Director Nilan and Directors Project alumni Danny Sharron along with some of our industry’s most critically-acclaimed directors Saheem Ali, David Cromer, Colette Robert, Jacob Padrón, Leigh Silverman, and Gabriel Stelian-Shanks in a season premiere three-part conversation about the economics of theater, pulling back the curtain on the class divisions built into the commercial and non-profit theater while reimagining a more equitable future for the industry.
For more information about Danny Sharron visit: http://www.dannysharron.com/ For more information about Saheem Ali: https://www.saheemali.com/For more information about David Cromer: https://www.steppenwolf.org/artists/david--cromer/For more information about Colette Robert: https://www.coletterobert.com/ For more information about Jacob Padrón: http://www.solproject.org/jacob-padroacuten.htmlFor more information about Leigh Silverman: https://sdcweb.org/staff/leigh-silverman/
If you're a director needing assistance, visit our COVID-19 resources and emergency relief programs here: dramaleague.org/covidresources/covid19resources 
Help support The Drama League: http://bit.ly/DLdonations
For a transcript for this episode, click here.
Editing Services @catalinmedia 

Direconomics Pt. 1

The interviews in this episode were recorded over the course of October, November, and December 2020
Directors at their core are creators, leaders, and storytellers, and often the stories they share with audiences bring great success, both artistically and financially. However, the path to financial independence as a director isn’t as clear as one might expect. How can artists, producers, and patrons work together to create a more sustainable and tangible industry for its creative teams, and at what cost – literally.
Join Drama League Associate Artistic Director Nilan and Directors Project alumni Danny Sharron along with some of our industry’s most critically-acclaimed directors Saheem Ali, David Cromer, Colette Robert, Jacob Padrón, Leigh Silverman, and Gabriel Stelian-Shanks in a season premiere three-part conversation about the economics of theater, pulling back the curtain on the class divisions built into the commercial and non-profit theater while reimagining a more equitable future for the industry.
For more information about Danny Sharron visit: http://www.dannysharron.com/ For more information about Saheem Ali: https://www.saheemali.com/For more information about David Cromer: https://www.steppenwolf.org/artists/david--cromer/For more information about Colette Robert: https://www.coletterobert.com/ For more information about Jacob Padrón: http://www.solproject.org/jacob-padroacuten.htmlFor more information about Leigh Silverman: https://sdcweb.org/staff/leigh-silverman/
If you're a director needing assistance, visit our COVID-19 resources and emergency relief programs here: dramaleague.org/covidresources/covid19resources 
Help support The Drama League: http://bit.ly/DLdonations
For a transcript for this episode, click here.
Editing Services @catalinmedia