In the Field; Conceiving Satire: The Making of This Is The Week That Is, a special documentary commissioned by American Theatre Wing to document the creative process behind 1812 Productions' hit political satire This Is The Week That Is has been nominated for a Mid-Atlantic Emmy Award for Arts Program/Special. Filmed over the course of three months in 2018, In the Field; Conceiving Satire: The Making of This Is The Week That Is followed the cast and creative team of This Is The Week That Is from their initial roundtable conversations through a fully realized production, exploring the show's history and the role of theatre and comedy in American politics.
Heather Hitchens, President and CEO of American Theatre Wing, says of the nomination, "Working with 1812 Productions and exploring their work in theatre through this Arts Special reinforces our mission to showcase the power of theatre and encourage empathy through storytelling. We are emboldened by this honor and by working again with 1812 Productions and the Philadelphia community."
Inspired by the 1960s British television satire
That Was The Week That Was, and created by 1812 Productions' Producing Artistic Director Jennifer Childs,
This Is The Week That Is has been a staple of the Philadelphia theatre season for the past 13 years. Featuring a script that changes nightly, improvised comedy, musical parodies, and a versatile cast of Philadelphia performers,
This Is The Week That Iscontinues its mission to "Tell the truth and make it funny," an edict given by comedy legend Mort Sahl. Ms. Childs adds, "In its history,
This Is The Week That Is has evolved from being a stand-alone production to an annual tradition that brings much needed laughter to Philadelphia audiences. It was an honor to have that process recognized by the American Theatre Wing and to collaborate with them on this documentary-this further recognition is really exciting!"
The project was filmed by Capture, a Philadelphia-based video production firm led by Jorge Cousineau. Cousineau is also an award-winning lighting, scenic, and video designer whose work has been featured in
This Is The Week That Is for many years. "Having been given the opportunity to document the making of our own work enabled us to explore layers of the process that we might have been unaware of otherwise. In some sense it expanded our horizons by opening ourselves to an outsider's perspective," said Cousineau. "It's an incredible honor to see this work reach this level of recognition."
The 2019 Mid-Atlantic Regional Emmy Awards will be presented Saturday, September 28, 2019, at the Wyndham Grand Downtown in Pittsburgh.
Photo Credit: Mark Garvin
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