The American Theatre Wing's "Working in the Theatre" Features "Arias to Showstoppers: The Worlds of Opera and Theatre" on CUNY TV Premieres Sunday, November 16 at 5 p.m.
Additional Air Dates:
Friday, November 21 at 9 a.m, 2 and 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, November 22 at 11 a.m.
The American Theatre Wing's "Working in the Theatre" will feature "Arias to Showstoppers: The Worlds of Opera and Theatre" on CUNY TV on Sunday, November 16 at 5 p.m. The segment will repeat on Friday, November 21 at 9 a.m., 2 and 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, November 22 at 11 a.m. The program becomes available as streaming audio and podcast from
www.americantheatrewing.org beginning Wednesday, November 19.
Composer
Michael John LaChiusa, and directors
Diane Paulus and Stephen Wadsworth have all worked in the once mutually-exclusive worlds of opera and theatre. They share their thoughts about the nature of each of these entertainment forms, how they differ and what they share; the use of amplification and how it affects productions in both opera and theatre; the so-called "American Idol" effect on musical performers; changes in training for opera singers; the differing scale – and manner – of pay; whether super-titles enhance or distract from opera performances; and the importance of the director's role and how it differs in theatre and opera.
Composer/Lyricist,
Michael John LaChiusa most recently composed Send (who are you? I love you), written for
Audra McDonald and commissioned by the
Houston Grand Opera and Bernarda Alba, at Lincoln Center Theatre; and See What I Wanna See, which premiered at the
Joseph Papp Public Theatre. Broadway credits include The Wild Party and Marie Christine (written for Ms. McDonald,) receiving Tony nominations for Best Score and Best Book (with
George C. Wolfe on The Wild Party) for each show. Other works include Little Fish, Hello Again, First Lady Suite, Break/Agnes/Eulogy for Mister Hamm, and Chronicle for a Death Foretold for which he received a Tony nomination for Best Book (with
Graciela Daniele and
Jim Lewis) in 1996. Mr. LaChiusa is an Obie-award winner (Hello Again and First Lady Suite) and the recipient of the Gilman-Gonzalez-Falla Musical Theatre Award. Mr. LaChiusa has been a contributing writer to The New York Times, Opera News, American Theatre and other periodicals. He is currently on the faculty of New York University and has been a guest lecturer on musical theatre at several other universities in the US.
Diane Paulus directed Hair for the public theatre this past summer and will direct it again next spring. Paulus is also the creator and director of The Donkey Show, which ran for six years off-Broadway and toured internationally. Her theatre credits include: Turandot: Rumble for the Ring (Bay Street Theatre); The Golden Mickeys (Disney Creative Entertainment); Best of Both Worlds (Music-Theatre Group and The
Women's Project); The Karaoke Show (
Jordan Roth Productions); the Obie Award-winning Pulitzer Prize finalist Running Man; Swimming With Watermelons (Project 400); Brutal Imagination and Obie-winning Eli's Comin'. Opera credits include Le Nozze Di Figaro, Turn of the Screw, Cosi Fan Tutte, Il Ritorno D'ulisse In Patria, L'Incoronazione di Poppea, and Orfeo (all Chicago Opera Theater; Orfeo was also presented at BAM). Paulus is also the recipient of the Peter Ivers Visiting Artist Fellowship at Harvard University and the Directing Fellowship Award from the Drama League. She currently teaches at Barnard College/Columbia University and was recently appointed the Artistic Director of the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts starting in 2009-2010. (hair for public theatre this summer and will direct it again this spring)
Stage Director and Writer, Steven Wadsworth divides his time between opera and spoken theater. In 2004 he directed Wagner's Lohengrin at Seattle Opera, Molière's Don Juan at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, Handel's Xerxes for New York City Opera, and an adaptation of Schnitzler, Fräulein Else (written by his wife, the actress
Francesca Faridany), at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton. In the 2004-5 season he directed Handel's Rodelinda at the Metropolitan Opera and Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen at Seattle Opera. Also in 2005 he directed his new translation of the Molière Don Juan at the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington D.C., and started to work on a new play commission from Seattle Repertory Theatre. He was decorated by the French government with the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in the 2004 honors list. Mr. Wadsworth began his career as a journalist in the 1970s. He was Assistant Editor, then Managing Editor of Opera News, and Contributing Editor of Saturday Review. His work was also published in The New York Times, Travel & Leisure, Opera, and many other magazines and journals here and abroad. He is a frequent adjudicator of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and has taught master classes at universities and conservatories all over the country.
The program is moderated by Melissa Rose Bernardo, Theatre Editor from Entertainment Weekly.
The ATW "Working in the Theatre" panels bring together theatre's best-known performers, producers, playwrights, directors, choreographers, composers, agents and others for peer-to-peer conversation about the art, the craft and the business of theatre.
CUNY TV is a cable channel serving the five boroughs of New York City with educational, cultural and public affairs programs. As part of The City University of New York, CUNY TV operates as a non-commercial station. Its mission is to extend the academic and intellectual richness of the University beyond the campuses and to offer New York City residents a haven for lifelong learning experiences through television.
About The American Theatre Wing
The American Theatre Wing is best known as the creator of the Antoinette Perry "Tony" Awards®, which it presents annually with The Broadway League. The Wing's other activities, dedicated to recognizing excellence and supporting education in theatre, include "Working in the Theatre," now in its 30th year of telecasts on CUNY TV in New York and on other national cable outlets; "Downstage Center," an hour-long weekly interview program on XM Satellite Radio; "Guides to Careers in the Theatre," a video series developed for schools and libraries; a grants and scholarship program to New York City schools and not-for-profit theatre companies, which has granted nearly $3 million since its inception; the Theatre Intern Group, a career development program for young professionals; and SpringboardNYC, a two-week college-to-career boot camp for young performers moving to NYC; and the
Jonathan Larson® Grants, recognizing and supporting emerging writers of musical theatre. Visitors to www.americantheatrewing.org can view or download an archive of "Working in the Theatre" and the career guides and listen to "Downstage Center", all as free, on-demand streaming audio and podcast.
Theodore S. Chapin is Chairman of the Board of Directors of the American Theatre Wing and
Howard Sherman is Executive Director.
