The Subtext: Plays That Fill You Up
This month Brian surveys playwrights, directors, dramaturgs, and critics about the works they just can’t shake, and why.
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American Theatre‘s podcasts feature timely and timeless conversations and interviews in and about the theatre field.
Three on the Aisle
A monthly (or sometimes more) podcast from New York about theatre in America, featuring drama critics Peter Marks, Terry Teachout, and Elisabeth Vincentelli. Guests have included Tracy Letts, Conor McPherson, Lila Neugebauer, Samira Wiley, Kate Hamill, Sam Hunter, Soraya Nadia McDonald, Helen Shaw, Diep Tran, Lily Janiak, Tamilla Woodard, and more.
The Subtext
A podcast where playwrights talk to playwrights about the things usually left unsaid: what irks, agitates, motivates, inspires, and makes writers tick. Brian James Polak hosts. Guests have included David Adjmi, Antoinette Nwandu, Jen Silverman, Will Arbery, Korde Arrington Tuttle, Clare Barron, Chica Hutchinson, Rebecca Gilman, Isaac Gomez, Ike Holter, and many more.
Token Theatre Friends
This podcast from Diep Tran and Jose Solís (discontinued in June 2020; new independent site here) brought a person-of-color perspective to reviews of and interviews with theatre artists in New York City.
Offscript
This podcast, featuring the editors of American Theatre in conversation with each other and with special guests, occasionally appears in this space but has chiefly migrated to a biweekly spot on Facebook.
Three on the Aisle: Letters From Lockdown
The critics look back on a year without live, in-person theatre as they go through their mailbag.
The Subtext: The Many Forms of Jen Silverman
This month Brian talks with the playwright of ‘The Moors’ and ‘Collective Rage’ about how writing for TV inspired her write a novel about the theatre.
Three on the Aisle: Cataclysm Criticism With Soraya Nadia McDonald
This month the hosts talk to an award-winning colleague about gatekeeping and pandemic-era criticism.
The Subtext: Pandemic Playwriting, Part 2
This month, a check-in with the playwrights who first called in last March to see how they’ve fared in the intervening 10 months.
Three on the Aisle: The Pandemic Process With Samira Wiley & Kate Hamill
This week the critics talk to two theatre artists about the choices they’ve made and the field they hope to return to.
The Subtext: Gwydion Suilebhan’s Homecoming
This month Brian talks to the playwright/poet/marketer who’s the driving force behind the New Play Exchange.
The Subtext: Kate Hamill’s Sensibility
The actor/playwright behind a trove of popular literary adaptations talks about her inspiration, and about her non-Austen work.
Three on the Aisle: Dungeons and Democrats
Should the government create an arts and culture ministry? And what happens when there’ s no one to laugh along with?
Three on the Aisle: Digital Tourism and the Snowball Effect
On this month’s episode the critics discuss the recent Tony noms (and the controversy around them), their varied digital theatre diets, and some theatres’ plans to tentatively reopen.