The Dramatists Guild Presents: TALKBACK
Talkback is a podcast for every playwright, composer, lyricist, librettist, or theatre fan who wants to pull back the curtain to discover the highs and lows of what it means to create theatre and foster community in the complex landscape of American storytelling.
All Episodes
Special Episode! Danny Burstein at BroadwayCon
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.
S5 E6: “That insatiable desire to be seen and be heard.” The Future of our Canon
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.
S5 E5: “Why is the Most Dangerous Question in the World” - Redefining Power in the Canon
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.
S5 E4: “Theatre Is Not a Museum Piece" - The Modern Canon with Joseph Haj
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.
S5 E3: “If I Look at Roses, I Hear Bells” - Neurodiversity in the Canon with Harmon dot aut
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.
S5 E2: "English Canon vs. Global Canon” - The Canon and Global Language with Diana Burbano and Jason Ma
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.
S5 E1: "The Spark" - The Canon in Education with Julianne Wick Davis and Stephen Kaplan
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.
S4 E6 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 an uncertain time in her life and career.
S4 E5 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 nominated for a 2023 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.
S4 E4 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.
S4 E3 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 her to start creating theatre.
S4 E2 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.
S4 E1 “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.
S3 E6 A Long Overdue Correction: Collaborating with Non-Homogenous Creative Teams with Leigh Silverman
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.
S3 E5 I See You. I Respect You. I Honor You. Collaborating With Your Community with Teresa Coleman Wash
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.
S3 E4 Artists First and Foremost: Collaborating with the Disability Community with Nicholas Viselli, Sarah Hom and Anna Morton
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.
S3 E3 Artists Without Borders: Amplifying The Work of Immigrant Playwrights During The Pandemic with Saviana Stanescu, Caridad Svich, and Daniel Gallant
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.
S3 E2 That Beyonce Energy: The Dramatists Guild's Inclusion Rider with Ty Defoe and Chisa Hutchinson
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.
S3 E1 Bhangra Meets La Jolla: Collaborating on Culturally Specific Shows with Rehana Lew Mirza and Rohi Mirza Pandya
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.
TALKBACK Season 3 Trailer
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.
S2 E6 Robert Barry Fleming and Charles Randolph-Wright Talk About Radical Hospitality
In our final episode of Season 2, Christine gets to chat with two longtime friends, Robert Barry Fleming and Charles Randolph-Wright about the concept of radical hospitality: the act of creating access where none existed by purposefully and actively removing barriers.
S2 E5 Nikkole Salter and Bianca Sams Talk About Alternate Access
The entire theater industry has found itself confronting a very specific access challenge this year. So many traditional boundaries have been broken. The fourth wall has been replaced with the Zoom screen, and the audience with a chat room.
S2 E4 Sarah Tuft and Caroline Aaron Talk About Access At Any Age
Age is just a number, right? Maybe not when it comes to the entertainment industry. Playwright Sarah Tuft (MARVEL-OUS MONICA; IN WHICH MONICA LEWINSKY IS A SUPERHERO HELL-BENT ON REVENGE, 110 Stories) and actor Caroline Aaron (The Marvelous Mrs.
S2 E3 Gregg Mozgala and Katy Sullivan Talk about Physical Access
Theater is upheld as an inclusive community. So, what does meaningful inclusion look like for artists with disabilities? Gregg Mozgala and Katy Sullivan talk with Christine about their roles in Martyna Majok’s Pulitzer Prize winning play Cost of Living, their own advocacy work, and the extra role they take on just by stepping into the rehearsal room.
S2 E2 KJ Sanchez and Vichet Chum Talk About MFA Degrees
Is getting a Masters degree the best way to enter the theater industry? It’s a popular avenue to take, but it may not be the only way. Christine sits down with friends and colleagues KJ Sanchez and Vichet Chum as they dive into the realities of student loans, institutional racism, and a career in an insecure industry.
S2 E1 Georgia Stitt and Lloyd Suh Talk About The Pipeline
Christine sits down with two writers and advocates, Georgia Stitt (Snow Child, Samantha Spade, Ace Detective, Founder of Maestra) and Lloyd Suh (The Chinese Lady, Charles Francis Chan Jr.'s Exotic Oriental Murder Mystery), to talk about the pipeline, who is granted access to being considered for jobs in the industry and why.
S1 E6 - Thumbs or Tomatoes - Theater Criticism In The 21st Century with Leah Nanako Winkler
In our final episode of the season playwright Leah Nanako Winkler tells Christine about a 3Views, a new initiative to invite more voices into theater criticism.
S1 E5 - It’s The Most Traditional Thing You Can Do - On Diverse and Inclusive Casting with Kristoffer Diaz, Rachel Chavkin, Lynne Marie Rosenberg, and Chisa Hutchinson
In this flashback to summer episode of TALKBACK, host Christine Toy Johnson welcomes playwright Kristoffer Diaz to talk about his work on the musical Hercules at the Public Theater just before it premiered in New York City and addresses presentation through the lens of wrestling in The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity.
S1 E4 - The Numbers Don’t Really Lie - On Why We Count, and Why it Matters with Mandy Gonzalez, Pun Bandhu, Porsche McGovern, and Todd London
This week, host Christine Toy Johnson leads TALKBACK on a journey to understand why representation, or the lack of it, has real and lasting impact on actors and audiences alike. Mandy Gonzalez shares her personal journey from seeking herself in others onstage to becoming a role model for others.
S1 E3 - If We Don’t Ask, They Don’t Give - On Collaborating with a Marketing Department with Charlayne Woodard, Lydia Diamond, Garlia Cornelia Jones, and Caitlin Baird
No marketing means no audience… but how *do* you talk to the Marketing Department?
S1 E2 - You Have to Be Willing to do the Work-Writing Outside Your Lived Experience with Kia Corthron and Mashuq Mushtaq Deen
In our second episode The Dramatist Presents: TALKBACK Host, Christine Toy Johnson sits down with novelist and playwright Kia Corthron (The Castle Cross The Magnet Carter, A Cool Dip in the Barren Saharan Crick) to talk about what it was like to write Tap The Leopard, a play in three acts that tells of the historical African-American colonization of Liberia.
S1 E1 - It’s Not My Story It’s Yours: Appropriation vs. Appreciation with Larissa FastHorse, Diep Tran, David Henry Hwang, Mashuq Mushtaq Deen, and Anita Hollander
In its inaugural episode, The Dramatist Presents: TALKBACK looks at the line between appreciating a culture and wanting to explore it in art and appropriating a culture for art and profit.
Podcast Trailer
We’ve seen the stats. We’ve read the think pieces. Now we’re ready to TALKBACK. TALKBACK is the podcast for every dramatist or theater fan who wants, but maybe hasn’t seen, the inclusiveness we all imagined. TALKBACK entertains frank conversations about diversity, equity and inclusion.
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