Theater Forward

In honor of the centennial of the 19th Amendment, we explore what's necessary to truly achieve gender parity in theater. Where has progress been robust, and where do we still have work to do? 

We sit down with DPT Artistic Director Courtney Burkett to discuss a company that has quickly become an artistic touchstone for Detroit artists and audiences. From commissioned plays headed to Broadway, to the inclusion of playwrights Dominique Morisseau and Noah Haidle in their Board of Directors, Detroit Public Theatre is making a splash for all the right reasons. 

We sit down with a group of artists immersed in all levels of theater education in quarantine, from teaching artists to college professors to a student entering their sophomore year at Juilliard.  A spectacular conversation about how the arts continues to adapt and educate, even in the confines of a pandemic. 

Chantae Miller, Actress and student at The Juilliard School

It's crunchtime for theaters that are surviving the pandemic. In this episode we discuss the myriad of questions that arts orgs try to answer as our collective season approaches. Creating safe rehearsal and performance spaces, presenting digital productions, and choosing appropriate (and budget-friendly) plays for 2021-22 are just a few of the pickles that theaters find themselves in.

We interview Michael Barakiva, Artistic Director of Hangar Theatre! Michael not only helped create an open dialogue among American theaters during the COVID-19 crisis, but he is also leading his Ithaca, NY company through a summer season of virtual productions. Get ready to take some notes, fellow producers.

In this episode, we take a break from our own voices and share an episode of a podcast that we love. 'Blacker the Berry' is produced by Di'Monte Henning and Lights! Camera! Soul! in Milwaukee, and features stories that celebrate and explore the Black experience. Highly recommended. Check it out HERE.

Preface: We recorded this episode prior to the events surrounding the murder of George Floyd, and prior to the collective (and hopefully permanent) shift in focus within the American theater community. We assure you that future episodes will address this conversation. 

Just kidding, we have no idea. But we break down the COVID-19 puzzle from a regional theater standpoint, share what we're seeing from other theaters in America, and dream of plays we hope we'll be reading (and producing) in 2021-22.   

In this episode, we celebrate the current online theater phenomenon and share our favorite arts-in-quarantine content, created by brilliant artists and organizations worldwide. 

In this episode, we sit down with Broadway dynamo and Tony Award winner Karen Olivo, who shares her experience during the initial COVID-19 crisis. We also discuss the pressure on artists to create during this time, and what this "intermission" may provide as they prep for their return to the stage.