ATW - Downstage Center show

ATW - Downstage Center

Summary: The American Theatre Wing, in association with XM Satellite Radio, presents Downstage Center a weekly theatrical interview show, featuring the top artists working in theatre both on and Off-Broadway and around the country.

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  • Artist: American Theatre Wing
  • Copyright: © 2005-2010 American Theatre Wing

Podcasts:

 Shirley Knight (#266) - April, 2010 | File Type: audio/x-mpeg | Duration: 58:11

During her month in the cast of the Off-Broadway comedy "Love, Loss and What I Wore", Shirley Knight discusses the appeal of the "stool and music stand" style of presentation while pointing out that she had the only continuing narrative among the many interwoven stories. She also explains why she considers her every appearance on stage to be a rehearsal, not a performance; her attraction to the groundbreaking play "Dutchman" by LeRoi Jones (now Amiri Baraka), which she did in Los Angeles and on film; how she shifted from a planned career in music to acting and her trek out west to the Pasadena Playhouse to pursue that new goal; the extraordinary experience of appearing as Irina in "The Three Sisters" in her Broadway debut, with Geraldine Page and Kim Stanley as her siblings under the direction of Lee Strasberg -- and why she chose that role over playing Ophelia to Richard Burton's "Hamlet"; her years working in England, notably in plays by her husband John Hopkins, which she continued to perform upon their return to the U.S.; her memorable role in Robert Patrick's "Kennedy's Children"; what it was like to have Tennessee Williams write a role expressly for her in "A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur"; her affinity for the plays of fellow Kansan William Inge and her role in creating the ongoing Inge Festival; and her affection for the work of Horton Foote, which marked her most recent Broadway appearance, in the Pulitzer-winning "The Young Man from Atlanta". Original air date - April 28, 2010.

 Janet McTeer (#265) - April, 2010 | File Type: audio/x-mpeg | Duration: 1:01:45

Janet McTeer talks about her experiences in "God of Carnage", having starred in the play's London premiere (where the characters were still French) and now playing it on Broadway (as an American) and whether there are differences between her performances as Veronique and Veronica. She also shares her highly fortuitous experience of applying to the top English acting schools, with virtually no prior stage experience; the shock of moving from her hometown of York to London and the emotional crisis that hit her while attending the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art; her first jobs out of school, including the Nottingham Playhouse, the Royal Exchange in Manchester and, after only two years, the Royal Shakespeare Company (in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" as Hippolyta and Titania); her participation as more than simply a performer in the development and production of "A Doll's House" -- and why the role ultimately caused her to take a four year hiatus from the stage; why working on Broadway is such a thrill even after her great acclaim in England; the fun she had playing Petruchio in an all-female "The Taming of the Shrew" at London's Globe Theatre; and how she made the choice between playing Elizabeth or Mary in the acclaimed revival of "Mary Stuart". Original air date - April 21, 2010.

 David Cromer (#264) - April, 2010 | File Type: audio/x-mpeg | Duration: 1:02:01

Director David Cromer discusses his most recent New York project, Andrew Bovell's "When The Rain Stops Falling" at Lincoln Center Theater, and how even he had to be reassured that the play's intertwining timeline does grow clearer to the audience as the show goes along. He also recounts the story of how he came to direct and appear in "Our Town", and what it's been like to "put in" actors to replace himself multiple times during the play's lengthy New York run; talks about the series of schools he attended without ever finishing; explains how Columbia College launched him into a successful acting career in Chicago, despite his lack of a degree, and how the size of, and fluidity between, Chicago theatre companies fostered his career as a director; shares what he considers the pinnacle of his acting career; reveals how most of his directing projects all stem from a single book; describes what it was like to work with playwright Austin Pendleton on the premiere of "Orson's Shadow" after years of working almost exclusively without an author in residence; considers his feelings about his new-found New York success, and why he'll always go back to Chicago; and reflects on the unfortunate circumstances that surrounded "The Neil Simon Plays" earlier this season, particularly not being able to open "Broadway Bound". Original air date - April 14, 2010.

 Hallie Foote (#263) - April, 2010 | File Type: audio/x-mpeg | Duration: 56:29

Hallie Foote, perhaps the leading interpreter of the works of her father, the late Horton Foote, talks about her past year of work on "The Orphans' Home Cycle", the epic compilation of nine of her father's plays into a theatrical triptych spanning nine hours of performance. She discusses the process of condensing the plays to in order to find their central storyline; how far work had progressed before her father's passing in early 2009; how the plays have created their own repertory company, with actors even playing different roles in different plays in a single evening; and how it feels to now be playing a character based upon her great-grandmother, having originated the role based on her grandmother in the premieres (and films) of the original plays. She also discusses how she finally came around to a career in theatre after first pursuing music; why she has spent most of her professional life performing in her father's plays; what it has been like to also appear in plays by her sister, Daisy, once under the director of her father, in addition to often appearing with her husband (including playing his aunt in "Dividing The Estate"); the importance of her father's artistic homes at Signature Theatre and Hartford Stage, and their directors James Houghton and Michael Wilson; and her plans for her acting career now that she is also the literary executor of her father's more than 60 plays. Original air date - April 7, 2010.

 Marsha Mason (#262) - March, 2010 | File Type: audio/x-mpeg | Duration: 1:01:57

During rehearsals for Keen Company's revival of "I Never Sang For My Father", Marsha Mason talks about the differences between playing in a Broadway house and a small Theatre Row venue. She also talks about her Broadway debut in "Cactus Flower" after countless auditions; her unique experience of appearing in the only plays written by two famed novelists, Norman Mailer and Kurt Vonnegut; appearing on a one-act double bill -- where the other play featured Al Pacino and John Cazale; how she found herself in San Francisco appearing at the American Conservatory Theatre in "Private Lives" -- directed by Francis Ford Coppola; her long-standing partnership with director Jack O'Brien, spanning from ACT's 1972 "You Can't Take It With You" to 2009's "Impressionism" on Broadway; how she met and married her husband, playwright Neil Simon, in only three weeks and why he only wrote movies, not plays, for her, even when "Chapter Two" was based on their life together; what prompted her to buy a farm in New Mexico 17 years ago; her extensive work with L.A. Theatre Works doing plays for radio in front of live audiences; and her efforts to duplicate elements of the British actor training tradition here in the U.S. Original air date - March 31, 2010.

 Jordan Roth (#261) - March, 2010 | File Type: audio/x-mpeg | Duration: 59:37

Jordan Roth, President of New York's Jujamcyn Theatres, discusses his ascension to the top spot running a quintet of Broadway houses, which makes him one of the handful of people who can decide what is (or isn't) a Broadway show. He talks about his lifelong love of theatre; how he grew to be dissatisfied with performing while still a student at Princeton; his wholly unplanned evolution into the producer of "The Donkey Show" and the freedom on that production to create new ways of putting on a theatrical production; his move into Broadway producing and how he worked to push beyond conventional boundaries with the revival of "The Rocky Horror Show"; the profound impact closing of "The Mambo Kings" out of town had on him; how he came to produce "A Catered Affair" and why he bridles at the show being considered a more conventional work than his previous efforts; and, six months in, how he's enjoying his new role, the difference between being "the producer" and "the house," and how he hopes to achieve artistic goals while operating the theatres. He also explains his new role moonlighting as a moderator for the 92nd Street Y's new "Broadway Talks" series and his role in creating Givenik.com, which merges ticket selling with philanthropy. Original air date - March 24, 2010.

 Jessica Hecht (#260) - March, 2010 | File Type: audio/x-mpeg | Duration: 1:00:51

Jessica Hecht, now on Broadway as Eddie Carbone's long-suffering but cleared-eyed wife Beatrice in the Broadway revival of "A View From The Bridge", talks about her role in the play's tragic love triangle and why her preparation for this performance was so different than her usual practice. She also discusses how she began studying at Connecticut College, only to have the famed actor Morris Carnovsky send her off to New York to study at New York University; her earliest roles, including an appearance in "Hamlet" at Hartford Stage, near her hometown of Bloomfield CT, as a silent lady-in-waiting to Pamela Payton-Wright as Gertrude; her Broadway debut in "The Last Night of Ballyhoo" where, after being raised in an observant Jewish home, she appeared as part of a Southern family disconnected from their Jewish roots; how she handled portraying a character alternating between dawning love and heart-rending tragedy in the non-linear "Stop Kiss"; working on "After The Fall" at the Roundabout with Arthur Miller and her interaction with the legendary playwright; playing in Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" with Denzel Washington -- and how that yielded the greatest entrance ovation she's ever experienced; the joy and pain of opening in "Brighton Beach Memoirs" but never being able to perform for an audience in the prematurely closed "Broadway Bound"; and why she's drawn back to the Williamstown Theatre Festival year after year. Original air date - March 17, 2010.

 Rondi Reed (#259) - March, 2010 | File Type: audio/x-mpeg | Duration: 1:03:44

The "resident character woman" of Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Rondi Reed, talks about her current stint as Madame Morrible in the Broadway juggernaut "Wicked", a role she originated in the musical's Chicago company, including why we're suddenly seeing her in a big Broadway musical for the first time, after 30 years in Chicago's best-known theatre ensemble. She also discusses her college years at Illinois State University, where she first met the team who would become the founders of Steppenwolf; why after graduation she decamped for Minnesota; when the invitation to join Steppenwolf actually came; why she didn't journey to New York for the famed production of "Balm in Gilead"; her directing debut with John Guare's "Lydie Breeze"; her extended tenure in the original production of "Picasso at the Lapin Agile" and the brief Broadway run of "The Rise and Fall of Little Voice"; whether she has the opportunity at Steppenwolf to ask for plays to be done specifically based on her interest; why the company seems to have so many meetings and how they've sustained that over the years; her reasons for initially declining the role of Mattie Faye, written by Tracy Letts with her in mind, in "August: Osage County", as she sets the record straight about whether or not the company resisted bringing the show to New York; the remarkable experience of returning to "August" for its final performance at the last minute, playing the role she created for a single performance with a company of actors she didn't know, including Phylicia Rashad, why she's only in recent years begun appearing in roles outside of Steppenwolf; and how long we can expect her to stay in the magical world of "Wicked". Original air date - March 10, 2010.

 Howard Sherman (#258) - March, 2010 | File Type: audio/x-mpeg | Duration: 1:03:45

Turnabout is fair play, as actor Richard Thomas is the guest host for a conversation with Howard Sherman, Executive Director of the American Theatre Wing. The longtime friends discuss the changes in the Wing since Sherman arrived in 2003, the unifying idea beyond the program expansion that has taken place since that time, and how ATW has evolved repeatedly over its 70 year history to meet the changing needs of the theatre community. Sherman also talks about his high school and college years as a performer; his eight years of "graduate school" at Hartford Stage under the mentorship of artistic director Mark Lamos and managing director David Hawkanson; the celebrity who helped to ease his parents' minds about his choice of a risky career in theatre; how Goodspeed Musicals' executive producer Michael Price gave him the opportunity to move beyond p.r. and into management; his stints at Geva Theatre in Rochester, NY and the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center in Connecticut; how personal priorities rather than professional ones led him to the Wing; and what has always motivated him throughout his career. Original air date - March 3, 2010.

 Gregory Mosher (#257) - February, 2010 | File Type: audio/x-mpeg | Duration: 1:04:56

Gregory Mosher, director of the current Broadway revival of Arthur Miller's "A View from the Bridge", talks about how he initiated the production himself, personally approached Liev Schreiber and Scarlett Johansson about appearing in it, then brought the project to a producer after 17 years away from directing on Broadway. Mosher also discusses his journey through three institutions of higher education, including the acting program at The Juilliard School -- all without once graduating; his failed efforts post-college to even get unpaid employment in New York or at the country's major regional theatres; his migration to Chicago, where as assistant to William Woodman at The Goodman Theatre, he did everything from casting to producing their Stage 2 season; his ascension to artistic director and the challenges he faced securing the rights to new plays at a time when Chicago theatre wasn't yet "on the map"; his working relationship with David Mamet on the original production of "American Buffalo" and other plays -- as well as the one Mamet play he rejected and how that turned out; his tenure as artistic director of the new regime at Lincoln Center Theater beginning in 1985, including his early pilgrimage to meet with Peter Brook to understand how to make the Beaumont stage "work" and the LCT show that proved most surprising and rewarding in its success; what prompted his departure from LCT in the early 90s; his unsuccessful attempt to revitalize Circle-in-the-Square in 1997 and the 1998 season that was planned but never produced; and his leadership of the Columbia University Arts Initiative, how that program came to be and how to measure its success five years in. Original air date - February 24, 2010.

 John Lee Beatty (#256) - February, 2010 | File Type: audio/x-mpeg | Duration: 59:01

Veteran scenic designer John Lee Beatty, currently represented in New York by "Time Stands Still", "A View from the Bridge" and "Venus in Fur", talks about why he thinks all American drama is about real estate, making set design particularly integral to every work. He also discusses how he was instantly drawn to set design (as well as flying) when he first saw "Peter Pan" as a child; his self-education in set design through his college years -- and what he discovered when he entered the graduate design program at the Yale School of Drama; his extensive work with not-for-profit companies including the Manhattan Theatre Club, Mark Taper Forum, Goodspeed Musicals, Circle Repertory Company and Lincoln Center Theater -- plus 50 shows for City Center's Encores! series; his affinity for the Victorian era; why he hasn't done many designs for musicals -- and the musical he'd most like to tackle; how he feels about being "typecast" for his interiors and exteriors of homes through the years -- and costume designer Jane Greenwood's sage advice on Beatty's particular specialty; how he chooses his projects -- and the kinds of shows he doesn't like to do; what it was like to imagine different parts of the Talley family property in different eras in Lanford Wilson's famed trilogy; and how the design of "Proof" was actually based on an old sweater. Original air date - February 17, 2010.

 Christine Lahti (#255) - February, 2010 | File Type: audio/x-mpeg | Duration: 57:12

One of "God of Carnage"'s current combatants on Broadway, Christine Lahti, talks about playing the range of emotions that consume her character over the course of the play's mere 80 minutes, and how the new ensemble developed the rapport for such a physical and intimate work. She also discusses her college years, including the dual lures of social activism and theatre performance; her experience understudying Madeline Kahn and Sigourney Weaver in the premiere of John Guare's "Marco Polo Sings a Solo"; her early Broadway work in plays by Michael Weller and Steve Tesich; being directed by and co-starring with the legendary George C. Scott in "Present Laughter", along with Broadway newbies Nathan Lane and Kate Burton; how studying with another iconic figure, Uta Hagen, taught her how to be "director-proof"; her multiple appearances in Jon Robin Baitz's monologue-driven "Three Hotels"; and her great affinity for the work of Wendy Wasserstein, evidenced by her performances in "The Heidi Chronicles" (on Broadway), "Third" (at the Geffen Playhouse) and "An American Daughter" (for television). Original air date - February 10, 2010.

 Andre De Shields (#254) - February, 2010 | File Type: audio/x-mpeg | Duration: 1:07:09

The multi-talented Andre De Shields describes the development of his new one-man show, "Mine Eyes Have Seen The Glory: From Douglass to Deliverance", and why it may be a work-in-progress for several years to come. He also talks about growing up in a family of 11 children in Baltimore and why he was unexpectedly the one to make a career in entertainment; his undergraduate years at the University of Wisconsin, including an infamous production he described as "the nude Peter Pan," directed by Stuart Gordon (who would later create the Organic Theatre in Chicago and direct the film "Re-Animator"); why he had to sleep in a public park in order to secure his first professional role in a show he'd never seen -- "Hair"; why he can lay claim to being the man who made Bette Midler's back-up singers, The Harlettes, dance; how the process of elimination ended up yielding him the title role in "The Wiz"; why it was Jackie Onassis who revealed to him and his castmates in "Ain't Misbehavin'" that they were in a hit; whether he'd tackle the multiple roles of director, choreographer, bookwriter, songwriter and star of "Harlem Nocturne" if he had to do it all over again; his thoughts on African-American actors taking on traditionally Caucasian roles, having had the opportunity to play Willy Loman in "Death of a Salesman" and "Our Town"'s Stage Manager; why he feels that the musical "Play On!" was misunderstood; and the incredible liberation of his big number in "The Full Monty". Original air date - February 1, 2010.

 Doug Wright (#253) - January, 2010 | File Type: audio/x-mpeg | Duration: 1:05:28

Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award honored playwright Doug Wright discusses his virtually genetic passion for theatre and how that matched up with his conservative Texas childhood; his escape to New Haven and later New York for college and grad school; his early work at the O'Neill Theatre Center and the Yale Repertory Theatre; why he describes his early plays, including "Interrogating the Nude" and "Watbanaland", as having been fueled by rage; how "Quills" was inspired in part by the political culture wars of the mid-90s; where he found inspiration for the macabre and comic one-acts collected as "Unwrap Your Candy"; how he feels about having personally revealed himself in his writing, both as a character in "I Am My Own Wife" and in his essay for the book "The Play That Changed My Life"; why he signed on to collaborate with Scott Frankel and Michael Korie on the musical of "Grey Gardens" after the failure of his only prior musical, "Buzzsaw Berkeley" with Michael John LaChiusa; what drove him to actively lobby for the position of bookwriter on Disney's "The Little Mermaid"; and whether he plans to do more directing after adapting and staging Strindberg's "Creditors" at the La Jolla Playhouse in the summer of 2009. Original air date - January 25, 2010.

 Emily Mann (#252) - January, 2010 | File Type: audio/x-mpeg | Duration: 59:58

As she celebrates her 20th season as artistic director of Princeton's McCarter Theatre, Emily Mann recalls the factors she considered when taking on the job; counsel she received at the time from directors Peter Hall and Mark Lamos; how she has evolved the McCarter audience in the direction of the work that most appeals to her; and her unique role as artistic director, director and playwright - including whether each of those roles ever gets in the way of the others. She also talks about making her way in the theatre as a female director and playwright coming up in the 1970s; her breakthrough as the first woman to direct on the mainstage of the Guthrie Theatre during Alvin Epstein's brief tenure leading the company; the development of her own playwriting style of documentary theatre through such acclaimed plays as "Still Life" and "Execution of Justice"; sharing a toast with Harold Pinter just after President Obama's election; working with Edward Albee on several plays, notably his newest, "Me Myself & I"; and why she chose to revisit "Having Our Say" at McCarter 14 years after its original Broadway success. Original air date - January 18, 2010.

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