The Dramatists Guild Presents: TALKBACK

The Dramatists Guild Presents: TALKBACK

The Dramatists Guild Presents: TALKBACK: Where Art, Community, and Inclusion Meet. It's time to expand the canon. Our new season of DG's Talkback podcast examines how we can challenge the status quo. Over the course of six episodes, host Christine Toy Johnson and special industry guests explore how we can expand the canon of which plays are taught, read, programmed, and used to define the idea of what constitutes a classic in American theatre. We also discuss the idea of igniting the concept of the canon with new, actionable strategies. How can we be intentional in the ways that we make space for diverse, and inclusive stories, while also reimagining often the produced ones, so that the American landscape of storytelling is truly reflective of the gorgeous tapestry of people who inhabit it?

Episodes

Special Episode! Danny Burstein at BroadwayCon

December 11, 2023 • 43 mins
We're giving you a special gift for the holidays. A never before released live episode that we did at BroadwayCon in New York City in July of 2023. I had the great joy of sitting down with my longtime pal and colleague, Danny Burstein. Danny is a treasured and prolific actor on film, television, and Broadway. He's been in 19 Broadway shows, with the latest being Pictures from Home by Char White. Which he was starring in at the time...
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S5 E6: “That insatiable desire to be seen and be heard.” The Future of our Canon

November 27, 2023 • 41 mins
This season's final episode features a conversation with two of the most produced playwrights in America: Lauren Gunderson and Lynn Nottage. The two women writers speak with host (and fellow woman writer) Christine Toy Johnson about how they were motivated to start telling stories in order to create roles that were missing from the narrative. They also address the importance of bringing theatre to communities- especially marginaliz...
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S5 E5: “Why is the Most Dangerous Question in the World” - Redefining Power in the Canon

November 20, 2023 • 28 mins
This week, playwright and activist Roger Q. Mason speaks with podcast host Christine Toy Johnson about how power influences the canon. Roger shares how spirituality plays a key role in their writing process and also discusses the importance of thinking critically -- especially when facing both canonical and new theatrical works. In the fifth season of The Dramatists Guild Presents: Talkback, we examine how we can expand the canon a...
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S5 E4: “Theatre Is Not a Museum Piece" - The Modern Canon with Joseph Haj

November 13, 2023 • 23 mins
Discover why the American theatre canon is not a static entity. In this episode, Guthrie Artistic Director Joseph Haj speaks with Talkback host Christine Toy Johnson about how his theatre seeks to include both traditional classics and new works to diversify and educate the audience in each theatre season. He also shares how the Guthrie's non-homogenous creative team policy works and how other theatres can be motivated to incorporat...
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S5 E3: “If I Look at Roses, I Hear Bells” - Neurodiversity in the Canon with Harmon dot aut

November 4, 2023 • 33 mins
How does theatre help a neurodivergent artist navigate the challenges of being on the spectrum? In this episode, playwright Harmon dot aut speaks with Talkback host Christine Toy Johnson about their writing process and their experience at Spectrum Theater Ensemble, where Harmon is a playwright in residence. Discover how the theatre's NICE program supports neurodiverse, inclusive theatre practices and what it means to create sensory...
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S5 E2: "English Canon vs. Global Canon” - The Canon and Global Language with Diana Burbano and Jason Ma

October 30, 2023 • 36 mins
Playwrights Diana Burbano and Jason Ma speak with Talkback host Christine Toy Johnson about the interaction between language and the expanding definition of the American theatre canon. They discuss the challenges of using playwriting software when writing shows that utilize non-Western languages, what it's like to write for audiences for whom English is a second language, how deeper meanings can get lost when certain texts are tran...
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S5 E1: "The Spark" - The Canon in Education with Julianne Wick Davis and Stephen Kaplan

October 23, 2023 • 31 mins
The first episode of The Dramatists Guild Presents: Talkback Season 5 features a conversation with theatre artists and educators Stephen Kaplan and Julianne Wick Davis. Host Christine Toy Johnson speaks with Stephen and Julianne about how to teach difficult or controversial theatrical works in the classroom, how to include more recent plays and musicals in a school curriculum, how teachers can use scripts and scores for educational...
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S4 E6 We are the Uber Drivers of the Theatre Industry: A conversation with Amanda Green

November 28, 2022 • 29 mins
Amanda Green made headlines last year when she became the first female president of the Dramatists Guild of America in its over 100-year history. In this episode, Amanda talks about what DG means to her, telling podcast host Christine Toy Johnson about how the Guild uplifted her during an uncertain time in her life and career. She also discusses the importance of the PRO Act, explains why collective bargaining matters for dramatist...
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S4 E5 Writing as a Way For Me to Make Sense Out of Certain Things: A conversation with Rona Siddiqui and Michael R. Jackson

November 21, 2022 • 30 mins
In this episode, hosted by Christine Toy Johnson, Michael R. Jackson and Rona Siddiqui share their creative inspirations, discuss their collaboration on the upcoming musical White Girl in Danger, and reflect upon their respective journeys with the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning musical A Strange Loop, which was recently nominated for a 2023 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. They also discuss the importance of advo...
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S4 E4 Talking is Easy, Writing is Hard: A conversation with Lisa Kron and John Weidman

November 14, 2022 • 40 mins
In this episode, Christine interviews longtime friends and colleagues, Lisa Kron and John Weidman. Both John and Lisa have served as officers on the Dramatists Guild Council; under their purview, the Guild grew to become a national organization that seeks to serve writers of all backgrounds. They discuss the labor relations and gender equity issues that fueled their respective desires to help lead the Guild and talk about what it m...
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S4 E3 There is No Such Thing as Failure Unless You Don’t Get in the Game: A conversation with Charlayne Woodard

November 7, 2022 • 36 mins
We're excited to welcome back actress and writer Charlayne Woodard. In Season 1, Charlayne spoke with Christine Toy Johnson about her experiences marketing her work. In this episode, Charlayne takes us to the beginning of her career, sharing about how her early experience in the oral tradition inspired her to start creating theatre. She goes on to discuss how she overcame resistance from members of her community when she wrote her ...
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S4 E2 I Love Being in this Lousy Hotel Room with You Creating Something of Beauty: A conversation with Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty

October 31, 2022 • 46 mins
Talkback host Christine Toy Johnson interviews Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, a dynamic musical theatre songwriting duo who have been collaborating together for almost forty years. Even at the height of the pandemic, their writing never stopped. Listen to this episode to learn about what it means to view collaboration as teamwork, how they approached the writing process for their current musical, Knoxville, and what inspired the...
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S4 E1 “You Should Feel Weird If They Love What You Do”: A Conversation with Branden Jacobs-Jenkins

October 24, 2022 • 36 mins
DG Council Vice President Branden Jacobs-Jenkins has made his career by building community with other writers - even if that community started as three blogs in the early aughts. In this episode, Branden tells Talkback host Christine Toy Johnson about his passion for fair and equitable treatment of writers and how his role at the Dramatists Guild enables him to advocate on behalf of his community of fellow playwrights, composers, l...
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S3 E6 A Long Overdue Correction: Collaborating with Non-Homogenous Creative Teams with Leigh Silverman

November 22, 2021 • 35 mins
In our final episode of Season 3 Christine sits down with celebrated director Leigh Silverman about her ongoing commitment to form teams that have intersectional inclusion. Leigh shares candidly both her own efforts to create parity on her teams, and her personal learning curve. Leigh will be a part of New York City’s Vineyard Theater 2021/2022 season. Visit (vineyardtheatre.org) TALKBACK is a production of the Dramatists Guild of ...
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S3 E5 I See You. I Respect You. I Honor You. Collaborating With Your Community with Teresa Coleman Wash

November 15, 2021 • 29 mins
In this episode Christine talks to Teresa Coleman Wash, Executive Artistic Director of Bishop Arts Theater Center in Dallas, Texas. We discuss the ways individualism and collectivism can go hand in hand in creating true community collaboration, using examples from Bishop Arts Theater Center’s programming and efforts during the pandemic.  Teresa Coleman Wash is a producer, playwright, and founding artistic director for the Bishop Ar...
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S3 E4 Artists First and Foremost: Collaborating with the Disability Community with Nicholas Viselli, Sarah Hom and Anna Morton

November 8, 2021 • 35 mins
While the pandemic left so many things unsure this year, one thing was clear: connecting communities from across the world is easier than ever. In this episode, we’ll hear from artistic leaders from two theater companies that approach centering artists with disabilities in different ways. Christine speaks with Nicholas Viselli from Theater Breaking Through Barriers, a company that has been doing work centering artists with disabili...
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S3 E3 Artists Without Borders: Amplifying The Work of Immigrant Playwrights During The Pandemic with Saviana Stanescu, Caridad Svich, and Daniel Gallant

November 1, 2021 • 25 mins
Christine welcomes playwrights Saviana Stanescu, Caridad Svich and recently former Artistic Director of the Nuyorican Poet's Cafe Daniel Gallant (Gallant was still the current Artistic Director at the time of this recording) to chat about ways they have helped amplify the work of immigrant artists. Self identifying "artivist" Saviana created "Liberties Daughters" a monologue series for immigrant women hosted by Nuyorican Poet's Caf...
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S3 E2 That Beyonce Energy: The Dramatists Guild's Inclusion Rider with Ty Defoe and Chisa Hutchinson

October 25, 2021 • 35 mins
In this episode, we talk about the Dramatists Guild’s new Inclusion rider and the initiatives surrounding it. At the time of this recording the rider had not been released. We're happy to report that we've released the rider and you can get a copy here: https://www.dramatistsguild.com/inclusion This rider is the first of its kind to come out of the theatre industry. Our goal is to empower and encourage playwrights to advocate for D...
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S3 E1 Bhangra Meets La Jolla: Collaborating on Culturally Specific Shows with Rehana Lew Mirza and Rohi Mirza Pandya

October 24, 2021 • 36 mins
In our first episode of our third season we’ll talk about the journey of bringing a culturally specific show to a predominantly white institution. Our guests are Rehana Lew Mirza, Rohi Mirza Pandya of SRC Partners and Natasha Sinha, who are working to bring the new musical Bhangin’ It (book by Rehana Lew Mirza and Mike Lew, music and lyrics by Sam Willmott) to their world premiere at the La Jolla Playhouse in 2022. Christine and ou...
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TALKBACK Season 3 Trailer

September 23, 2021 • 54 secs
TALKBACK returns with six new episodes on October 18 – and this season is all about collaboration! I’m your host, Christine Toy Johnson, and I can’t wait to share our conversations with you. We’ll be talking about bringing culturally specific shows to Predominantly White Institutions and how large institutional theaters are pivoting their focus to be more inclusive. We’ll be discussing the Guild’s brand-new inclusion rider, how imm...
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