SHOP TALK

Nicole is joined by THE PLEASURE TRIALS playwright Sarah Saltwick, plus the Dramashop cast and crew of the show’s staged reading, Director Britty Lea, Stage Manager Abby McCauley, Alycia Oliver (Callie Young), Char Newport (Dr. Rachel Milan), and Rosie Pregler Hitt (Narrator). Watch the Shop Talk live stream here: https://tinyurl.com/76h999yt, and visit www.dramashop.org/donate to become a Supporting Player today.

Dramashop artistic director Zach Flock sits down with Gretchen Kerr to talk theatre in process. Gretchen made her Dramashop directorial debut with A PUBLIC READING OF AN UNPRODUCED SCREENPLAY ABOUT THE DEATH OF WALT DISNEY. She has portrayed Helen Bechdel in Dramashop's production of FUN HOME, Mother in NEVERMORE, has been seen in many productions at the Erie Playhouse, and holds a BFA in Theater and Music from Otterbein University.

She is currently Administrator and Communications Coordinator at Saint George Church. And she sings. In the podcast.

Lights, camera, Thiems!

Dramashop Artistic Director Zach Flock chats with the stars of our next production, Kate and Patrick Thiem.

For two nights only, Friday, September 18 and Saturday, September 19, 2020 at 8 pm, Dramashop’s own Kate & Patrick Thiem will perform a live concert including some of their favorite songs, direct from the Dramashop stage. With their signature wit and incredible voices, the Thiems kick off our tenth season with this unique live stream event.

Performing live from our stage, we’ll welcome audiences into the theatre – albeit via live stream – for the first time in more than six months. Kate and Pat will be accompanied from a safe distance by Michael Malthaner on keyboard and Robert Martin on guitar. A bare-bones tech crew, all wearing masks, will bring this event live from Dramashop to wherever you are. Tickets: dramashop.org.

September 18th and 19th, 2020 @ 8 PM

This week we have a special edition of Shop Talk featuring the team at Gannon University's Schuster Theatre working on putting up a very unique piece of theater as part of a summer tradition at the university, Shakespeare Summer Nights. Dramashop Artistic Director Zach Flock talks with the group behind TWELFTH NIGHT; an original adaptation of Shakespeare’s play, directed and adapted by GU alumna Jenna Sulecki.

The cast features Gannon students, faculty, and alumni in the cast and on the creative team as well as guests from all across the U.S. - and according to their own description, you'll be welcomed to Illyria; a new social media platform- sort of like MySpace meets Tumblr on which different characters host meetings and you, the audience, gets to view.

There has been a shipwreck. Viola is lost. She creates a new profile in order to survive this wild and new online world. The world of Illyria utilizes other forms of social media technology with homages being paid to TikTok and Instagram, Venmo and Twitch. Watch as Viola and the rest of the characters play with identity- online and IRL, and find love and loss in the process.

The event will be streamed live on Schuster’s Facebook page at 8pm July 27, 28, 29, and August 3, 4, and 5th at www.facebook.com/gannonschustertheatre.

This streaming is free but donations can be made at schustertipjar.com at any time. Donations will be split evenly amongst the cast as well as a portion of these donations will go to Black Lives Matter, an organization that the cast and production team feels strongly about supporting.

Also, there will be Shakespeare Summer Nights T-shirts available for purchase online featuring quotes from the show.

All proceeds from the T-shirt sales go towards supporting the Schuster Theatre.

Shop Talk this season is sponsored by Gannon University's Schuster Theatre.

Nicole, Zach and Alaina welcome the country's most-produced playwright and author of SILENT SKY - among many others - Lauren Gunderson, to SHOP TALK LIVE! Lauren joins us to discuss her career and process as a playwright, theatre in the age of COVID-19, the importance of making the theatre an affirming space (not just a safe space), and more.

Hosted by Nicole Lossie and featuring Dramashop artistic director Zach Flock and creative adviser Alaina Manchester, SHOP TALK LIVE! is recorded live in front of a studio audience at Dramashop (or, in this case, via Facebook Live), featuring conversations with local theatre experts and members of the Dramashop community.

This season of SHOP TALK is sponsored by Gannon University's Schuster Theatre.

This week's episode features a special edition: our latest Director Emeritus lecture with Fr. Shawn Clerkin. The topic: Pandemic: Asserting Community Creativity, originally recorded and broadcast via Facebook Live.

Where we are with COVID-19 has a lot of us thinking about the role of theatre and the arts in challenging times, and here Fr. Shawn discusses the impact of pandemic on performing arts’ relationship to the spiritual life of the community and its perceptions of reality and absurdity.

Fr. Shawn Clerkin holds a Master of Divinity from Bexley Hall Seminary, a Master of Fine Arts / Theatre Directing from Virginia Commonwealth University, and a Bachelor of Arts / Theatre & Communication Arts from Gannon University.

SHOP TALK is sponsored by Gannon University's Schuster Theatre.

Zach Flock and Alaina Manchester talk with Jessica Annunziata about - among many other things - devised theater, a long history of Shakespeare performances, and moving from working from a place of fear to a place of joy.

SHOP TALK is sponsored by Gannon University's Schuster Theatre.

Go behind the scenes of SILENT SKY, Dramashop's first-ever live-streamed staged reading, as members of the cast and crew talk about the unique experience of rehearsing and performing live from their homes.

SHOP TALK is sponsored by Gannon University's Schuster Theatre.

PART THREE: William Shakespeare was undoubtedly one of history’s greatest playwrights, which is why there’s still so much to say about his works 400 years later.

Over this series of three episodes, our panel of experts talk about their experiences with the Bard, from their first introductions to directing and performing his works; and they discuss why the works of William Shakespeare continue to resonate today.

PART TWO: William Shakespeare was undoubtedly one of history’s greatest playwrights, which is why there’s still so much to say about his works 400 years later.

Over this series of three episodes, our panel of experts talk about their experiences with the Bard, from their first introductions to directing and performing his works; and they discuss why the works of William Shakespeare continue to resonate today.