The Dramatists Guild Presents: TALKBACK
ABOUT
Dramatic writers start their journey with the blank page. In our fourth season we are honoring the craft and inspiration it takes to bring stories to the stage and honoring the service of our Dramatists Guild Council members that give their time to make the world for all writers a better place. TALKBACK entertains frank conversations about diversity, equity and inclusion. We ask the tough questions and don’t have all the answers but dig into dialogue that’s vital and messy and real. Join host Christine Toy Johnson and her industry colleagues from the pulse of the American theatre on TALKBACK. Available on all your favorite podcast platforms. Join the conversation on twitter using #DGTalkBack.
Episodes

S4E6 We are the Uber Drivers of the Theatre Industry: A conversation with Amanda Green
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 ...

S4E5 Writing as a Way For Me to Make Sense Out of Certain Things: A conversation with Rona Siddiqui and Michael R. Jackson
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 ...

S4E4 Talking is Easy, Writing is Hard: A conversation with Lisa Kron and John Weidman
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 ...

S4E3 There is No Such Thing as Failure Unless You Don’t Get in the Game: A conversation with Charlayne Woodard
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 ...

S4E2 I Love Being in this Lousy Hotel Room with You Creating Something of Beauty: A conversation with Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty
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 ...

S4E1 “You should feel weird if they love what you do”: A Conversation with Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
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 ...