Bogart, Ellis & Sullivan in CUNY TV's 'Directors on Directing'

The American Theatre Wing's "Working in the Theatre" will feature "Directors on Directing" on CUNY TV on Sunday, March 2 at 5PM. The segment will repeat on Friday, March 7 at 9AM, 2PM & 7:30PM, and Saturday, March 8 at 11AM.  The program becomes available as streaming video and podcast from www.americantheatrewing.org beginning Wednesday, March 5.

A distinguished panel of theatre directors – Anne Bogart, Scott Ellis, and Daniel Sullivan – discuss their early influences in theatre and how that impacted their work as directors, why they have such a strong and emotional reaction to the idea of "concept" in the directing process, their opposing opinions on the role of assistants, what plays interest them and which works they wouldn't direct, whether they each approach the process differently when directing a new work or a revival, and whether they feel directing is something that can be taught.

Anne Bogart is the Artistic Director of the Siti Company, where her recent works include Who Do You Think You Are, Radio Macbeth, Hotel Cassiopeia, and Death and the Ploughman. She has received numerous awards including two Obie Awards, a Bessie Award, a Guggenheim, a Rockefeller Fellowship, and a USA Artists Fellow. Bogart is currently a Professor at Columbia University where she runs the Graduate Directing Program. She directed the current production of Dead Man's Cell Phone at Playwrights Horizon.

Scott Ellis received a Tony nomination for his work on the hit musical Curtains. Other Broadway shows directed by him include: The Little Dog Laughed, Twelve Angry Men, The Man Who Had All the Luck, The Boys from Syracuse, The Rainmaker, 1776, and She Loves Me. Ellis will direct Good Boys and True at Second Stage Theatre later this season. Ellis is also the Associate Artistic Director of the Roundabout Theatre Company.

Daniel Sullivan has directed such Broadway shows as: The Homecoming, Prelude to a Kiss, Rabbit Hole, Julius Caesar, Brooklyn Boy, Sight Unseen, Retreat From Moscow, Morning's at Seven, Proof and An American Daughter. From 1981 to 1997, Sullivan served as the artistic director of Seattle Repertory Theatre, where he directed over 60 productions. He is currently the Acting Artistic Director of the Manhattan Theatre Club.

The ATW "Working in the Theatre" panels bring together theatre's best-known performers, producers, playwrights, directors, choreographers, composers, agents and others for peer-to-peer conversation about the art, the craft and the business of theatre.

CUNY TV is a cable channel serving the five boroughs of New York City with educational, cultural and public affairs programs. As part of The City University of New York, CUNY TV operates as a non-commercial station. Its mission is to extend the academic and intellectual richness of the University beyond the campuses and to offer New York City residents a haven for life long learning experiences through television.

Scott Ellis (photo by Walter McBride / Retna Ltd)