The American Theatre Wing and XM Satellite Radio proudly present an interview with Casting Director Bernard Telsey, on their weekly theatrical interview show, “Downstage Center,” on XM’s On Broadway (XM Channel 28).
Telsey will appear as the special guest on Friday, September 19 at 6 p.m. The show will repeat on Saturday, September 20 at noon, Sunday, September 21 at 7 p.m., and Wednesday, September 24 at midnight (all times eastern; transmission is simultaneous across the country). The program becomes available as streaming audio and podcast from www.americantheatrewing.org and iTunes beginning Monday afternoon, September 22.
Prolific Broadway casting director (and recent reality TV judge)
Bernard Telsey discusses his parallel careers as the head of Telsey + Company and the artistic director of Off-Broadway's MCC Theater. He shares some tidbits about his own training as an actor, his few acting gigs (including understudying
Matthew Broderick) and how that training effects his casting work; the impetus behind MCC Theater and what his plans are for the company; what he thinks of casting theatre by reality TV in general and the
Legally Blonde program in particular; and he talks about the varied challenges of casting, with particular focus on the actor-musicians of both the
John Doyle-directed Company and the original cast and many companies of Rent over its 12 year run, as well as the distinctive characters of
Wicked.
Bernard Telsey graduated from New York University in 1981 with a degree in Theater Administration and Acting. While at NYU he interned with many not-for-profits theaters, acted, and soon after co-founded MCC Theater with
Robert LuPone. During the early years MCC Theater became a place for artists of all kinds to develop their craft, and in 1986 the company received its not-for-profit status and began producing the plays it was developing. During this time, Telsey began working at Simon & Kumin Casting as an assistant, and then as a casting director at Risa Bramon &
Billy Hopkins Casting. He opened his own casting office in 1988. Since then, he, along with his staff of casting directors and associates, have cast such Broadway shows as Rent,
Wicked, In the Heights,
South Pacific,
Hairspray,
Equus,
Legally Blonde,
A Catered Affair, The Homecoming, Talk Radio, November,
Grey Gardens, The Color Purple, The Rocky Horror Show, All Shook Up, Tarzan, Sweeney Todd and many more. Off-Broadway credits include reasons to be pretty, 50 Words, Almost an Evening, De La Guarda and several theatre companies including the Atlantic Theatre Company, Signature Theatre, Westport Playhouse, New York Theater Workshop, Drama Dept., ACT in San Francisco,
La Jolla Playhouse, McCarter Theatre, Long Wharf Theatre, The Hartford Stage Company, and The Goodman Theatre. Film credits include Rachel Getting Married, Sex and the City: The Movie, Across the Universe, Dan in Real Life, Pieces of April, Rent, and many more. Bernie has also served for seven years as the New York Vice-President of the Casting Society of America.
Each new “Downstage Center” is regularly broadcast at 6 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays at noon, Sundays at 7 p.m. and Wednesdays at 12 a.m. (all times EST). Following the initial run on XM, each program is made available for free, on-demand, internationally as both streaming audio and podcast on ATW’s Web site,
www.americantheatrewing.org.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
