Season 39 2017

Pledge allegiance to the band and stick it to the man in the newest episode of Working in the Theatre about the young rockers that take to the stage 8 shows a week in School of Rock the Musical. These young Broadway professionals sing, dance, play their own instruments AND go to school everyday. These amazing performers share what's it's like to appear Andrew Lloyd Webber's newest hit show on Broadway.

Since 1982, Curtain Up. has championed the theatre community of Buffalo, New York with its annual celebration of its theatre season opening. As the theatre companies present their first work of the season, the city of Buffalo and its visitors arrive in style to eat, watch, and support the great work being done in upstate New York.

In the summer of 1944, engulfed by a war spread across three continents, the US Army made a foray into some unlikely territory: producing Broadway-style musicals. In the winter of 2017, Waterwell in association with Under the Radar Festival, and the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum have excavated and revived these unknown shows as a collaboration between artists and veterans. In a time, where art is needed most, watch as these creators celebrate the importance of producing theatre for both the military and the American public at large.

What does it take to build a theatre season of new work? Resources: financial resources, human resources, physical resources, and technological resources. “The biggest challenge in making new work is finding the resources to make the work the way that the originating artist wants to make it.” – Joseph Melillo. Take a look behind the curtain of BAM’s Next Wave Festival and the Women’s Project Theater as they assemble their new projects and deal with the artistic challenges head on.

Playwright and American Theatre Wing board chair David Henry Hwang sits down with the Tony Award nominated cast and creatives of A Doll's House Part 2 at the Golden Theatre following a performance. Listen as they explore the genesis and development of this play with Playwright Lucas Hnath, Director Sam Gold, and Actors Laurie Metcalf, Chris Copper, Jayne Houdyshell, and Condola Rashad.

"There’s no formula for how to write a good play. Nobody knows what’s going to be successful, even if you define success commercially, artistically. So, you therefore have to fall back on writing what you’re really interested in, what you really believe in, and that makes the plays unique and idiosyncratic. And paradoxically, if you don’t think about trying to be successful, your play is more likely to be a success!"

As we follow Obie and Tony winner and American Theatre Wing Chair David Henry Hwang, we discover the importance of collaboration, playing with words and ideas, and assessing it’s impact on an audience. Through this process of discovery, the world of theatre is better off by receiving writing that reflects the world of possibility and brave new work.

"Solo Performance is nothing new. This has been happening since the dawn of man, and it will continue to happen..." - Nilaja Sun. The world of a solo performance can often be challenging and daunting for the performer. It can also be incredibly exciting and important. From the viewpoints of three performers/creators, Simon McBurney, Nilaja Sun, and Judith Light, hear their stories about performing solo from recent productions including The Encounter on Broadway (McBurney), All The Ways To Say I Love You at MCC Theater (Light), and various productions by Sun.

Exploring and performing emerging musicals is crucial to the process of creating new work. Such is the case with the students, alumni, and participants of The Polyphone Festival at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia who are blurring the line between workshop and production. Watch as Jonathan Larson Grant recipient, educator, and composer/lyricist César Alvarez and his colleagues work with their students in preparing songs and story ultimately arriving at the presentation of this amazing festival.

Theatres like TheatreSquared in Fayetteville, Arkansas are leading the way in creating space for creatives to explore storytelling in the south. Through residency programs, exploration of new work, and a continued mission to support trained artists from across the country, theatre in Arkansas is thriving. The Arkansas New Play Festival is a great example of how of a community comes together to develop the next strongholds of American Theatre.

Robert Schenkkan’s Building the Wall delves into the world of what could be, delivering a powerful warning and putting a human face on the inhuman. Part of the National New Play Network’s Rolling World Premiere, this play produced at the Fountain Theatre allows us to take a look at where we are now as a culture in the United States by sharing a story of how we explore our differences.

Working in the Theatre takes a look inside this production with the help of writer and Undocumented Activist Jose Antonio Vargas (CEO of Define American) to discover how we can tell these stories on stage for the betterment of our society.

“Theatre, of course, is about bringing together very disparate groups of people, during which they share a story. A story about themselves, about their society, about their culture. And in the sharing of that story, hopefully they learn something about themselves, they are provoked to think more deeply about themselves, to ask better questions, and to leave in some fundamental ways, altered and perhaps more open to the possibility of change.” – Robert Schenkkan