'WORKING IN THE THEATER' To Feature 'MAKING OGRE BROADWAY'

The American Theatre Wing's "Working in the Theatre" will feature "Making Ogre Broadway" on CUNY TV on Sunday, January 11 at 5 p.m. The segment will repeat on Friday, January 16 at 9 a.m., 2 and 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, January 17 at 11 a.m. The program becomes available as streaming audio and podcast from Americantheatrewing.org beginning Wednesday, January 14.

In a broadcast devoted to an in-depth look at one Broadway show, guests will include the creative team behind Shrek The Musical --Book writer and Lyricist David Lindsay-Abaire, Producer Bill Damaschke, Director Jason Moore, Producer Caro Newling and Composer Jeanine Tesori. Highlights of the discussion are centered on how the team was chosen; the development process that led Shrek to Broadway; how material from both the book and movie guided them in shaping the musical; how they approached taking the story to another level; striking a balance in making the show appealing to both children and adults; what they used, or didn't use, from producers' notes; and some of the technical "secrets" used to create the musical.

Producer of Shrek The Musical, Bill Damaschke is the President of DreamWorks Theatricals and co-president of production of Dreamworks Animation SKG, Inc. He joined DreamWorks Studios in 1995 and has served in a variety of animation roles, including head of creative production and head of development. Damaschke served as a producer of Shark Tale (nominated for Best Animated Feature Academy Award in 2004) and an executive producer of Over the Hedge and Kung Fu Panda. He has and continues to oversee the creative development from inception to screen of DWA's film slate.

David Lindsay-Abaire wrote the book and lyrics for Shrek The Musical and was most recently awarded the 2008 Ed Kleban Award as America's most promising musical theatre lyricist. Prior to that, he received the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play Rabbit Hole, which premiered on Broadway at MTC's Biltmore Theatre. Rabbit Hole also received five Tony Award nominations, including Best Play, and the Spirit of America Award. His other shows include Fuddy Meers, Kimberly Akimbo, Wonder of the World, High Fidelity and A Devil Inside, among others. In addition to his work in theatre, David wrote the screenplay for the upcoming Newline feature Inkheart and is currently at work on screen adaptations of his plays Rabbit Hole for 20th Century Fox, starring Nicole Kidman, and Kimberly Akimbo for Killer Films and DreamWorks. David is a proud New Dramatists alum, a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and the Juilliard School, as well as a member of the WGA and the Dramatists Guild Council.

Director of Shrek The Musical, Jason Moore has directed such Broadway shows as Avenue Q and Steel Magnolias. Moore also directed Jerry Springer: The Opera at Carnegie Hall and Off-Broadway credits include: Speech and Debate, Avenue Q, Guardians, and The Crumple Zone. Moore was Associate director of Les Misérables (Broadway, national tour), and Ragtime (Vancouver) and wrote The Floatplane Notebooks (Charlotte Repertory Theatre). Moore also directed TV episodes of "Dawson's Creek," "Everwood," "One Tree Hill" and "Brothers and Sisters." Moore has a BS in performance studies from Northwestern University.

Caro Newling is the Producer of Shrek The Musical and co-founder of Neal Street Productions, formed in 2003 with Sam Mendes and Pippa Harris to produce film and theatre. Broadway credits include: The Vertical Hour and West End/Broadway transfers include: Sunday in the Park With George (Menier Chocolate Factory), and Mary Stuart (Donmar Warehouse). Neal Street Production's film credits include: Stuart: A Life Backwards, Starter for Ten, Things We Lost in the Fire, Jarhead, Revolutionary Road. Forthcoming productions include: The Bridge Project with Brooklyn Academy Of Music/Old Vic Theatre, and the West End premiere of Three Days of Rain. Mendes and Newling established and ran the Donmar Warehouse Theatre, London, 1992 to 2002, originating some 70 productions including, on Broadway including: The Blue Room, Electra, True West and Tony Award winners Cabaret, The Real Thing, and Take Me Out.

Jeanine Tesori is the composer for Shrek The Musical. She has also written three Tony-nominated scores for Broadway: Twelfth Night (Lincoln Center); Thoroughly Modern Millie (lyrics, Dick Scanlan); and Caroline, or Change (lyrics, Tony Kushner; director, George C. Wolfe). The National Theatre production of Caroline, or Change in London received the Olivier Award for Best New Musical. Her first musical, Violet, written with Brian Crawley, received the NY Drama Critics Circle Award. She has received Drama Desk and Obie Awards, and was cited by ASCAP as the first woman composer to have "two new musicals running concurrently on Broadway." She composed the music for the New York Shakespeare Festival's Mother Courage, directed by George C. Wolfe and translated by Tony Kushner. Film scores include Nights in Rodanthe, Winds of Change, Show Business and Wrestling With Angels. She composed songs for the movie Shrek the Third and for the Disney DVD releases Mulan II, Lilo and Stitch II and The Little Mermaid III. Ms. Tesori is a member of the Dramatists Guild. She is a graduate of Barnard College and lives in Manhattan with her husband, Michael Rafter, and daughter, Siena.

The program is moderated by Entertainment reporter, Melissa Rose Bernardo.

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 lifelong learning experiences through television.

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 30th 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 granted nearly $3 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; and the Jonathan Larson® Grants, recognizing and supporting emerging writers of musical theatre. Visitors to 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.