The American Theatre Wing and XM Satellite Radio proudly present an interview with Director Diane Paulus, on their weekly theatrical interview show, “Downstage Center,” on XM’s On Broadway (XM Channel 28).
Paulus will appear as the special guest on Friday, September 5 at 6 p.m. The show will repeat on Saturday, September 6 at noon, Sunday, September 7 at 7 p.m., and Wednesday, September 10 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 8.
Diane Paulus, director of the acclaimed 40th anniversary revival of the musical Hair in Central Park, talks about her long-standing love of the musical -- despite the fact that she'd never actually seen it -- and how she indoctrinated her youthful cast with the spirit of the 60’s. Paulus also discusses her development as a theatre artist, from her collegiate days at Harvard to staging a show in a New York City community garden to her sojourn in Wisconsin to her return to New York for graduate school at Columbia; how she created The Donkey Show and why she often turns to Shakespeare for source material for her work; what she knew of Laura Nyro before directing Eli's Coming; and her plans for her new role as the artistic director of
The American Repertory Theatre Cambridge.
Diane Paulus is the creator and director of The Donkey Show, which ran for six years off-Broadway and toured internationally. Her theatre credits include: Turandot: Rumble for the Ring (
Bay Street Theatre); The Golden Mickeys (Disney Creative Entertainment); Best of Both Worlds (Music-Theatre Group and The
Women's Project); The Karaoke Show (
Jordan Roth Productions); the Obie Award-winning Pulitzer Prize finalist Running Man; Swimming With Watermelons (Project 400); Brutal Imagination and Obie-winning Eli's Comin. Opera credits include Le Nozze Di Figaro, Turn of the Screw, Cosi Fan Tutte, Il Ritorno D'ulisse In Patria, L'Incoronazione di Poppea, and Orfeo (all Chicago Opera Theater; Orfeo was also presented at BAM). Paulus is also the recipient of the Peter Ivers Visiting Artist Fellowship at Harvard University and the Directing Fellowship Award from the Drama League. She currently teaches at Barnard College/Columbia University and was recently appointed the Artistic Director of
The American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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 29th 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 awarded more than $2.5 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. 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.
