STAGE TUBE: I AM THEATRE Project - Olympia Dukakis

BroadwayWorld.com is excited to share a weekly series developed by the Theatre Communications Group! This week actress Olympia Dukakis shares pivotal moments in her theatre career and why the arts matter to her!

Her credits include: New York: THE MILK TRAIN DOESN'T STOP HERE ANYMORE, THE SINGING FOREST, ROSE (Outer Critics Circle Award), SOCIAL SECURITY directed by Mike Nichols, WHO'S WHO IN HELL, THE ASPERN PAPERS, NIGHT OF THE IGUANA, Christopher Durang's THE MARRIAGE OF BETTE AND BOO (Obie Award), Sam Shepard's CURSE OF THE STARVING CLASS, PEER GYNT, TITUS ANDRONICUS, ELECTRA, Vaclav Havel's THE MEMORANDUM, and Brecht's A MAN'S A MAN (Obie Award). Regional theatre: over 150 productions including founding member and Producing Artistic Director of the Whole Theatre in Montclair, NJ for 19 years, where she directed and appeared in many productions including THE ROSE TATTOO, Happy Days, LONG DAYS JOURNEY, and MOTHER COURAGE ; A.C.T.Timberlake Wertenbaker's ELEKTRA, HECUBA, FOR THE PLEASURE OF SEEING HER AGAIN, Gorky's A MOTHER, VIGIL, and ELEKTRA; Trinity Rep's THE GLASS MENAGERIE and THE HOPE ZONE; and Williamstown Theatre Festival for 13 seasons where she also served as Associate Director, most recently HECUBA and THE MILK TRAIN DOESN'T STOP HERE ANYMORE (Hartford Stage directed by Michael Wilson). London: ROSE (world premiere at the Royal National Theatre). Films: "Moonstruck" (Academy Award, Best Supporting Actress; NY Film Critics, L.A. Film Critics and Golden Globe awards); "Mr. Holland's Opus", "Steel Magnolias" directed by Herbert Ross; "Dad" co-starring Jack Lemmon; and most recently "Away From Her" with Julie Christie, "Three Needles", and "The Intended". Television: the three mini-series based on Armistead Maupin's novels, "Tales of the City," "More Tales of the City," and "Further Tales of the City" (Emmy, Screen Actors Guild and BAFTA nominations); "Young at Heart" co-starring Frank Sinatra and Louis Zorich (Emmy nomination); " "The Last Act Is Solo" (ACE Award); the mini-series "Sinatra," as Frank Sinatra's mother (Emmy nomination); and for British TV "A Life for a Life" (BAFTA nomination). She is married to actor Louis Zorich, and they have three children, Christina, Peter and Stefan and four grandchildren.

I AM THEATRE spotlights the stories of theatre practitioners, in their own words. With 50 videos over the next 50 weeks, TCG is celebrating its 50th anniversary by sharing stories from a diverse group of people who are creating, supporting, and engaging with theatre. YOU ARE THEATRE: We want to hear your stories! TCG will release a new video each week of individuals sharing pivotal moments in theatre - and hope they will inspire you to tell your stories too. Join us as we seek to raise the international awareness of the depth, diversity and impact of the theatre field. WE ARE THEATRE! Today, not-for-profit professional theatres in the U.S. employ 130,000 people annually, inspire more than 30 million attendees and contribute $2 billion directly to the U.S. economy. What if thousands of theatre artists across the world posted their own video testimonies of why they do what they do and why theatre matters? How might that transform communities' awareness of our work? Please share the stories we've recorded, and we'll share the videos you make, and together we'll testify in a voIce That everyone will hear...I AM THEATRE. YOU ARE THEATRE. WE ARE THEATRE!

For 50 years, Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the American theatre, has existed to strengthen, nurture and promote the professional not-for-profit American theatre. TCG's constituency has grown from a handful of groundbreaking theatres to nearly 700 member theatres and affiliate organizations and more than 13,000 individuals nationwide. TCG offers its members networking and knowledge-building opportunities through conferences, events, research and communications; awards grants, approximately $2 million per year, to theatre companies and individual artists; advocates on the federal level; and serves as the US Center of the InterNational Theatre Institute, connecting its constituents to the global theatre community. TCG is North America's largest independent publisher of dramatic literature, with 11 Pulitzer Prizes for Best Play on the TCG booklist. It also publishes the award-winning AMERICAN THEATRE magazine and ARTSEARCH®, the essential source for a career in the arts. In all of its endeavors, TCG seeks to increase the organizational efficiency of its member theatres, cultivate and celebrate the artistic talent and achievements of the field and promote a larger public understanding of, and appreciation for, the theatre. www.tcg.org