SDCF Podcast Series

On January 17, 2011, SDCF hosted its third One-on-One Conversation of the 2010-2011 season at in the Beckett Theatre at Theatre Row with Berkeley Repertory Theatre Artistic Director Tony Taccone, moderated by SDCF Associate Director Ellen Rusconi. Mr. Taccone discusses his journey from discovering theatre through "happenings" in during college in the 1960s to his most recent foray into writing a play, including his experiences running the Eureka Theater started by Robert Woodruff and eventually becoming Artistic Director of Berkeley Rep. Anecdotes include discovering Tony Kushner and the original production of Angels in America, the burning down of the Eureka and working with Sarah Jones on Bridge and Tunnel. This conversation provides fascinating stories and unique insight into the artistic mind of a director on the forefront of American Theatre. Originally recorded - January 17, 2011. Running Time - 1:16:06 © 2011 SDCF

On December 18, 2010, SDCF hosted their second One-on-One Conversation of the 2010-2011 season in the Beckett Theatre at Theatre Row with Donmar Warehouse Artistic Director Michael Grandage (Red, Hamlet) and Broadway Director/Choreographer Rob Ashford (How To Succeed In Business..., Promises, Promises) and moderated by SDCF Executive Director Laura Penn. The two directors discuss their trajectories from small town upbringings to the big city and from performing careers to directing. Other topics include the story of their professional relationship with each other, their rehearsal processes from first day to opening night and their views on mentorship. Full of humorous anecdotes, this conversation provides a unique opportunity to hear the voices of two trans-Atlantic masters of the craft in the prime of their careers. Originally recorded - December 18, 2010. Running Time - 1:08:35 © 2010 SDCF

On November 14, 2010, SDCF hosted their first One-on-One Conversation of the 2010-2011 season at Atlantic Theatre Studios with 2009 Fichandler Award winner Jonathan Moscone (Artistic Director, California Shakespeare Theatre) and 2010 Alan Schneider Award winner Anne Kauffman (Obie Award, The Thugs) and moderated by SDCF Executive Director Laura Penn. The two directors discuss their career paths and the many mentors and forms of mentorship they encountered along the way, including directing professor Michael Hackett and artistic directors Joe Papp, Richard Hamburger (Dallas Theater Center) and Irene Lewis (Baltimore Centerstage). Other topics include directing regionally as a freelance director and as an artistic director, the balance of running an institution and being an artist, and how to approach and direct a new play vs. the classics. Listeners will gain a new appreciation for theatre outside of New York City and what it means to pursue a career as an American director in 2011. Originally recorded - November 14, 2010. Running Time - 1:20:21 © 2010 SDCF

Stage Direction, Chicago Style: On October 18, 2010, SDCF hosted a sixty-minute discussion on Stage Direction, Chicago Style at Steppenwolf Theatre moderated by Sheldon Patinkin and featuring panelists Seth Bockley, Timothy Douglas, Gary Griffin, Kimberly Senior and Dennis Zacek. The panel discusses Chicago's actor-based process, from actor-based companies such as Lookingglass to the exploratory rehearsal process embraced by Chicago directors. Topics include the influence of Second City, the dynamic system of mentorship amongst Chicago directors and the sense that in Chicago one is "allowed to fail." This conversation gives an inspiring look at one of the country's great theatre cities and the values it runs on. Afterward, David Cromer presented the 2010 Zelda Fichandler Award to director Michael Halberstam of Writers' Theatre. Originally recorded - October 18, 2010. Running Time - 1:24:47 © 2010 SDCF

2002 Symposium: Directing Revivals: At its 2002 Musical Theatre Symposium, SDCF hosted a panel on directing revivals featuring director/choreographers Jeff Calhoun (Big River 2003 Revival), Robert Longbottom (Flower Drum Song 2002 Revival) and Susan Schulman (Sweeney Todd 1989 Revival) and moderated by Victoria Traube. The panelists discuss how directing revivals is different and how it is the same as directing new work, particularly focusing on the relationship with composers, lyricists and bookwriters who are still alive and around to see their work revived. The conversation features in depth stories about the creative processes for Flower Drum Song, Grease, Sweeney Todd and the Deaf West revival of Big River, among others. Other topics include reviving classics, the director's interpretation, and rights and royalties for revivals. This recording is filled with fascinating anecdotes and lessons for both the enthusiast and the aspiring musical theatre director. Originally recorded - June 1, 2002. Running Time - 1:13:56 © 2002 SDCF

2002 Symposium: Assembling the Team: At its 3-day Musical Theatre Symposium in June of 2002, SDCF hosted a panel on assembling creative teams moderated by Arthur Bartow. Speakers included producers Marty Bell (Ragtime) and Sally Campbell Morse(Urinetown), choreographers Larry Fuller (Evita) and Daniel Pelzig (33 Variations), Roundabout Artistic Director Todd Haimes, directors Christopher Ashley (Memphis) and David Warren (Summer and Smoke), and composer Lucy Simon (The Secret Garden). These speakers provide case histories of collaborations that they put together that were either successful or dire failures, and include tales of Ragtime, the 1998 Revival of Cabaret, Urinetown and the original collaboration on the Maltby/Shire musical Take Flight, which had a successful run at the McCarter Theatre Center in April of 2010 with a different creative team. Other topics include the role of the producer in initiating projects and finding good collaborations, the function of the director as part of a team, and the importance of workshops in the creative process for everyone involved. Listen to this podcast for an informative conversation with fascinating anecdotes on what it means to find the right people to make it to Broadway. Originally recorded - June 1, 2002. Running Time - 1:31:32 © 2002 SDCF

2002 Symposium: It's Not Where You Start: In June 2002, the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation hosted a panel discussion on how Broadway directors and choreographers got their starts as part of its 3-day Musical Theatre Symposium. The panelists are Susan H. Schulman, Jeff Calhoun, David Warren, Scott Schwartz, Larry Fuller, Lynne Taylor-Corbett and Gabriel Barre. Some fell into their careers by accident while others had it planned all along, and their stories range from years of performing summer stock to meeting Tommy Tune. This conversation is filled with humorous and touching anecdotes featuring Richard Maltby, Carol Haney and Trevor Nunn, among others. The panelists impart valuable advice to emerging professionals, and the Pittsburgh dance class-to-Broadway stories of these successful directors and choreographers will inspire any theatre artist with hopes of the Great White Way. Originally recorded - June 1, 2002. Running Time - 1:19:58 © 2002 SDCF

At the SDC Foundation's Choreography Symposium in 1986, choreographers Wayne Cilento (Tony Award for The Who's Tommy), Graciela Daniele (8 Tony nominations for Best Choreography), Janet Watson (Ragtime) and Ted Pappas (Paradise Off-Broadway and the Broadway revival of Zorba) spoke with director Marshall Mason about choreography in musical theatre at the time. The panel discusses how each began his or her career, their creative processes and the mentors that led them to Broadway. A major topic is the changing style of musical theatre, which was deep in the Sondheim era at the time, and the choreographer's role in musicals that involve less dance numbers and more musical staging. Other topics include working with a director vs. assuming both roles, how technology's role in the audience's lives changes the movement choreographers put onstage and anecdotes about working with Hal Prince and Michael Bennett. Originally recorded - October 16, 1986. Running Time - 1:27:02 © 1986 SDCF