The Dramatists Guild Presents: TALKBACK

In our final episode of Season 2, Christine gets to chat with two longtime friends, Robert Barry Fleming and Charles Randolph-Wright about the concept of radical hospitality: the act of creating access where none existed by purposefully and actively removing barriers. Christine leads our conversation on how all artists can claim the space to tell their own stories and how radical hospitality can be extended towards the audiences for whom these stories are intended to reach. To learn more about Charles Randolph-Wright visit: https://www.dramatistsguild.com/members/charlesrandolph-wrightTo learn more about Robert Barry Fleming visit: https://www.actorstheatre.org/bios/robert-barry-fleming/To learn more about Actors Theater of Louisville visit: https://www.actorstheatre.org/This episode features Charles Randolph Wright and Robert Barry Fleming. The Dramatist Guild Presents: Talkback is a production of The Dramatists Guild of America . This episode was produced by Sarah Storm, Amy VonMacek and Christine Toy Johnson. Robare Pruyn mixed our show. Our theme music was composed by Andrea Daly. Special thanks to Tina Fallon, Tari Stratton, and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee at the Dramatists Guild.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The entire theater industry has found itself confronting a very specific access challenge this year. So many traditional boundaries have been broken. The fourth wall has been replaced with the Zoom screen, and the audience with a chat room. Christine chats with writers Nikkole Salter and Bianca Sams about how they’re thinking about work, audience, and opportunity - outside of the brick-and-mortar theater model with its traditional subscriber base.To learn more about Nikkole Salter visit www.nikkolesalter.com Follow them on Twitter @NikkoleSalterTo learn more about Bianca Sams visit www.biancasams.com Follow them on Twitter @BiancaSams1This episode features Nikkole Salter and Bianca Sams. The Dramatist Guild Presents: Talkback is a production of The Dramatists Guild of America . This episode was produced by Sarah Storm, Amy VonMacek and Christine Toy Johnson. Robare Pruyn mixed our show. Our theme music was composed by Andrea Daly. Special thanks to Tina Fallon, Tari Stratton, and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee at the Dramatists Guild.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Age is just a number, right? Maybe not when it comes to the entertainment industry. Playwright Sarah Tuft (MARVEL-OUS MONICA; IN WHICH MONICA LEWINSKY IS A SUPERHERO HELL-BENT ON REVENGE, 110 Stories) and actor Caroline Aaron (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Edward Scissorhands) tell personal stories about their careers and how age has played a factor. Sarah tells Christine how she refused to accept the status quo and is on the executive committee at Honor Roll-an action and advocacy group of women+playwrights over 40.To learn more about Caroline Aaron visit: https://www.dramatistsguild.com/members/carolineaaronTo learn more about Sarah Tuft visit www.sarahtuft.com and follow her on Twitter @sarah_tuftTo learn more about Honor Roll visit: https://www.dramatistsguild.com/thedramatist/honor-roll-we-gotand follow them on Twitter @HonorRollWritesThis episode features Sarah Tuft and Caroline Aaron. The Dramatist Guild Presents: Talkback is a production of The Dramatists Guild of America . This episode was produced by Sarah Storm, Amy VonMacek and Christine Toy Johnson. Robare Pruyn mixed our show. Our theme music was composed by Andrea Daly. Special thanks to Tina Fallon, Tari Stratton, and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee at the Dramatists Guild. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Theater is upheld as an inclusive community. So, what does meaningful inclusion look like for artists with disabilities? Gregg Mozgala and Katy Sullivan talk with Christine about their roles in Martyna Majok’s Pulitzer Prize winning play Cost of Living, their own advocacy work, and the extra role they take on just by stepping into the rehearsal room.To learn more about Gregg’s work visit https://queenstheatre.org/ or http://www.greggmozgala.com/To learn more about Katy visit www.katysullivan.netYou can buy a copy of Cost of Living by Martyna Majok from Dramatists Play ServiceThis episode features Gregg Mozgala and Katy Sullivan The Dramatist Guild Presents: Talkback is a production of The Dramatists Guild of America . This episode was produced by Sarah Storm, Amy VonMacek and Christine Toy Johnson. Robare Pruyn mixed our show. Our theme music was composed by Andrea Daly. Special thanks to Tina Fallon, Tari Stratton, and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee at the Dramatists Guild. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is getting a Masters degree the best way to enter the theater industry? It’s a popular avenue to take, but it may not be the only way. Christine sits down with friends and colleagues KJ Sanchez and Vichet Chum as they dive into the realities of student loans, institutional racism, and a career in an insecure industry.For more information on the MFA programs discussed today please visit:Brown University MFA in PlaywritingUniversity of Texas at Austin MFA in PlaywritingThis episode features Vichet Chum and KJ Sanchez The Dramatist Guild Presents: Talkback is a production of The Dramatists Guild of America . This episode was produced by Sarah Storm, Amy VonMacek and Christine Toy Johnson. Robare Pruyn mixed our show. Our theme music was composed by Andrea Daly. Special thanks to Tina Fallon, Tari Stratton, and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee at the Dramatists Guild. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christine sits down with two writers and advocates, Georgia Stitt (Snow Child, Samantha Spade, Ace Detective, Founder of Maestra) and Lloyd Suh (The Chinese Lady, Charles Francis Chan Jr.'s Exotic Oriental Murder Mystery), to talk about the pipeline, who is granted access to being considered for jobs in the industry and why. You’ll hear their theories on why the pipeline is perpetuated, whose stories are being told, and how musicians, composers, and playwrights can make a more welcoming space for all.For more on Lloyd Suh visit https://newdramatists.org/lloyd-suhFor more about Georgia Stitt and Maestra visit maestramusic.org or GeorgiaStitt.comTo see the Asian American Performers Action Coalition Visibility report visit http://www.aapacnyc.org/2017-2018.htmlThis episode features Georgia Stitt and Lloyd Suh The Dramatist Guild Presents: Talkback is a production of The Dramatists Guild of America . This episode was produced by Sarah Storm, Amy VonMacek and Christine Toy Johnson. Robare Pruyn mixed our show. Our theme music was composed by Andrea Daly. Special thanks to Tina Fallon, Tari Stratton, and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee at the Dramatists Guild.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our final episode of the season playwright Leah Nanako Winkler tells Christine about a 3Views, a new initiative to invite more voices into theater criticism.Later freelance critic and journalist Jose Solís and playwright, screenwriter, and novelist Theresa Rebeck talk about Jose’s first love- theater criticism and why boiling everything to thumbs up or down is damaging to the industry.This episode features Leah Nanako Winkler (God Said This, Season 2 New Amsterdam on NBC) Jose Solís (TCG’s Token Theatre Friends) and Theresa Rebeck (MCC’s Seared, Bernhardt/Hamlet) The Dramatist Presents: Talkback is a production of The Dramatists Guild of America and BOOM Integrated . This episode was produced by Sarah Storm, Amy VonMacek, Christine Toy Johnson, directed by Sarah Storm, and edited by Jenn Grossman and Clint Rhodes of John Marshall Media. It was recorded by Eric Dabdoub for JMM. Special thanks to Tina Fallon, Ralph Sevush, David Faux, Tari Stratton, Adrien Glover, Robin Lai, and John Marshall Cheary.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this flashback to summer episode of TALKBACK, host Christine Toy Johnson welcomes playwright Kristoffer Diaz to talk about his work on the musical Hercules at the Public Theater just before it premiered in New York City and addresses presentation through the lens of wrestling in The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity.Then, Christine and Kristoffer are joined by Tony Award winning Hadestown Director Rachel Chavkin, actor and activist Lynne Marie Rosenberg (Famous Cast Words, High Maintenance), and playwright Chisa Hutchinson (Proof of Love, Somebody’s Daughter, She Like Girls) to discuss a production’s responsibility to require both authenticity and diversity in their actors and among the staff. This episode features Kristoffer Diaz, Rachel Chavkin, Lynne Marie Rosenberg, and Chisa Hutchinson. The Dramatist Presents: Talkback is a production of The Dramatists Guild of America and BOOM Integrated . This episode was produced by Sarah Storm, Amy VonMacek, Christine Toy Johnson, directed by Sarah Storm, and edited by Jenn Grossman and Clint Rhodes of John Marshall Media. It was recorded by Eric Dabdoub for JMM. Special thanks to Tina Fallon, Ralph Sevush, David Faux, Tari Stratton, Adrien Glover, Robin Lai, and John Marshall Cheary. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, host Christine Toy Johnson leads TALKBACK on a journey to understand why representation, or the lack of it, has real and lasting impact on actors and audiences alike. Mandy Gonzalez shares her personal journey from seeking herself in others onstage to becoming a role model for others. Pun Bandhu, Porsche McGovern, and Todd London discuss the variety of studies tracking inclusion in theater workplaces, the grim truth of the current math, and how seeing these studies is slowly changing minds and rosters. TalkBack is distributed by the Broadway Podcast Network. Like and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. For episode transcripts and exclusive content visit us on the web at  dramatistsguild.com. Keep the conversation going on Twitter using #DGTalkBack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

No marketing means no audience… but how *do* you talk to the Marketing Department? Christine Toy Johnson sits down with actor/playwright Charlayne Woodard, playwright Lydia Diamond, producer Garlia Cornelia Jones, and marketing director Caitlin Baird for a lively discussion on how artists can get the marketing support their plays need to thrive, and chat about practical strategies for turning conflict into collaboration.TalkBack is distributed by the Broadway Podcast Network. Like and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. For episode transcripts and exclusive content visit us on the web at  dramatistsguild.com. Keep the conversation going on Twitter using #DGTalkBack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices