This week on the Talk Theatre In Chicago podcast Tom Williams talks with Patrick Belics, the artistic director at Spartan Theatre Company. He talks about their landmark production of Tony Kushner's A Bright Room Called Day and the future of Spartan Theatre.
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Chicago's storefront theatre scene is bursting at the seams. How does a new company break in? After two break-even seasons, with a subscription base and a clutch of good reviews for their most recent production of Richard Greenberg's "Take Me Out", Eclectic Full Contact Theatre seems to have done it. Founding member Andrew Pond and Michael Woods join Anne Nicholson Weber to talk about how and why they faced the challenge.
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This week on the Talk Theatre In Chicago podcast Tom Williams talks with Francis Guinan, the star of The Night Alive currently playing at the Steppenwolf Theatre. He talks about the show as well as his acting career.
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This week on the Talk Theatre In Chicago podcast Tom Williams talks with Alex Weisman, the star of TimeLine Theatre's My Name is Asher Lev playing at Stage 773. Alex talks about the experience in doing the play.
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Under the auspices of Remy Bumppo Theatre, twelve experienced Chicago actors are gathering each Monday night in a rehearsal room on Ravenswood Ave to study scenes with eight of Chicago's leading directors. Anne Nicholson Weber listens in as director Lia Mortenson coaches participants through scenes from J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls, and interviews Lia and Remy Bumppo Artistic Associate Annabel Armour about the purpose and structure of the "Master Scene Study Class".
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This week on the Talk Theatre In Chicago podcast Tom Williams talks with Alex Sanchez the choreographer of On the Town at the Marriott Theatre. Alex talks about the challenges of doing a show not seen in Chicago in 70 years, needing triple threat performers and using a small in-the-round stage.
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This week on the Talk Theatre In Chicago podcast Tom Williams talks with Ronald Keaton who wrote and stars in Churchill. He talks about how and why he came to do a solo show about Winston Churchill. He also talks about his involvement with SoloChicago- a new theatre company dedicated to mounting solo Equity-based theatre.
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How can the theatre reach a generation that is used to sampling its art before buying? Or, put another way, what is the theatrical equivalent of movie trailers or Spotify? That's the question currently being posed by a new theatre company in town, The Common Room. Founders Mary Hollis Inboden, Alexander Lane and Benno Nelson join Anne Nicholson Weber to talk about their current experiment along these lines - a weekly live show, cheap and short, that features scenes from several productions currently playing around Chicago.
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This week on the Talk Theatre In Chicago podcast Tom Williams talks with Gerald Frantzen, the artistic director at Chicago Folks Operetta and translator and male lead in their production of Ball at the Savoy at Stage773. He talks about the usa premier of the German operetta from 1932 that was banned by the Nazis. Ball at the Savoy is part operetta and part jazz-infused Broadway musical. He also speaks about the mission of Chicago Folks Operetta.
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Each year, a Chicago actor is chosen to spend a year training and acting at the Stratford Festival in Ontario. Under the aegis of the Chicago Associates of the Stratford Festival, each year's Chicago Fellow is given the opportunity to train at the Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre, and to act as a member of the company. On this week's podcast, former Fellows Melanie Keller and Erin Neal join Anne Nicholson Weber to talk about their experiences at the Festival.
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This week on the Talk Theatre In Chicago podcast Tom Williams talks with Andrew Hobgood, the artistic director at the New Colony and director of their hit show, Orville and Wilbur Did It!. Andrew talks about the process of developing their shows in detail emphasizing the collaboration of the actors with the playwright.
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Rivendell Theatre Ensemble has a spanking new home, a focused mission, and a fine production of Courtney Baron's new play, Eat Your Heart Out. Artistic Director Tara Mallen, founding ensemble member Mary Cross, and her husband and fellow cast-member Michael Szeles join Anne Nicholson Weber to talk about the history of the company, the challenges of acting with your spouse, and the technical demands of a script that cuts rapidly back and forth among multiple story lines.
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This week on the Talk Theatre In Chicago podcast Tom Williams talks with Roslyn Alexander. She talks about writing and performing her one person show, The Passions of Emma Goldman, and her preparation to do a 90 minute one person show and her career.
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Vieux Carre was one of Tennessee Williams' first plays and one of his last -- begun in the late 30s but not completed until forty years later, near the end of the playwright's life. The premiere production was a major Broadway flop and, despite the importance of its writer, the play has been seldom produced since then. Now Raven Theatre has brought it to Chicago audiences. Director Cody Estle, dramaturg Lukas Brasherfons and set designer Ray Toler join Anne Nicholson Weber to talk about the history, merits and challenges of this little known Williams work.
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This week on the Talk Theatre In Chicago podcast Tom Williams talks with Edward Hibbert, one of the stars from the Lyric Opera's production of The Sound of Music. He talks about his role in the show as well as his time on the hit TV show Frasier and his major Broadway credits.
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