ATW - Downstage Center

Jeff Daniels talks about his return to the New York stage after a 14 year absence in David Harrower's Olivier Award-winning "Blackbird" at Manhattan Theatre Club, including how he works himself up to a performance level of fear and anger for the very first moment in the play; recalls being taken out for a drink while still in college by director Marshall Mason and invited to join the Circle Repertory Company as an apprentice, and the extraordinary ensemble feeling fostered at Circle Rep; discusses his lengthy relationship with playwright Lanford Wilson and how it has influenced his own playwriting for his Purple Rose Theatre Company in Chelsea Michigan; and describes how he has built the Purple Rose as both an arts resource and economic engine for his community. Original air date – April 20, 2007.

Playwright Lee Blessing talks about his play "Going to St. Ives" with its theme, of politics, women, and motherhood, and its similarities to his best-known play "A Walk In The Woods". Blessing explains how his writing evolved from emulating historical playwrights to penning contemporary stories influenced by his Midwest upbringing; the varied topical issues of his works; the contrast between having an American drama produced on Broadway or in regional theaters; the value in play development workshops such as the O'Neill Playwrights Conference; and his upcoming works: "The Scottish Play" and "A Body of Water". Original air date – April 1, 2005.

Two-time Tony-winning actress Judith Ivey talks about her transition to directing; why she was drawn to direct Lee Thuna's "Fugue" at the Cherry Lane Theatre rather than play the leading role; what she's learned from directors she's worked with, including Mike Nichols and Daniel Sullivan; why she moved from Chicago to New York in order to get better roles in Chicago -- only to find great success in New York once casting directors realized she wasn't British; her extraordinary year with "Hurlyburly"; and why she's willing to direct musicals, but won't ever act in them again. Original air date – April 13, 2007.

Acclaimed director Michael Blakemore discusses his ongoing collaboration with playwright Michael Frayn during the Broadway run of "Democracy" and explores his famed virtuosity staging both plays and such musicals as the revival of "Kiss Me Kate" and the original production of "City of Angels". Original air date – February 18, 2005.

John Mahoney talks about returning to Broadway after a 20-year hiatus in the Roundabout Theatre production of "Prelude to a Kiss", including why he had to be conscious of not making his stage role of The Old Man reminiscent of his long-running TV role as "Frasier"'s father; recounts the story of his emigration to America from Manchester, England and how, at age 37, he suddenly decided to take up acting; recalls his early stage work with the St. Nicholas Theatre and being invited by John Malkovich to join the now-celebrated Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble; explains why he declined to travel to New York with Steppenwolf's productions of "And a Nightingale Sang" and "Balm in Gilead"; and remembers his breakthrough performances in "Orphans" and "The House of Blue Leaves", the latter his first major show outside of his Chicago theatre family. Original air date – April 6, 2007.

Dominic Chianese, who plays Lou Wolf in Woody Allen's play "A Second Hand Memory", discusses Allen's style of directing, his character's anger and family conflicts, and compares Lou Wolf to Uncle Junior on "The Sopranos". He recalls lessons from his most valuable acting teachers, his first audition for a Gilbert & Sullivan, production, and auditioning for television's "The Sopranos". Original air date – December 31, 2004.

Author and actor Eric Bogosian explains why he left the text of "Talk Radio" essentially unchanged for its current Broadway revival, but made more significant rewrites in "subUrbia" for its revival at Second Stage last fall; shares why he was perfectly happy to pass the role of "Talk Radio"'s radio host Barry Champlain on to Liev Schreiber; recalls the genesis of his acclaimed solo shows, including "Sex Drugs Rock and Roll" and "Drinking in America" in the 1980s and 90s; and frankly declares why, after a lifelong passion for theatre, he has turned to writing novels. Original air date – March 30, 2007.

Prolific playwright Jeffrey Hatcher talks about seeing one of his recent plays "Compleat Female Stage Beauty" come to the screen as "Stage Beauty"; his years developing plays at Connecticut's O'Neill Theatre Center; and his work creating "Never Gonna Dance", a "new" Jerome Kern musical adapted from the Fred Asaire film "Swing Time". Original air date – October 15, 2004.

Director and actor Walter Bobbie talks about returning to the acting stage in the "Encores!" production of "Face The Music", and how he feels preparing to act in the famously brief "Encores" rehearsal period that he helped to create; recalls his experiences in the original cast of "Grease", and shares his thoughts about the revivals and the current TV competition; remembers when Jerry Zaks asked him to don a "fat suit" to play Nicely-Nicely in the 1992 "Guys and Dolls" revival; explains how he became a director without the usual years of apprenticeship; describes the origins of the long-running revival of "Chicago"; and explains why he wants his next production to involve three actors and two folding chairs. Original air date – March 23, 2007.

Tovah Feldshuh discusses her role in William Gibson's one-woman play "Golda's Balcony", including her research into the life of Israeli premier Golda Meir and her passion in presenting 100 years of European Jewish history, especially to politicians and students. Feldshuh talks about how she quickly put together "Tovah: Crossovah! From Broadway to Cabaret" for her debut at the Algonquin; her one-woman shows "Tovah: Out of Her Mind!" and "Tallulah Hallelulah!" that have taken her worldwide; and taking "Mining Golda: My Journey to Golda Meir", the one-night concert version of "Golda's Balcony", beyond Broadway. Original air date – July 9, 2004.

Neil Pepe, artistic director of New York's Atlantic Theater Company, discusses the development of the company as an outgrowth of acting classes led by playwright David Mamet and actor William H. Macy; his own introduction to the company as both carpenter and actor; the Atlantic's acclaimed work with playwright Martin McDonagh on his American debut, "The Beauty Queen of Leenane", and -- almost a decade later -- "The Lieutenant of Inishmore"; and how the Atlantic came to produce its most expensive production and first-ever musical, "Spring Awakening". Original air date – March 16, 2007.

Amy Irving talks about her experience seeing part two of "The Coast of Utopia" when it premiered in England, and her response when director Jack O'Brien asked her to play two roles in the trilogy's U.S. premiere; her homecoming to the Vivian Beaumont Theatre, where she spent her teenage years as her parents led the Repertory Theatre of Lincoln Center; her good fortune of working Arthur Miller on the premiere of "Broken Glass" and both acting with and being directed by Athol Fugard in his "The Road to Mecca"; and the experience of having a play, "Celadine", written expressly for her. Original air date – March 9, 2007.

During his run in the revival of "42nd Street", Patrick Cassidy talks about life in a performing family, including the legacy of his late father Jack and performing with his mother Shirley Jones; his eclectic resume on stage across the country, including a tour of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" and the impeccably cast but little-seen Hartford Stage version of "Martin Guerre"; and the experience of seeing a role he created -- the Balladeer of "Assassins" -- enacted by another performer in the musical's long-delayed Broadway debut. Original air date – June 18, 2004.

Billy Crudup recalls how he messed up his first audition but still managed to be cast in his Broadway debut, "Arcadia"; describes the communal spirit that guided the 2002 production of "The Elephant Man", and how it differed from his work with director Simon McBurney in "The Resistible Rise Of Arturo Ui"; relates the thrill of manipulating audiences in Martin McDonagh's "The Pillowman"; and reflects on whether we -- and he -- should be reading up on Russian history to prepare for "The Coast Of Utopia". Original air date – March 2, 2007.

Kristin Chenoweth reminisces about her move from Oklahoma to Manhattan and how she was discovered after an all-day wait for an audition; tells how she was cast as Patty in the revival of "You're A Good Man Charlie Brown", but ultimately won a Tony as Sally; charts the evolution of her role as Glinda in "Wicked"; explains why she was drawn to "The Apple Tree" and what she hopes she's achieved with her multiple roles; describes how she constructed the song list for her solo concert debut at the Metropolitan Opera -- including what she had to leave out; and shares her thoughts about her upcoming Met Opera debut in "The Ghosts Of Versailles". Original air date – February 23, 2007.