Hang & Focus LIVE! with Sean Daniels

Arizona Theatre Company’s ATC Teens takeover our Hang and Focus Podcast!

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Arizona Theatre Company’s Sean Daniels (Artistic Director) will be hanging out with Director Megan Sandberg-Zakian and Chanel Bragg (Associate Artistic Director) will be hanging out with Co-Founder of the School of Hip Hop PHX Camille Sledge.

Megan Sandberg-Zakian is a theater director with a passion for the development of diverse new American plays & playwrights, and a co-founder of Maia Directors, a consulting group for artists and organizations engaging with stories from the Middle East and beyond. Her book There Must Be Happy Endings: On a Theatre of Optimism and Honesty is available from The 3rd Thing Press. Megan is a graduate of Brown University and holds an MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts from Goddard College. She lives in Jamaica Plain, MA, with her wife Candice. megansz.com

Camille Sledge is a singer, songwriter, lyricists/MC, and runway model. She currently sings as the lead vocalist for 16-piece big band The Phoenix Afrobeat Orchestra in Phoenix, AZ. In 2012, Camille and two business partners developed the 501c3 School of HipHop PHX (SOHH). SOHH is a mentoring and music program which uses hiphop influence to reach underrepresented intercity youth.  Whether Sledge is teaching a runway workshop, or giving life through vocal lessons, she finds the fun in every situation. You can tell by her stage presence that she is always in the moment. Living in the present moment is one-way Camille describes her movement. From working closely with the youth, and building community relations, she finds peace in her surroundings, all over the world.

#ATC #ArizonaTheatreCompany #WeAreArizonaTheatreCompany #HangandFocuslive #HangandFocus #ATCTheRealness #TheRealness #ATCDigitalSeason

Arizona Theatre Company’s Sean Daniels (Artistic Director) and Chanel Bragg (Associate Artistic Director) will be hanging out with playwright Idris Goodwin, and ATC’s Chief Development Officer, Paula Taylor

Idris Goodwin is a creative voice for change impassioned by the power of art for social good. He uses story to inspire and incite new audiences across culture and generation. His critically acclaimed plays like And In This Corner Cassius Clay, How We Got On  and Hype Man : a break beat play are widely produced across the country at professional theatres, college campuses and non-traditional spaces alike. He's been honored to receive commissions and developmental support from institutions like The Kennedy Center, The Eugene O'neill Conference, Oregon Shakespeare Festival's American Revolutions Series, Actor's Theatre of Louisville, and Berkeley Rep's Ground Floor Residency. He's currently writing Scarfoot Lives, a new play co commissioned by Arena Stage's Power Play Program and The Playwright Center's McKnight Fellowship. In addition to the recently released poetry collection Can I Kick It?, he’s had several publications with Haymarket Books including Inauguration, Human Highlight: Ode To Dominique Wilkins and the controversial play This Is Modern Art co-written with Kevin Coval. His words, voice and sometimes entire body, have shown up on HBO Def Poetry, Sesame Street, NPR, BBC radio, and the Discovery Channel. Idris is the Director of The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College. A frequent public speaker at conferences and educational spaces, Idris is one of the leading voices in his field, committed to using art to cultivate more diverse and equitable spaces. Visit Idris on the web and social media WWW.IDRISGOODWIN.COM

Paula Taylor, M.S., is a Retail Industry, Strategic Marketing and Business Development Executive, Event Producer, and Author.  For over two decades, Paula worked at all levels of the Fashion and business industry. She owned and operated highly profitable retail boutiques and a thriving production company.

Taylor's clients and work history include iconic brands, startups, small businesses, billion-dollar real estate companies, and not for profit organizations. Paula positions her work to successfully tackle the challenges of a changing business landscape with humor and straightforward proven tactics for success. With her entrepreneurial skills and business acumen, the transition to fundraising and development was a natural choice.

She is currently the Chief Development Officer for The Arizona Theatre Company, focused on raising funds and brand positioning. Stewarding both donors and the organization.

Paula wrote the prominent textbook on fashion show production, How to Produce a Fashion Show from A-Z. Published by Prentice-Hall (2012), during her years as a college professor educating many successful retail leaders. Paula lives in Phx,  Arizona.

Contact Paula @ [email protected]

Follow Paula on Instagram @Ptaylorllc

#ATC #WeAreArizonaTheatreCompany #HangandFocus  #ATCTheRealness #ATCDigitalSeason

Arizona Theatre Company’s Sean Daniels (Artistic Director) and Chanel Bragg (Associate Artistic Director) will be hanging out with Tom Kirdahy, Broadway producer and husband to the late Terrence McNally.

TOM KIRDAHY is a Tony and Olivier Award-winning producer whose projects have spanned Broadway, off-Broadway, the West End, national and international tours. Select NY/London credits: HADESTOWN (8 Tony Awards, including Best New Musical), THE INHERITANCE (11 Tony Nominations including Best Play), Terrence McNally’s FRANKIE & JOHNNY IN THE CLAIR DE LUNE (2 Tony Nominations including Best Revival), LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (Drama Desk Award, Best Musical Revival). Additional Tony nominations: THE VISIT, MOTHERS AND SONS, AFTER MIDNIGHT, RAGTIME, MASTER CLASS.

Recipient, Robert Whitehead Award for Outstanding Achievement in Commercial Theater Producing. Kirdahy serves on the Broadway League Board of Governors and the Board of Trustees of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. As an attorney he spent nearly two decades providing free legal services to people living with HIV/AIDS and served for many years on the Executive Committee of the NYC LGBT Center.  Graduate, New York University School of Law, NYU CAS.

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Student registration: https://arizona-theatre-company.coursestorm.com/

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Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein - https://www.theroguetheatre.org/

Ballet Tucson Pop Ups - https://ballettucson.org/

Othello: A Black Girl’s Journey -  https://swshakespeare.org/

Club MET Zoom Plays - https://www.mesaencoretheatre.com/

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Have your donation matched here: https://donate.arizonatheatre.org/give/305704/#!/donation/checkout

And THANK YOU Ralph L. Smith Foundation

National LatinX Playwriting Award now accepting submissions through December 1, 2020- https://arizonatheatre.org/national-latino-playwriting-award/

Arizona Theatre Company’s Sean Daniels (Artistic Director) and Chanel Bragg (Associate Artistic Director) will be hanging out with Tamilla Woodard, Director of ATC’s online reading of Covenant by York Walker; and Paul Weir and Nadia Hage, organizers for the Tucson’s All Souls Procession.

Tamilla Woodard, names Associate Director for Broadway’s Hadestown on March 22, is the Co-Artistic Director of Working Theater. This season her work includes American Dreams, By Leila Buck, Where We Stand by Donnetta Lavinia Grays for WP Theater and Baltimore Center Stage, Caryl Churchill’s Top Girls at American Conservatory Theater and direction and co-conception of Warriors Don’t Cry, a Co-production of The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts and TheaterWorksUSA. Recently named one of 50 Women To Watch on Broadway, Tamilla is a graduate of Yale School of Drama where she also teaches. http://www.tamilla.com

Partners since the 1990s in art and life, Paul Weir and Nadia Hagen are founding Board Members for the umbrella non-profit, Many Mouths One Stomach, that produces the annual All Souls Processions. Nadia was born and raised in New York and has worked as a scenic painter and toured with the notorious Tribal Industrial Project, Crash Worship. Paul grew up in New Orleans and brings a background in mountaineering, Industrial Design and Butoh Dance to his work. Nadia took over The All Souls Procession as an Artistic Director in 1996, and founded Flam Chen Pyrotechnic Theater, which Paul joined 1998.

The All Souls Procession is perhaps one of the most important, inclusive and authentic public ceremonies in North America today. The Procession had its beginnings in Tucson, Arizona in 1990 with a ceremonial performance piece created by local artist Susan Johnson. The tradition now organizes for well over 150,000 participants on the streets of downtown Tucson for a two-mile long human-powered procession that ends in the ceremonial burning of a large Urn filled with the hopes, offerings and wishes of the public for those who have passed.

Myriad altars, performers, installation art, and creatives of all kinds collaborate for almost half the year to prepare their offerings for this amazing event. The All Souls Procession, and now the entire All Souls Weekend, is a celebration and mourning of the lives of our loved ones and ancestors.

https://allsoulsprocession.org/

Info for 2020: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgsd3_jiBuU&feature=youtu.be

Many Mouths One Stomach, a non-profit arts collective based in Tucson, AZ, is the organizing body for the Procession, and serves as a vehicle for working artists to collaborate, create, and inspire the public through Festal Culture. “Festal Culture” is the expression and fulfillment of core human needs through public celebration, ceremony, and ritual. The All Souls Procession is an event that was created to serve the public need to mourn, reflect, and celebrate the universal experience of Death, through their ancestors, loved ones, and the living.

The Procession is a sanctuary for community members from all walks of life to express their grief and loss in a celebration of creative energy and rejoicing of life.

With the continued cooperation of the City of Tucson, Tucson Police and Fire departments, local businesses, civic organizations, and participants like YOU — MMOS stewards the development of the parade to accommodate the growing number of participants in a healthy and harmonious way.

https://manymouths.org/

#ATC #WeAreArizonaTheatreCompany #Hangandfocus #allsoulstucson #allsoulsprocession

Arizona Theatre Company’s Sean Daniels (Artistic Director) and Chanel Bragg (Associate Artistic Director) will be hanging out with York Walker to talk about his play Covenant that we will be streaming soon!

York Walker is an award-winning writer based in Harlem, New York. He is the inaugural recipient of the Vineyard Theatre's Colman Domingo Award. His work includes The Séance (Winner of the John Singleton Short Film Competition, 48 Hours… in Harlem), Covenant (Fire This Time Festival, Access Theatre’s 4 Flights Up Festival), White Shoes (Fire This Time Festival), Summer Of ’63 (The Actors Company Theatre’s New TACTics Festival, Actor’s Theatre of Louisville’s Apprentice Reading Series) and Of Dreams To Come (American Conservatory Theatre’s New Work Series). York received his MFA in Acting from the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco.

#ATC #WeAreArizonaTheatreCompany #CovenantATC

Arizona Theatre Company’s Sean Daniels (Artistic Director) hangs out with Ben Scheuer, performer and writer of the award winning one-man-musical, The Lion in a special interview that was recorded a few months ago, at the onset of the Pandemic shutdown.

ATC is excited to present Ben Scheuer’s recent London Concert for our ATC audiences from October 20-27 and wanted to offer our audiences a more intimate conversation with him in advance of showcasing his talent!

#ATC #WeAreArizonaTheatreCompany

Arizona Theatre Company’s Sean Daniels (Artistic Director) and Chanel Bragg (Associate Artistic Director) will be hanging out with ATC’s Managing Director, Geri Wright to discuss current plans for returning to live performances. Special surprise guest Lauren Gunderson also pops in to talk about ATC’s planned debut of her new musical, Justice, A new musical about Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsberg

#ATC #WeAreArizonaTheatreCompany #hangandfocuslive #hangandfocus #weareatc

MUJER! is a feminist fashion and beauty magazine aimed at representing women as they really are—diverse, creative, passionate, flawed but beautiful—human.

MUJER!’s mission is to change preconceived, patriarchy-derived notions of female beauty. There are no ads, no photoshopping and all of our models are 25+ (in real life, women do not disappear after this age).

MUJER! is produced in Mexico City and distributed worldwide. (https://www.mujerrev.com)

Arts in Color was founded in 2013 to celebrate, inform and inspire poc theater artists. We conducted equity & inclusion work, interviews, reviews, provided history, auditions, celebrated poc students showcasing across the country and much more! Currently the site is being revamped but you can find us on FB in the meanwhile (https://www.facebook.com/ArtsinColor/)

Shavanna Calder is the Creative Director for MUJER! and founder of Arts in Color. She is a first-generation actor, stylist, singer, writer and human! Credit Highlights: SNL, Grammys (2018), Hairspray (National Tour), CBS 'Best of' Diversity Sketch Comedy Showcase, For Colored Girls (Lady in Green), Caroline, or Change (Emmie) etc. Shavanna is a Wellesley College and NYU alumna who also works in arts focused equity & diversity strategy. (www.shavannacalder.com)

Spread Empathy <3

Insta: shaviexo

Featured interview with:

Kara Branch is a New York based costume designer. Her recent design projects include Till: The Musical with American Theater Group and Imagining Madoff and Brecht: Call and Response with New Light Theater Company. Recent Assistant design credits include Hamilton (National Tour), Slave Play (Broadway), The Secret Life of Bees at Atlantic Theater Company, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark at Signature Theater Company and Detroit ’67  at The McCarter Theater.  (https://www.karabranchdesigns.com/)

AND

Nikiya Mathis and Shavanna met at Hairversations a glorious event for Black women to discuss our hair within the industry. Nikiya is an actress & the creator of ActTRESSES Hair, a Hair & Wig design company. ActTRESSES Hair Consulting, specializes in supporting actors of color in film, TV and theater. She is also a drama desk award nominee & Antonyo Award Winner. She’s worked on a variety of projects including For Colored Girls at The Public Theater, Classical Theatre of Harlem & Jessica Jones. (https://www.acttresseshair.com/)

#ATC #WeAreArizonaTheatreCompany #Mujer #ArtsinColor

Arizona Theatre Company’s Sean Daniels (Artistic Director) and Chanel Bragg (Associate Artistic Director) will be hanging out with Phoenician Philanthropist and NAU Alumn, Billie Jo Herberger.

Billie Jo Herberger has been a Phoenix resident since 1969 and was named the 2013 Woman of the Year by Women of Scottsdale. According to a 2015 article highlighting her in the Phoenix Magazine, “Billie Jo serves as an inspiration to many – she’s survived cervical cancer, breast cancer and malignant melanoma without losing a sliver of her spunk or spark. She doesn’t cover up her scars, but displays them proudly as ‘badges of courage.’”

The Herbergers are well known in the Valley for their support of the arts. Just last year they were inducted into the Herberger Performing Arts & Broadcast Hall of Fame in 2019 and had a new Scottsdale arts award named after them -  the Herberger Award for the Arts. They have given generously to arts organizations including the Herberger Theater, the Phoenix Theater, Valley Youth Theatre, Arizona Opera, Ballet Arizona, Scottsdale Philharmonic, Phoenix Art Museum, Scottsdale Center for the Arts as well as other important non-profits such as Release the Fear, Key to the Cure (TGen), Kids Read USA, and Phoenix Heart Ball.