SDCF Podcast Series

On June 17, 2013, SDC Foundation hosted a symposia with the Director of Artistic Development at Manhattan Theatre Club, Jerry Patch on  how new play development differs between New York and the regions.  

On June 12, 2013, directors Pam MacKinnon and Kathleen Marshall spoke with SDCF Producing Director Ellen Rusconi about their work and career.

On July 22, 2013, SDCF and New York's Culture Project co-hosted a panel discussion on generating your own work. The panel consisted of three highly regarded artists:  Rachel Alderman, Leigh Fondakowski, and Maija Garcia.

On July 8, 2013, SDCF hosted a panel discussion focused on the future of musical theatre. The panel featured writer Rick Elice, songwriter Jeff Bowen, singer/songwriter Amanda Green, director Stafford Arima, choreographer Kelly Devine and songwriter Benj Pasek. This conversation zeroes in on collaboration, the audition process and accepted genres of music as changing factors in the development of...

In June 2011, Thomas Kail sat in conversation with   Joe Mantello   backstage at the Golden Theater. From Mantello's dressing room, their conversation traces his arc from actor to director and back, and the responsibility of taking risks to continue to evolve throughout a career.  

Recorded in 1989 by SDC Foundation, How to Use A Dramaturg explores the invaluable and often misunderstood position of dramaturgy in the theatrical process. Moderated by James Leverett, the panel consisted of playwright Richard Dresser, New York Theatre Workshop Artistic Director Jim Nicola, freelance dramaturg Morgan Jenness, and Playwrights Horizons Literary Manager Tim Sanford.

On March 24, 2014, director Sean Mathias and designer Derek McLane sat down for a One-on-One coversation at New York's National Opera Center. Listen as they discuss the collaborative exchange between directors and designers while detailing many of their individual styles and techniques. 

On May 20, 2013, at the Emerging Artists Symposium on Musicals, SDCF hosted a panel discussion called "The Cycle of Assisting" with dir/chor Maija Garcia and directors Shaun Peknic and Seth Sklar-Hey.

On April 29, 2014, director Anne Bogart moderated a One-on-One discussion with directors Bartlett Sher and Julie Taymor at New York's National Opera Center. Listen as they discuss their respective backgrounds, training, and inspirations. 

At the SDCF 2013 Emerging Artist Symposium on Plays on June 17, 2013, SDCF hosted legendary director   Marshall Mason   to speak about his extraordinary collaboration with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lanford. Mason's collaboration with Wilson has been certified by Playbill as the longest collaboration between a writer and director in the history of the American theater, and is perhaps the fi...

At its 2013 Emerging Artist Symposium on Plays, SDCF hosted Artistic Director and Managing Director of The Builders Association,   Marianne Weems   and   Erica Laird , in conversation on the process of directing and producing a production using multi-media elements. Listen as they share the intricacies involved in rehearsing and maintaining a piece when working with both human and non-human counte...

At its 2013 Emerging Artist Symposium on Musicals, SDCF hosted Tony nominated   Dan Knechtges   ( Lysistrata Jones, Xanadu, Spelling Bee ) in conversation with Producing Director Ellen Rusconi on his experiences directing and choreographing musicals from the classics to more contemporary works. From his theatre experiences while growing up in Cleveland to his transition from performer to the other...

A Director's Life: Creative Development and Renewal: On June 18, 2011, SDCF Executive Director Laura Penn moderated a panel at the TCG conference featuring   Gil Cates, Curt Columbus, Jeffrey Horowitz, Susan Medak, Madeline Puzo,   and   Julie Taymor   to consider the centrality of the director's role in theatre today. This panel of well-regarded directors and national theatre leaders engages in t...

Mary Overlie and Moisés Kaufman: On May 19th, 1999, Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation hosted a One-on-One Conversation with Moisés Kaufman , playwright, director and founder of Tectonic Theater Project, and   Mary Overlie , the discoverer of Viewpoints. The two artists discuss the meaning behind theatrical theory and how that relates to their work. Kaufman describes his process in deve...

Staging Revivals: Marcia Milgrom Dodge and Chet Walker : At the SDCF 2013 Emerging Artist Symposium on Musicals on May 20, 2013, internationally-acclaimed director/choreographers   Chet Walker   and   Marcia Milgrom Dodge   shared their expertise of applying a fresh perspective to the revival of a musical subsequent to an iconic production. They share their personal artistic processes, the questio...

At its 2013 Emerging Artist Symposium on Musicals,   Robyn Goodman , Commercial Producer and Founder of Second Stage Theatre, spoke with SDCF Producing Director Ellen Rusconi about discovering talent and developing new work in today's dynamic theatre climate. Goodman ( Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, Avenue Q, In the Heights, Altar Boyz ) infuses her perspective as an actor turned producer w...

On July 13, 2013, Stage Directors and Choreographer Foundation hosted a One-on-One Conversation with acclaimed Director, Choreographer, and Movement Director Steven Hoggett ( Blackwatch, Peter and the Starcatcher, Once ), discussing his artistic vision, career trajectory, and rehearsal processes. Moderated by Ryan Donovan, the conversation explores Steven's journey from his beginnings as a self-su...

On June 12, 2013, award-winning directors   Pam MacKinnon   and   Kathleen Marshall   spoke with SDCF Producing Director Ellen Rusconi about their work and career. They discuss the nuts and bolts of the rehearsal process from the Illuminating qualities of auditions and early design meetings to the continuous evolution of a piece as gauged by audience, producers, and associates. Both speak to theat...

Director/Founder: On May 6th, 2013, Oliver Butler of The Debate Society and Jack E. Cummings III of Transport Group spoke with SDCF Producing Director Ellen Rusconi on their experiences simultaneously managing a directing career and theatrical company. The in-depth discussion follows the ebb and flow of two singular directing careers each affected by a loyalty to their own growing theatre companie...

Fight Direction : On April 8, 2013, Fight Directors   Erica Gould   and   Rick Sordelet   spoke with SDCF Producing Director Ellen Rusconi to discuss the responsibilities and roles of theatre's fight directors. Listen in as Rick and Erica share their approaches to working with a director, to assessing actors' skills and potential for fight direction, and to creating a variety of fights for the cou...

Running Regional Theatres : On January 7, 1987, Artistic Directors   Nagle Jackson   (of Hartford Stage) and   Mark Lamos   (of McCarter Theatre) sat down with director   Mary Robinson   to speak about leadership in regional theatre. Jackson and Lamos discuss the challenges they face throughout their day-to-day routines and the struggle to balance the administrative and artistic aspects of the job...

On Tuesday, December 4, 2012, the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society hosted a panel on women directors and choreographers in Chicago with   Rachel Rockwell, Joanie Schultz, Kimberly Senior,   and   Leigh Silverman . This informal town-hall discussion explores the positive and negative experiences women may encounter while pursuing a career as a director or choreographer. The conversation i...

Playwright/Director 1987: In 1987, SDCF and the Dramatists Guild jointly held a panel discussion exploring the symbiotic and complex relationship between playwright and director. Peter Stone moderates a panel of playwrights and directors including Sam Bobrick, Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey, David Henry Hwang, Bernet Kellman, Tom Moore, David Rosenak, Gene Saks, and Stephen Tobolowsky. The consensus fr...

On Tuesday, December 6, 2011, SDCF hosted a conversation between sound designers   Jill BC Du Boff   ( Good People, Bill Maher: Victory Begins at Home ),   Brett Jarvis   ( Kiki and Herb - Alive on Broadway!, The Donkey Show ), and   Rob Kaplowitz   ( Fela!, Pumpgirl ) to find out how to work with designers to maximize the creativity and productivity of sound design. Designing the sound of a produ...

Understanding Automation: On January 7, 2013, SDCF spoke with Production Managers/Technical Directors   David Benken   and   Martin Pavloff   about "Understanding Automation: What Every Director Should Know Before Technical Rehearsals." This is a master class on automation from two practitioners who have supervised automated lights and scenery for Broadway and touring productions including   The L...