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[0:00] Robert Peterpaul: Hello, beautiful people. Welcome to The Art of Kindness, where we have compassionate conversations with artists from all areas of the entertainment industry who are using their voice to spread joy and make this big spinning planet in the universe a better place to be. I'm Robert Peterpaul, and I'm so glad you're here.

[0:30] Robert Peterpaul: Hello, friends. It's your host, Robert Peterpaul here, live from the New Dramatists Luncheon honoring Michael Greif in New York City at the Marriott Marquis. It's iconic. It's amazing. We're talking with all the stars. And now I'm going to play those clips for you because I have to get inside for the luncheon. Love you.

[1:00] Will Brill: My name is Will Brill, and I'm excited to be here because I freaking love New Dramatists. I love Emily Morse. I think that this organization is like doing a lot of the invisible heavy lifting for the entire industry, and I would celebrate them every chance I get.

[1:26] Robert Peterpaul: I love that. I also love Michael Greif, who I think is such a wonderful leader, and we're honoring him today. I don't need to tell you that. But when I think of him, you know, what's something about him that's inspired you as a leader?

[1:56] Will Brill: And also, I know how to translate it to myriad peoples. I think he sees no limitations in theater, which I think is breathtaking.

[2:07] Robert Peterpaul: I love that. No limitations. My podcast is The Art of Kindness, so I would love to know if you have a tangible kindness tip for listeners, something people can do in their own corner to make the world a better place.

[2:17] Will Brill: Yeah, absolutely. I think that is so awesome that you're here for theater also because I really think of theater as being like an empathy machine, I think. So I would say that anytime you are frustrated, anytime somebody is getting you down in some way, even if there is a piece of meanness directed at you, just try to remember that we are all on our way somewhere. We are all trying to do our best, and even if we get confused or tripped up in the moment, it is always within your power to focus where you are going and encourage people to fall in line with you. Everybody wants to be doing a great job, and everybody wants to be happy, so do your part.

[3:01] Robert Peterpaul: Such a beautiful reminder. Thank you so much. It was great to meet you. Go enjoy yourself.

[3:05] Will Brill: Thanks, man.

[3:06] Eli Gelb: Hi, I'm Eli Gelb. I am in Stereophonic playing the role of Grover. I'm super excited to be here. I mean, first of all, it's just so exciting to be a member of sort of the off-Broadway community. There's so much vitality. At the Lord Tells the other week, there was a great sense of sort of scrappiness to it, which is something I really welcome in the world of art.

[3:37] Eli Gelb: So that's great. I mean, I think New Dramatist is such an important institution in the development of new work off-Broadway that obviously develops sometimes onto Broadway. Stereophonic, the play that I'm in, was first developed, I think, at New Dramatist by David Ajmey.

[4:00] Robert Peterpaul: I'm dying to see it. I hear it's amazing. Congratulations.

[4:03] Eli Gelb: Thank you. I have to say it is amazing. I'm partial to it, but objectively, I think it's just an incredible offering to the world of American theater. There's nothing else like it, and I'm really proud to be a part of it.

[4:19] Robert Peterpaul: I love that. And I know we're running out of time, so I'll just ask you one more question. We're honoring Michael Greif today, which is what an icon. When I look at him, either if you've had experience with him or been inspired by him, I would love to know what you think makes a great leader, especially in the arts.

[4:33] Eli Gelb: A great leader. I think taste and trust.

[4:38] Robert Peterpaul: Oh, the two Ts. I love the simplicity of that.

[4:41] Eli Gelb: Yeah.

[4:42] Robert Peterpaul: Wow. That's amazing. Thank you so much. We'll leave it there.

[4:44] Eli Gelb: Cheers.

[4:45] Camille A. Brown: My name is Camille Brown, and the reason that I'm excited to be here today is to celebrate Michael Greif. When I look at Michael Greif, what an icon. He's such a great leader. What do you think makes a great leader?

[4:59] Camille A. Brown: It can be inspired by Michael if you have a story to share, but I think it would be really cool to get the qualities of leadership in the industry and what you personally think makes it the best.

[5:08] Camille A. Brown: Definitely a clear vision, an openness, sensitivity, care, encouragement. I feel like that's a beautiful combination of leadership.

[5:24] Robert Peterpaul: I love that. That's a brilliant answer, and it kind of leads into my next question. My podcast with the network is The Art of Kindness, and we focus on kindness in the arts. I would love to know if you have a tangible kindness tip for listeners, something you would like everybody out there to do just to try and make the world a little bit brighter in their corner.

[5:42] Camille A. Brown: I think it's important for us to remember that everybody is going through something, and in the busyness and the hustle and bustle of all things, just remember that we're all talking to people who are also human and are having living experiences or lived experiences.

[6:03] Robert Peterpaul: I love that human-first approach, and I love that you're here, and I want to get you inside. I know we're kind of running out of time.

[6:08] Allison Luff: I'm Allison Luff. I'm in The Who's Tommy, and I'm so excited to be here to just honor Michael Greif and to see all my friends. This season is just stacked with amazing shows and amazing people in them, and so it's a nice get-together to congratulate everybody and catch up.

[6:25] Robert Peterpaul: So well said. My friend Opera's in The Who, and I'm dying to see it. I love Opera.

[6:28] Allison Luff: I love Opera. We did Ghosts together as well, so this is our second show together.

[6:32] Robert Peterpaul: Oh, really? Oh, my goodness. That's so exciting. You know, when I look at honoring Michael Greif, he's such a brilliant leader, so I would love to know, for you, what do you think makes a great leader in the arts?

[6:41] Allison Luff: I think somebody who can step outside themselves and obviously step outside their ego and look at something as a whole. I think it's important as a leader to try not to tell people what to think, but just to offer something and let people think, not to politicize it, not to bring their own emotions into it, but just offer a way of looking at something, even if it's something they don't necessarily look at in that way.

[7:07] Robert Peterpaul: Yeah, that's brilliant. And then my podcast with the network is called The Art of Kindness, so we focus on kindness and positivity in the arts. So I would love to know, do you have a tangible kindness tip for people listening that you think they could do in their own corner to kind of make the world a little brighter?

[7:21] Allison Luff: Well, I've always been told to leave something nicer than you found it, and I also think it's important to listen to people when they talk and not just listen to respond, and it's so easy to do that because we're just going, going, especially in New York, and I feel like we forget to just stop and really listen, you know? It doesn't take that much time.

[7:41] Robert Peterpaul: Yeah, it's such an important quality, especially as a performer. And you've been so wonderful and joyous, and you definitely left me better than when you found me, so it was great to meet you.

[7:49] Allison Luff: Thank you. It's so nice to meet you, too.

[7:51] Corey Stoll: Hi, I'm Corey Stoll. I'm here to support Michael Greif and New Dramatists, and yeah.

[7:59] Robert Peterpaul: I love that. You know, when I look at Michael Greif, he's such a brilliant leader, it makes me wonder, what qualities do you think makes a great leader in the arts? Who's someone you love to collaborate with?

[8:06] Corey Stoll: Well, I love working with Sarah Paulson, who's inappropriate. She's the lead in Appropriate Now, and I worked with her once before on the show Ratched, and she was the lead in that as well. And she has a combination of holding herself up to the very highest standards, but also when she shows up to work, she is flexible and with incredible good humor.

[8:38] Corey Stoll: And, you know, fun to work with, but you can tell that she's holding herself to this standard, and everybody else around them sort of rises to that bar.

[8:48] Robert Peterpaul: I love that. That's so well said. And I know we've got to get you inside, so I'll just ask you one more question. My podcast is The Art of Kindness, so we focus on kindness in the arts, so I would love to know for you, do you have a tangible kindness tip you would love people out there to do every day on their own front, just to try and make the world a little brighter?

[9:04] Corey Stoll: Well, you know, one thing that I do every day before a performance is I just take a moment and remind myself that the audience is not one big block of people. It's 800 individual peoples, and they all are struggling. They all have something that is deeply painful in their lives, and it reminds me of the gift of being able to share a moment of my vulnerability, and hopefully that can open up empathy within them.

[9:42] Robert Peterpaul: Well, thank you for doing that. It was great to meet you. I hope you enjoy yourself.

[9:44] Corey Stoll: You too.

[9:45] Robert Peterpaul: Thank you. Congratulations. So I think you know the drill. We're just shooting a video for social, but we're a podcast network, so it's mostly emphasis on audio. Sorry, I'm cracked out. My train was late.

[9:54] Unknown speaker: You're amazing. I love you.

[9:55] Unknown speaker: You're amazing. So if you could just start out by introducing yourself, saying why you're excited to be here, and then I'll ask you some questions and get you on your way. I can't wait to see you perform.

[10:02] Shoshana Bean: I'm Shoshana Bean, and I am here for the Michael Greif.

[10:07] Robert Peterpaul: Tell me what you admire most about Michael Greif.

[10:10] Shoshana Bean: His patience in dealing with me specifically. Michael and I had a very—we really go at it. We really butt heads, and I love that because the thing I always knew about us is wherever we diverged, wherever we disagreed, wherever we pushed against each other, I think I always knew that we had the same goal in mind.

[10:35] Shoshana Bean: And the same goal was, can I be as great in this show and in this role as I want to be and as he wants me to be? And so knowing we had that common goal made all the arm wrestling with very deep, deep, great love. We're obsessed with each other.

[10:50] Robert Peterpaul: That's so fun.

[10:52] Shoshana Bean: I also think that I've learned about myself. It takes me a second to trust who I'm working with, and he definitely beyond earned that trust.

[11:04] Robert Peterpaul: I feel that. I feel that personally. I love that you share that with us.

[11:08] Shoshana Bean: It's a vulnerable place to be. You're literally trusting someone with things you can't see or sometimes even feel, and you don't get to experience it the way that they do out there, so it requires a lot of trust and a lot of surrender.

[11:20] Robert Peterpaul: I mean, you have to put your trust in a great leader, and he seems to be such a great leader. I would love to know for you, you're a leader, of course, in your own right, and congratulations on everything.

[11:28] Shoshana Bean: Thank you.

[11:29] Shoshana Bean: What do you think makes a great leader, and what do you try to do as sort of a number one in this business?

[11:34] Shoshana Bean: Great, great question. I learned, in my opinion, from the best, which is like Harvey Fierstein versus Jarrett Winokur. He just came to our rehearsal the other day. We're doing Kinky Boots, and he showed up with his dogs.

[11:44] Robert Peterpaul: Oh, God, did he make you nervous?

[11:45] Shoshana Bean: I blacked out. Oh, yeah.

[11:46] Robert Peterpaul: I love that you're doing Kinky. That makes me really happy.

[11:48] Shoshana Bean: Oh, it's so beautiful. Sorry, not about me.

[11:50] Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb, Camille A. Brown, Allison Luff, Corey Stoll, Danya Taymor, Brody Grant:

[12:20] Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb, Camille A. Brown, Allison Luff, Corey Stoll, Danya Taymor, Eli Gelb, Camille A. Brown:

[12:50] Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb, Camille A. Brown, Allison Luff, Corey Stoll, Danya Taymor, Eli Gelb, Camille A. Brown:

[13:20] Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb, Camille A. Brown, Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb, Camille A. Brown:

[13:50] Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb, Camille A. Brown, Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb:

[14:20] Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb, Camille A. Brown, Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb, Camille A. Brown:

[14:50] Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb, Camille A. Brown, Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb:

[15:20] Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb, Camille A. Brown, Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb, Camille A. Brown, Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb:

[15:50] Camille A. Brown, Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb, Camille A. Brown, Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb:

[16:20] Camille A. Brown, Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb, Camille A. Brown, Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb:

[16:50] Camille A. Brown, Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb, Camille A. Brown, Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb:

[17:20] Camille A. Brown, Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb, Camille A. Brown, Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb:

[17:50] Camille A. Brown, Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb, Camille A. Brown, Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb:

[18:20] Camille A. Brown, Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb, Camille A. Brown, Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb:

[18:50] Camille A. Brown, Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb, Camille A. Brown, Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb:

[19:20] Camille A. Brown, Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb, Camille A. Brown, Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb:

[19:50] Camille A. Brown, Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb, Camille A. Brown, Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb:

[20:20] Camille A. Brown, Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb, Camille A. Brown, Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb:

[20:50] Camille A. Brown, Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb, Camille A. Brown, Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb:

[21:20] Camille A. Brown, Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb, Camille A. Brown, Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb:

[21:50] Camille A. Brown, Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb, Camille A. Brown, Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb:

[22:20] Camille A. Brown, Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb, Camille A. Brown, Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb:

[22:50] Camille A. Brown, Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb, Camille A. Brown, Shoshana Bean, Nikki M. James, Will Brill, Eli Gelb:

[22:57] Danya Taymor: On behalf of the Playwrights Board and staff of New Dramatists, it's our honor to present you with this 2024 Distinguished Achievement Award. Michael, if you'd please join us on stage.

[23:11] Michael Greif: Hi everybody, thank you so much. I'm really honored to have been chosen as this year's honoree. And I'm so grateful to all of these speakers and all of the performers who showed up today. It's a crazy, crazy, crazy time.