Welcome to The Dramatists Guild's
In the Room Series.
The Dramatists Guild of America invites you In the Room with some of the most celebrated playwrights, composers and lyricists in the American theatre discussing craft while sharing their influences and experiences when creating their most celebrated work.
Through In the Room you have access to the Dramatists Guild’s archived audio featuring Stephen Sondheim, Edward Albee, Theresa Rebeck, Doug Wright, Paula Vogel, David Auburn, Sarah Ruhl, Terrence McNally, Lynn Nottage, Tina Howe, A.R. Gurney, Moises Kaufman, Micki Grant, Lanford Wilson and countless others.
Join us In the Room every other week for a new episode.
Read more about the Dramatists Guild's In the Room audio here.
John Kander, the award-winning composer behind Cabaret, Chicago, and The Scottsboro Boys, talks about his collaborations with Fred Ebb in a conversation with DG Council member Stephen Flaherty.
Originally Recorded in 2007
Click Here for Episode 32
Emily Mann & Edward Albee
Award-winning playwright and director Emily Mann joins her fellow Council member, Edward Albee, to discuss directing for the theatre from a playwright's perspective.
Extended Version Click Here for Episode 31
Originally Recorded in 2007
Neil Simon & Terrence McNally
One of America's most popular and prolific playwrights, Neil Simon, joins Council member Terrence McNally for a conversation about comedy writing. Simon, the award-winning playwright of works such as The Odd Couple, Brighton Beach Memoirs and Lost in Yonkers, discusses the difference between writing characters and writing jokes.
Extended Version Click Here for Episode 30
Originally recorded 1984
Donald Margulies
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Donald Margulies reads from his early work and discusses developing his writing style for stage and screen with fellow Council Member Jeffrey Sweet.
Extended Version Click Here for Episode 29
Originally Recorded 1992
Alan Menken
Alan Menken, award-winning composer and Council member, discusses writing for stage and screen with fellow DG members while also playing songs from his body of work, including Little Shop of Horrors and God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater.
Click Here for Episode 28Extended Version
Originally recorded in 2012
John Weidman
John Weidman, award-winning librettist and DG Council member, discusses his experience working in the musical theatre and collaborating on shows such as Pacific Overtures and Assassins with Stephen Sondheim.
Extended Version Click Here for Episode 27
Originally recorded in 2007
Marsha Norman
Marsha Norman who has received multiple awards for her body of work including the Pulitzer Prize for 'night, Mother, discusses her start in the theatre and shares her experience with Gary Garrison, the Executive Director of Creative Affairs.
Extended Version Click Here for Episode 26
Originally recorded in 2008
Dael Orlandersmith
Award-winning playwright and actor Dael Orlandersmith discusses her process and the various influences behind her work with DG Executive Director of Creative Affairs Gary Garrison.
Extended Version Click Here for Episode 25
Originally recorded in 2008
Peter Shaffer with John Guare
In a conversation with Council member John Guare, Peter Shaffer discusses writing Five Finger Exercise, The Royal Hunt of the Sun, Black Comedy and his Tony Award-winning Equus.
Extended Version Click Here for Episode 24
Originally recorded in 2008
"Q&A with Stephen Sondheim"
Legendary composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim joins Guild members for a session of questions and answers. Pulling from his personal experience, Mr.Sondheim shares insight to the process of writing, pitching and producing new works.
Extended VersionClick Here for Episode 23
Originally recorded in 1977
Charles Strouse and Lee Adams "On Collaboration"
In an audio recording from 1977, Lee Adams and Charles Strouse, Tony Award-winning collaborators on Bye Bye Birdie and Applause, talk to Guild members about sustaining a partnership and using your strengths to bring out the best work of one another.
Extended VersionClick Here for Episode 22
Originally recorded in 1977
Lanford Wilson
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lanford Wilson joins Council member Jeffrey Sweet for a conversation that is as much a session on his writing process as it is a remembrance of his warmth and passion for the theatre.
Extended Version Click Here for Episode 21
Originally Recorded in 1980
Micki Grant with Kia Corthron
Dramatists Guild Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Micki Grant discusses the challenges and rewards of writing book, lyrics and music in a conversation with fellow Council member Kia Corthron.
Extended VersionClick Here for Episode 20
Originally Recorded in 2010
Stephen Schwartz
Stephen Schwartz, composer and lyricist of Godspell, Pippin and Wicked, among many others, talks with Larry Dean Harris at the Guild's first National Conference about working with collaborators and the process of adapting work.
Extended VersionClick Here for Episode 19
Recording from The Dramatists Guild's National Conference, Playwrights In Mind in 2011
Todd London
In the Keynote address from the DG's National Conference Todd London, Artistic Director of New Dramatists, delivers an anthem to the American playwright that urges dramatists to forge on with hope and pride of what we can achieve.
More MediaClick Here for Episode 18
Recording from The Dramatists Guild's National Conference, Playwrights In Mind in 2011.
Moises Kaufman and Itamar Moses
Moises Kaufman, the author of The Laramie Project and 33 Variations, shares in an interview with Itamar Moses how having a director’s perspective informs his writing.
Extended Version
Click Here for Episode 17
originally recorded in 2009
Bonus Episode: Rajiv Joseph and Moises Kaufman
Recording from DG Academy: DuoLogue with Rajiv Joseph and Moises Kaufman. 2012.
Click Here for Bonus Episode
Lin-Manuel Miranda with Jeanine Tesori
Jeanine Tesori joins Lin-Manuel Miranda, the award-winning composer and lyricist behind In the Heights, to discuss how a show with humble beginnings became a worldwide phenomenon.
Lin-Manuel is back on Broadway this season with Bring It On: The Musical created with Jeff Whitty (book), Tom Kitt (music), Amanda Green (lyrics) and directed by Andy Blankenbuehler.
Extended Version Click Here for Episode 16
originally recorded in 2007
Edward Albee “A Weekend Workshop” - Part 2
In
the Room adds Council member and legendary playwright Edward Albee to
its roster of celebrated dramatists featured on the series. Originally
recorded in 1977, this session is separated into two parts and gives
extraordinary insight into the process of writing his world-renowned
works Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, A Delicate Balance and The Zoo Story.
In part two of “A Weekend Workshop” Edward Albee explains his relationship to characters and how to find spontaneity in your writing by using both the conscious and subconscious mind.
Extended Version
Click Here for Episode 15
Originally recorded in 1977
Edward Albee “A Weekend Workshop” - Part 1
Join master playwright Edward Albee as he responds to questions from Dramatists Guild members on the craft of developing characters who can truly affect an audience. Share in his methods of creating character before the first draft is written.
Extended Version
Click Here for Episode 14
Originally recorded in 1977
Lyricists on Writing New Musicals
Three composer/lyricists engage in a conversation on the craft of writing a lyric and the detail needed to complete that one special line set to music. Join us In the Room with Susan Birkenhead, Kirsten Childs and Adam Guettel for a nuts and bolts session on creating a character’s voice through rhyme.
Extended Version Click Here for Episode 13
Originally recorded in 1998
Composers on Writing New Musicals
Council members John Kander and Stephen Flaherty join Jeanine Tesori, Rick Freyer and 'Skip' Kennon for a conversation about the composer's role in the development of new musicals. With their wealth of experience, the discerning panel advises young composers on their relationships with collaborators as well as the prospects of readings and workshops.
Extended Version
Click Here for Episode 12
Originally recorded in 1998
Charles Busch
Self-described as “driven to be on stage,” Charles Busch has forged a career as both a writer and actor. In his interview with Rich Orloff, Busch examines the rejection he’s faced and describes how he learned to value his own voice.
Click Here for Episode 11 Extended Version
originally recorded in 2000
A.R. Gurney and Theresa Rebeck
Join us In the Room with two widely produced playwrights discussing their work for the stage, screen and everything in between. As dramatists we hear all sorts of horror stories about how writing for T.V., novels, or entering the world of academia can hinder your writing, but Rebeck and Gurney through their candor, wit and wisdom suggest that while writing for the theatre is special, there can be other opportunities to help you make a living while also contributing to your craft.
Extended Version
Click Here for Episode 10
Originally recorded in 2007
Lynn Nottage with Nilo Cruz
Nilo Cruz examines with DG Council member Lynn Nottage, the inspiration for Nottage's Ruined and Las Meninas. The Pulitzer Prize-winning playwrights talk through her use of first and secondary sources of research to impact characters and settings in her work.
Click Here for Episode 9
Originally Recorded in 2009
The Making of Urinetown Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis
How did Urinetown go from a show with a provocative title to a Broadway hit?
While Hollmann and Kotis had a fruitful collaboration working with a unique idea, they faced numerous rejection letters and hesitation about their material. So the writing team did what anyone who believes in their work would, they produced it themselves, a risk that paid off in a big way. Hollmann and Kotis are joined by fellow DG member and the original 'Bobby Strong,' Hunter Foster, in a conversation about Urinetown's journey from the Fringe Festival to the Broadway stage.
Extended Version
Click Here for Episode 8
Originally recorded in 2002
Tina Howe with Sarah Ruhl
The inimitable Tina Howe brings Sarah's unique style of poetic language, dynamic stage directions and wide range of mythical characters to discussion of Aristotle, Mac vs. PC, motherhood, weeping coins and working with invisible colleagues. The conversation between Howe and Ruhl taps into real struggles of finding time to write, getting started with a first draft and the extensive process of editing and revisions.
Extended Version Click Here for Episode 7
Originally recorded in 2007
Arthur Kopit
Recorded in 1985, Arthur Kopit talks through the pressures that playwrights face meeting the expectations of an audience and the influence the marketplace can have on the success of their work.
Click Here for Episode 6 More Media
Originally recorded in 1985
David Auburn on Proof
In a session recorded in 2001, David Auburn discusses his Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Proof, and how he learned from the process as it developed from the production at Manhattan Theatre Club to its transfer to Broadway. In the discussion, Auburn recalls how the collaborations with director Daniel Sullivan, cast and design team contributed to the success of the production.
Click Here for Episode 5 Extended Version
Originally recorded in 2001
Doug Wright & Terrence McNally
Dramatists Guild Council members Doug Wright and Terrence McNally reminisce about their experiences working with actors such as Geoffrey Rush, Zoe Caldwell and Nathan Lane, imparting their wisdom in actor-writer collaboration.
This session, originally recorded in 2007, is a learning tool for playwrights working with actors and offers actors insight to what a playwright may expect from them in the rehearsal process.
Click Here for Episode 4Extended Version
This audio contains some explicit language.
Originally recorded in 2007
Paula Vogel – An Evening with Paula Vogel
In the Room features Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel who discusses the delicate relationship between writer and director in the collaborative process as well as the need for empowering women playwrights in contemporary theatre.
Click Here for Episode 3 Extended Version
Originally recorded in 1999
Stephen Sondheim 'on theatre lyrics' – Part 2
In part two of Stephen Sondheim on theatre lyrics, Mr. Sondheim reveals the "one secret of lyric writing worth selling." He discusses playwriting principles that impact lyrics while recounting the collaborations that have left him with the wisdom he passes along to lyricists as well as playwrights.
Click Here for Episode 2Extended Version
Originally recorded in May, 1971
Stephen Sondheim 'on theatre lyrics' – Part 1
It isn't every day you have the opportunity to hear from a master composer and lyricist on the principles and influences that helped shape a career unparalleled in the American theatre.
In a session originally titled "Theatre Lyrics," Council member and former President of The Dramatists Guild, Stephen Sondheim, discusses the principles of lyric writing behind some of his most notable works: Company, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Gypsy, and West Side Story.
In this conversation with Guild members, Stephen Sondheim goes in depth to share his experienced perspective on craft, while sharing insight on works of Oscar Hammerstein and Cole Porter as well as his own.
Click Here for Episode 1Extended Version
Originally recorded May, 1971
© 2012, The Dramatists Guild of America, Inc.
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