Theater Forward

In the face of a painful year for artists and arts organizations, this episode celebrates the bright spots in 2020, focusing on reasons for optimism and the opportunities that lie ahead for all of us. 

Michael Cotey is one of Chicago's most innovative new directors, and we were excited to sit down to discuss his new project, #Enough: Plays to End Gun Violence. This virtual festival of plays was written by high schoolers, selected by some of America's best playwrights, and performed by professional actors.  

You asked, we listened. This episode digs into questions we've received from our listeners, and we had a blast talking about everything from comedy, casting, and the future of unions to what historic productions we would time-hop to see. 

On the date of this interview (10/28), Milwaukee Rep was one of the first companies in the US to create a health and safety program that would grant them the ability to perform for live audiences. However, due to increasing COVID cases in WI their production will now be digital only (announced 11/5). This interview highlights the planning process of a company working around the clock to create live theater in the midst of a pandemic. 

With the 2020 election just around the corner, this is the perfect time to dive into our favorite political plays, and the thought process behind producing them for the general public. 

We dish about plays that made it to the top of our wish lists, but that we never ended up producing. Learn about the myriad of reasons that prevent a show from reaching the stage, regardless of how passionately a theater may want to produce it. 

Interview with the artistic team that coordinated, rehearsed, and recorded a fully remote production of 'The Lifespan of a Fact.' We discuss the entire project, from storyboards and rehearsal logistics to home recording rigs for actors. Insight for any theater looking to produce during the pandemic. 

In honor of the centennial of the 19th Amendment, we explore what's necessary to truly achieve gender parity in theater. Where has progress been robust, and where do we still have work to do? 

We sit down with DPT Artistic Director Courtney Burkett to discuss a company that has quickly become an artistic touchstone for Detroit artists and audiences. From commissioned plays headed to Broadway, to the inclusion of playwrights Dominique Morisseau and Noah Haidle in their Board of Directors, Detroit Public Theatre is making a splash for all the right reasons. 

We sit down with a group of artists immersed in all levels of theater education in quarantine, from teaching artists to college professors to a student entering their sophomore year at Juilliard.  A spectacular conversation about how the arts continues to adapt and educate, even in the confines of a pandemic. 

Guests include:
David Daniel, Education Director at American Players Theatre
Marcy Kearns, Instructor at Carthage College and First Stage Milwaukee

Chantae Miller, Actress and student at The Juilliard School