Off Off Pod - Episode 015 - Dan Wackerman of The Peccadillo Theater Company
Off Off Pod with Stephen Bittrich
Release Date: 02/28/2014
Off Off Pod - Episode 034 - Off Off Topic – Sal Clemente & Stephen Talk Star Wars – SPOILERS!
Off Off Pod with Stephen Bittrich
I get Off Off Topic with my buddy, Sal Clemente, and we talk some Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Sal and I are the same age, and we both saw the original back in 1977 at age 14. (I said 15 in the interview, but I checked our birthdates, and we were 14 when it came out.) I think it's fair to say the new movie brought out nostalgic feelings from when we saw Star Wars in our youth. ...
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Off Off Pod - Episode 033 - Producer Director Actor Brad Coolidge, Part 2
Off Off Pod with Stephen Bittrich
Filmmaker Brad Coolidge likes hockey ...
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Off Off Pod - Episode 032 - Producer Director Actor Brad Coolidge, Part 1
Off Off Pod with Stephen Bittrich
Stephen Bittrich and Brad Coolidge after whacking some golf balls. ...
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Off Off Pod - Episode 031 - Actor Mindy Raymond
Off Off Pod with Stephen Bittrich
Mindy getting made up for Bigfoot action ...
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Off Off Pod - Episode 030 - Director Will Pomerantz
Off Off Pod with Stephen Bittrich
Will Pomerantz and I grew up in the same small town of Seguin, Texas, and we both eventually made our way to the Big Apple to pursue a life in the theatre. We first met when he was about 13 (which would have made me about 12), and while in Texas we did plenty of high school and community theatre together. We recount a few tales from our Texas theatre roots in the interview. ...
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Off Off Pod - Episode 029 - David Marantz - Voice-Over Artist and Actor
Off Off Pod with Stephen Bittrich
David Marantz and Stephen Bittrich in the webseries OFF OFF. ...
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Off Off Pod - Episode 028 - Actor Maggie Wagner
Off Off Pod with Stephen Bittrich
My friend Maggie Wagner is opening in a new movie tonight! It will be playing tonight Friday June 20th at the at 9:30 pm. The film is called which stars -- Maggie of course, Daniel Baldwin, Billy Baldwin, Lou Diamond Phillips, Mayra Leal. ...
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Off Off Pod - Episode 027 - Ann Talman and Kel Haney
Off Off Pod with Stephen Bittrich
My friend has been developing her solo show, for a few years (well, arguably her whole life) about her relationship with her family and in particular her brother, Woody. ...
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Off Off Pod - Episode 026 - Author Karen Moline, Part 2
Off Off Pod with Stephen Bittrich
Karen Moline's Novels ...
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Off Off Pod - Episode 025 - Author Karen Moline, Part 1
Off Off Pod with Stephen Bittrich
My fun friend Karen Moline is a wonderful writer with a no shortage of great stories! We we had such a long conversation (the time flew by) that I needed to break the interview up into 2 parts. So here is part 1 today. Come back next Friday for part 2. ...
info_outlineThe Peccadillo Theater Company (soon celebrating 20 years) is the resident company of Theatre at St. Clements, a beautiful 160 seat space on 46th Street in the heart of Manhattan. I interviewed Artistic Director, Dan Wackerman, and we talked about their mission to bring classic American theater from the age of the "well-made play" to the stage.
There are economic challenges involved in bringing period plays with exceptionally large casts to the stage. (Most modern plays are written with 6 or fewer characters; playwrights like myself know that if you can tell a great story with fewer actors, your chances of getting the play done regionally are better. This is not necessarily the case for schools and universities where they are interested in giving a lot of their students the opportunity to perform.)
I loved Dan's quote about how the church half of this organization views theater as a "kind of sacrament." Loved that. (6:05)
Enjoy my talk with Dan, and for more information about this great company, go to the website: www.thepeccadillo.com.
If you you would like to see the reading of Clifford Odets' Rocket to the Moon mentioned at the end of the interview, go here for tickets. And please keep you eye on the website for William Inge's A Loss of Roses. Previews begin May 7th, 2014.
Topics covered in the interview:
- Intro (0:00)
- Colder winters in New York (2:20)
- A great theater -- history of Theater at St. Clements (3:08)
- How Dan got the theater bug (7:26)
- The Golden Age of American Theater - "era of the well-made play" (10:48)
- 20 years ago -- the first play -- O'Neill's Strange Interlude (12:15)
- The Silver Cord by Sidney Howard is revisted (14:10)
- How Dan finds these plays, American gems (15:26)
- Counsellor at Law, the challenge of working with period plays, large casts (19:07)
- Another Part of the Forest by Lillian Hellman (20:47)
- What's the purpose of theater? (23:53)
- What's the job of the director? Casting is 75% of the job. (27:10)
- Some new plays in the classic style, opening up the mission (32:53)
- The future, A Loss of Roses by William Inge (34:44)
- Auditions from the other side of the table (35:51)