BWW Exclusive: Visiting London and NYC with National Theater Institute Alumni

The National Theater Institute is committed to diverse theatrical and educational experiences. Therefore, two weeks of each semester are spent in-residence in one of the world's most prominent theater capitals -- the NTI Semester and NTI-Advanced Programs study in London -- while the National Music Theater Institute train in New York City. In both cities, students met with alumni of the National Theater Institute who shared their theatrical experience, NTI stories, professional advice, and insight into the various ways to make a life in the theater.

Today, RISK AGAIN! introduces them to you!

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LONDON

Jill Winternitz

Studied with NTI's Moscow Art Theatre Semester in the fall of 2005.

Currently the 'Girl' in the West End production of ONCE.

Jill chatted with students about her training with MATS, her journey as an actress navigating several performing programs, and how she first became cast in a musical. She then visited with them after ONCE the following week.

Originally from California, Jill studied at UCLA and the Moscow Art Theatre School in Russia, before moving to London to train at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). With Czech and Ukrainian heritage, Jill is thrilled to be drawing upon her Eastern European roots and playing the wonderful role of 'Girl' in the West End production of ONCE. She now calls London home, and recently made her West End debut starring as Baby in DIRTY DANCING at the Piccadilly Theatre, following a sell-out UK Tour. Theatre credits include: Ophelia in HAMLET (Cunard), Kiki in A HANDFUL OF SOIL (Drayton Theatre), Nina in THE SEAGULL (MXAT), Yvonne in SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE (Interlochen Center for the Arts). Film credits include: THE SORROWS, THE REPLACEMENT CHILD.

Bill Barclay

Studied with the National Theater Institute in the fall of 2001.

Director of Music at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.

Attended performances with the students and chatted about his time at NTI, career path, and composing for a production of Hamlet currently on a two-year world tour.

Composer, actor, director, conductor and multi-instrumentalist, Bill is the Director of Music at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London and the first American to join the Theater's staff in the company's history. A Shakespeare specialist, he has collaborated with the Globe; Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA; the Actors' Shakespeare Project in Boston; the Tanglewood Music Center and Boston Symphony Orchestra; The Mercury Theatre in Colchester, England; and a composer with ConsARTium, an art installation collective in Geneva, Switzerland. He is the creator of several original musical works including Call of the Wild, Three Sisters, The Hamlet Symphony, Everyman Found, The Mad Pirate and the Mermaid, and has created several solo performances including Muse on Fire; Shakespeare & the Music of the Spheres, which has been performed in universities and theaters in the U.S. and abroad. He has performed roles or composed original scores for many regional theaters including The Huntington Theatre, SpeakEasy Stage, North Shore Music Theatre, New Repertory Theatre, the Vineyard Playhouse, The Olney Theatre Center, La MaMa ETC, and Theater Row (NYC). In the last five years he has held Artist Residencies for directing, composing, or conducting at Columbia University, the University of Connecticut, Purdue University, Brandeis University, the University of Wisconsin, and the University of Virginia, has taught acting at Emerson College and Boston University, and been a guest lecturer at Harvard University. In 2014 Bill directed his original adaptation of The Magic Flute with The Boston Symphony Orchestra and Youth Orchestra, and has performed as narrator with the Longwood Symphony, the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, and the ALEA III Orchestra. He has appeared on television in recurring roles on Showtime's Brotherhood and PBS, and can be seen in the films Ocean Boulevard and The Time Machine. He studied conducting with Isaiah Jackson and composition with Richard Wilson, composing music for His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh as well as for the Olympic Torch in the 2014 London Olympics. A 2008 winner of the Fox Foundation Resident Actor Fellowship, he is also a winner of the Boston Globe Monologue Scholarship Competition, a two-time Elliot Norton Award Nominee for sound design, and has twice received Metlife's Meet the Composer Grants in 2009 and 2010. Bill is an alumnus of Vassar College, the National Theater Institute, and earned his MFA at the Boston University School of Theatre. He recently edited a two-volume anthology of the plays of Jon Lipsky, beloved Boston-area playwright, published by Smith & Kraus.

Jake Jeppson

Studied with the National Theater Institute in the spring of 2005.

Playwright, currently living and writing in London.

Jake worked with the students on a daily basis, attended performances, and taught playwriting classes as well as curated special shows and sessions for the students in the NTI-Advanced Playwriting program.

Jake writes strange plays that explore the gap between American idealism and American reality. He was a recipient of the 2013-14 Jerome Fellowship in playwright from the Playwrights' Center in Minneapolis. His work has been developed and produced both in the United States and abroad, with recent productions in New York and Riga, Latvia. He is a frequent teacher of playwriting at the Eugene O'Neill Center's National Theater Institute. Additionally, he has taught writing courses at Wesleyan University, the Playwrights' Center, and The Orchard Project, where he co-founded their nationally-sourced apprentice program. He earned his MFA in playwriting at the Yale School of Drama, where he studied with Paula Vogel, Sarah Ruhl, and Ken Prestininzi. While at Yale, he served on the leadership team of the Yale Cabaret and won the Cole Porter Prize in playwriting.

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NEW YORK CITY

Trent Anderson

Studied with the National Theater Institute in the spring of 2010.

Assistant Line Producer at The Public Theater working for Associate Producer Maria Goyanes (NTI fall '99).

Trent gave the students a tour of The Public Theater's varied performances spaces, shared information about the history of the theater, and chatted about his experience working on Lin-Manuel Miranda's HAMILTON (currently enjoying a sold-out run at The Public), and how his time at NTI shaped the course of his career.

Trent is currently the Assistant Line Producer at The Public Theater where he also served as Assistant to the Associate Producer. He has also worked with Clubbed Thumb, and Sydney, Australia's Ensemble Theater. He is a graduate of Manhattanville College and the National Theater Institute.

Stephen DeRosa

Studied with the National Theater Institute in the fall of 1988.

Currently appearing as eight characters, including the Master of Ceremonies, in ON THE TOWN on Broadway.

Stephen brought students backstage at Broadway's Lyric Theater following a performance of ON THE TOWN for a tour, chat about the dance-infused musical, and favorite memories from his semester at NTI.

Broadway: BETRAYAL, THE NANCE, HAIRSPRAY, TWENTIETH CENTURY, HENRY IV, INTO THE WOODS (2002), THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER (filmed live for PBS). Off-Broadway: DO RE MI, WONDERFUL TOWN, IRMA LA DOUCE (all for Encores!); LOVE's FIRE (the Acting Company/RSC); THE MYSTERY OF IRMA VEP. Regional Credits include Westport Country Playhouse, Yale Rep, George Street Playhouse, Berkshire Theatre Group, Williamstown, and many others. Television: "Law & Order," "Ugly Betty," HBO's "Boardwalk Empire" (Eddie Cantor). MFA: Yale.

Patrick Mulryan

Studied with NTI's Moscow Art Theatre Semester in the spring of 2000.

Currently 'Jack'/ 'Steward' in the Fiasco Theater production of INTO THE WOODS at Roundabout Theatre.

Patrick, joined by fellow company members Jessie Austrian and Noah Brody, had a post-show chat with students about the performance, the company's way of working, and what excites him about creating theater.

New York: Fiasco's CYMBELINE (Barrow Street, TFANA); BUM PHILLIPS ALL-AMERICAN OPERA (La MaMa); AS YOU LIKE IT (Happy Few Theatre Company, NYIT Award nomination). Regional: Fiasco's INTO THE WOODS (McCarter, Old Globe); CABARET and THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST (Trinity Rep); CHAIN OF FOOLS (Guthrie). Has taught Voice and Speech at SUNY Purchase, Fordham University, The Acting Studio, Tom Todoroff Conservatory. Proud graduate of the Brown/Trinity M.F.A. Acting Program and Oberlin College.

Ted Chapin (NTI '70)

Studied with the National Theater Institute in the fall of 1970 (the program's inaugural semester).

President and Executive Director of the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization.

In a freewheeling conversation, Ted shared anecdotes from his career, provided insight into the Rogers and Hammerstein cannon, how he became an observer on the first production of FOLLIES after NTI, and encouraged students to look for the theater's 'hidden' jobs.

As President and Executive Director of Rodgers & Hammerstein: An Imagem Company, Ted Chapin has spearheaded over twenty award-winning Broadway and London revivals, as well as several film and TV movie remakes and numerous recordings. Chapin is past Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the American Theater Wing, and was chairman of the Advisory Committee for New York City Center's Encores! series from its inception. In addition, he serves on the boards of New York City Center, Goodspeed Musicals and New Music USA. He has been a guest lecturer at NYU, Yale, Columbia, Lawrence University and St. Catherine's College at Oxford. He was a Tony Awards nominator for two seasons, and is currently a member of the Tony Administration Committee. Prior to joining R&H, Chapin served as, among other things, musical director for the National Theatre of the Deaf, Associate Director of the National Theater Institute, and Producer of the Musical Theatre Lab in New York and the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. For three years, Chapin served as Associate to Alan Arkin which included Assistant Director on the original production of Neil Simon's THE SUNSHINE BOYS. By the time he graduated from Connecticut College in 1972, he had amassed more than five years of Broadway credits as production or directorial assistant. In 2003, he turned his observations working as the Production Assistant on the original production of the Stephen Sondheim/Harold Prince musical FOLLIES into an award-winning book, Everything Was Possible: The Birth of the Musical "Follies," which was published in hardcover by Alfred A. Knopf and in paperback by Applause Books.

To learn more and apply, visit www.NationalTheaterInstitute.org and on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube (@NTIRiskFailRisk). The application deadline for summer and fall programs is March 20. Early applications are encouraged!