Offscript, American Theatre’s flagship podcast for a number of years, is back as a Facebook Live chat with the magazine’s editors and special guests as well as an audio podcast.
Conan Morrissey, Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati (Photo by Mike Schaffner); Heidi Schreck, Broadway (Photo by Joan Marcus); Hanley Smith and Elise Carson, North Carolina Stage Company (Photo courtesy of NC Stage Co.); Emily Castillo-Langley and Mel House, Syracuse Stage (Photo by Michael Davis); Seán Patrick and Shannon Emerick, Main Street Theatre Houston (Photo by Pin Lim); and Noah Oristano, Alexander Homes, and Inga Wilson, Oregon Contemporary Theatre (Photo Courtesy of OCT).
This month, editor-in-chief Rob Weinert-Kendt and associate Chicago editor Gabriela Furtado Coutinho announce the top 10 most-produced plays and top 20 most-produced playwrights of the 2023-24 season (part of our Fall 2023 return-to-print issue). Our surprise guests are Heidi Schreck, whose debate play What the Constitution Means to Me topped this year’s list with 16 productions, and Selina Fillinger, whose political satire POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive is the third most-produced play. On this episode Heidi and Selina (the second- and fifth-most-produced playwrights in the coming season, respectively) discuss writing about politics, reaching audiences across the country, and finding strength in difficult conversations.
Stephanie Styles, Deirdre Lovejoy, Kim Blanck, and Allison Guinn, Berkeley Rep (Photo by Kevin Berne); Lilli Cooper, Rachel Dratch, Julianne Hough, Julie White, Vanessa Williams, Lea DeLaria, and Suzy Nakamura, Broadway, (Photo by Paul Kolnik); Laura Latreille, Monique Ward Lonergan, Lisa Yuen, Catia and Crystin Gilmore, SpeakEasy Stage Company (Photo by Nile Scott Studios); Michelle Elaine, Alexandra Szeto-Joe, and Chelsea Ryan McCurdy, Stages Houston (Photo by Melissa Taylor); Bree Ogaldez, Liv Clayton, Catherine Shaffner, Denise Simone, Sonja Durant, Anne Michelle Forbes, and Elizabeth Byland, Virginia Repertory Company (Photo by Aaron Sutten); and Noelle Anderson, Christina Yoho, Laurie Carter Rose, Arriah Ratanapan, Anita Davis, and Kelsey Hopkins, Contemporary Theatre of Ohio (Photo by Terry Gilliam).
You can download the episode here and watch the original Facebook chat here. If you have any feedback or suggestions for Offscript, please reach out to at@tcg.org.
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