Season 4 Episode 2 of The Dramatists Guild Presents: TALKBACK podcast is now available to download!
This season celebrates how writers from a diverse array of backgrounds have built meaningful careers within a constantly evolving industry, while also giving back to their communities. From conversations about challenging the industry’s status quo to insights on crafting new musicals, these six episodes offer a window into the struggles and triumphs of what it means to be a theatre writer in the 21st century and what it means to serve one's community. The second episode features a conversation with dynamic musical theatre songwriting duo, Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty.
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 collaboration as teamwork, how they approached the writing process for their current musical, Knoxville, and what inspired them to launch The Dramatists Guild Fellows Program, a mentorship initiative for playwrights, composers, lyricists, and librettists, that has nurtured a vibrant generation of writers.
This season of Talkback was produced by Amy VonMacek and Christine Toy Johnson, with postproduction by John Marshall Media. The music is composed by Andrea Daly. Talkback is a production of the Dramatists Guild of America and is distributed by The Broadway Podcast Network.