American Theatre's Offscript
182 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 2 months ago - ★★★★★ - 52 ratingsThe official podcast of AMERICAN THEATRE, the national publication for the American not-for-profit theatre. Range of topics include playwright interviews, critical roundtable discussions and the latest shows coming up as recommended by our staff.
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Episodes
Offscript: Jokes and Epiphanies With Will Eno
October 08, 2021 19:15The playwright of 'Middletown' and 'Thom Pain' talks about his new Ibsen adaptation, 'Gnit,' the often winding pursuit of the self, and the lessons of community.
Three on the Aisle: Patrick Page Goes Deep
September 30, 2021 20:01This month the critics talk to the star of 'Hadestown' about darkness and empathy, and share their theatregoing highlights.
Offscript: Previewing the Season With Maya Phillips & David John Chavez
September 27, 2021 18:59In this episode we talk to critics on both coasts (with JR holding down the Midwest) about criticism, in-person theatre, and Twitter vs. TikTok.
The Subtext: Mac Rogers’s ‘Unusual’ Journey Through Time and Relative Dimensions
September 21, 2021 13:28This month Brian talks with the playwright and audio dramatist about 'The Honeycomb Trilogy,' guardian angels, and 'Doctor Who.'
Offscript: Nataki Garrett, Shaking Up and Stabilizing Oregon Shakes
September 13, 2021 20:59This week we talk to the leader of the West Coast powerhouse about the tough years just page and what lies ahead.
Offscript: How Jon Michael Hill and Namir Smallwood ‘Pass Over’
August 26, 2021 18:48This episode's guests are actors from Broadway's first show back since spring 2020.
The Subtext: Jacqueline Goldfinger and the Lure of the Cliff
August 25, 2021 17:47This month Brian talks to the Philly writer of 'Babel' and 'The Arsonists' about playwriting, parenting, and risk.
Three on the Aisle: Sunday in the Park With James
August 23, 2021 16:37This week the critics speak to James Lapine about his new memoir of writing 'Sunday in the Park With George' with Sondheim, and talk up some shows they've seen.
Offscript: Self-Defense Over Self-Care With Virginia Grise
August 13, 2021 22:16This week our guest is the resident playwright of Dallas's Cara Mía Theatre, who talks about her urgent manifesto 'Your Healing Is Killing Me.'
Offscript: Camping With Travis Tate
July 26, 2021 13:42This week we look back on a busy month of theatre news and talk to playwright travis tate about their play 'Queen of the Night.'
Three on the Aisle: Cockeyed Optimists Edition
July 26, 2021 12:52The critics happily return to talking about actual live, in-person theatre, as well as the vagaries of variants and vaccination policies.
Offscript: ‘Our Job Is to Change This Industry’
July 13, 2021 13:42A dialogue with Tamilla Woodard, chair of acting at Yale School of Drama, and Carl Cofield, chair of grad acting at NYU Tisch.
Three on the Aisle: We’re Still Here
June 24, 2021 19:52After a hiatus, the critics return with a look back at a tumultuous year and a look ahead to reopening on Broadway and beyond.
The Subtext: Taking Wallace Shawn Seriously
June 22, 2021 18:56This month, a talk with with a playwriting legend, whose most apocalyptic recent works are being released this week as podcasts.
The Subtext: David Henry Hwang, High and Low
May 17, 2021 22:42This month Brian talks to the writer of 'M. Butterfly,' 'Yellow Face,' 'Chinglish,' and 'Soft Power' about Joe Papp, hate crimes, and the ironic uplift of surviving a flop.
The Subtext: Quiara Alegría Hudes and the Path of the Healer
April 19, 2021 22:23This month Brian talks to the playwright of 'Water by the Spoonful' and 'In the Heights' about her new memoir, 'My Broken Language.'
The Subtext: Plays That Fill You Up
March 23, 2021 22:17This month Brian surveys playwrights, directors, dramaturgs, and critics about the works they just can't shake, and why.
Three on the Aisle: Letters From Lockdown
March 19, 2021 20:11The 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
February 16, 2021 17:05This 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
February 10, 2021 23:04This month the hosts talk to an award-winning colleague about gatekeeping and pandemic-era criticism.
Three on the Aisle: The Pandemic Process With Samira Wiley & Kate Hamill
January 14, 2021 14:16This 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
December 22, 2020 21:40This month Brian talks to the playwright/poet/marketer who's the driving force behind the New Play Exchange.
The Subtext: Kate Hamill’s Sensibility
November 24, 2020 22:11The 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
November 16, 2020 22:09Should 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
October 21, 2020 12:00On 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.
The Subtext: David Adjmi’s Artist’s Heart
October 20, 2020 11:30This month Brian talks to playwright and author David Adjmi about family pressure, falling behind, and filling a niche.
Three on the Aisle: Keep On Keepin’ On
September 25, 2020 13:51This week: the steep and rocky road back to normalcy for theatres of all sizes, and the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's lifelong love for the arts.
The Subtext: Making Space With Tanuja Jagernauth
September 16, 2020 13:21This month Brian talks to the Chicago-based playwright, activist, and healer about the transition points in her life and career.
Three on the Aisle: Arts Workers, Works of Art
August 25, 2020 10:28This week the critics talk to the grass-roots campaign Be An Arts Hero and discuss shows they've seen, including last week's Democratic convention.
The Subtext: Writing Across Mediums
August 18, 2020 15:14This month Brian hands the mic to Playwrights' Center's Jeremy Cohen and a panel of multi-platform writers.
The Subtext: Backstory and Foreshadowing
July 27, 2020 20:37In this solo episode, Brian reflects on the podcast's origins, frets about the future, and finds hope in an elder's advice.
Three on the Aisle: Side With Hope
July 21, 2020 21:29The critics return to consider when theatre will return, how to cover it when it does, and how not to succumb to Zoom despair.
Three on the Aisle: Tamilla Woodard on Doing the Work
June 15, 2020 14:50The critics talk to Tamilla Woodard, co-artistic director of Working Theater, about her experience of racism in the theatre and her recommendations of how to fight it.
Token Theatre Friends: The Future of Directing With Sammi Cannold
May 29, 2020 11:36This pre-pandemic conversation with the exciting helmer behind 'Endlings' and radical stagings of 'Ragtime' and 'Carmen' holds hope for the art form.
The Subtext: E.M. Lewis’s Audio Diary
May 26, 2020 19:21The award-winning playwright records the joys and challenges of daily life on a farm in rural Oregon during the pandemic lockdown.
Three on the Aisle: No Shortcut to Normal
May 18, 2020 03:08The critics talk with Jeremy Wein of Play-PerView, take a question about theatre safety, and recommend shows they've viewed.
Three on the Aisle: Do Streams Come True?
May 01, 2020 19:06This week the critics debate streamed and recorded theatre vs. live, and dip into the reader mailbag.
The Subtext: Excerpts From a Lost Spring
April 23, 2020 17:36This month, an anthology of scenes and monologues from 15 plays whose premieres were cut short by COVID-19.
Three on the Aisle: Solving a Problem With Maria
April 20, 2020 21:38The critics talk to Woolly Mammoth's Maria Manuela Goyanes about theatre in the age of COVID-19, and discuss the relative merits of online theatre.
Three on the Aisle: Alone Together Edition
March 25, 2020 22:23This week the critics sign in remotely to talk about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on theatre, and what they're doing with no shows to see.
The Subtext: Coronavirus Edition
March 23, 2020 21:11A special bonus episode features voicemails from playwrights all over the country about this extraordinary historical moment and how they're faring.
Token Theatre Friends: Celine Song’s Deep Dive
March 21, 2020 14:25Jose talks to the playwright about her (now closed) show 'Endlings' and to Wai Ching Ho, who starred in it.
The Subtext: Will Arbery’s Guilt Traps
March 17, 2020 15:59The playwright of 'Plano' and 'Heroes of the Fourth Turning' talks about Dallas theatre, existential crisis, and the difference between love and empathy.
Three on the Aisle: Conor McPherson and His Ghosts
March 05, 2020 18:22The critics talk with the 'Girl From the North Country' playwright about his work and its meanings, and discuss 'Mockingbird' at MSG, a new take on 'Dracula,' and a James Baldwin revival in D.C.
Token Theatre Friends: Eden Espinosa Paints With Music
March 04, 2020 20:03Jose talks with the 'Wicked' star, currently doing a cabaret residency and soon to star in the musical 'Lempicka.'
Three on the Aisle: This Time It’s Personal
February 20, 2020 20:41This week the topic is how personal experiences inform criticism, as the critics touch on 'Mac Beth' at Hunter Theater Project, 'Gun and Powder' at Signature Theatre, and 'Medea' at BAM
Token Theatre Friends: ‘Unmasked’ Singers
February 19, 2020 21:23Jose talks to Mamie Parris and Mauricio Martínez, stars of 'Unmasked: The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber' at Paper Mill Playhouse.
The Subtext: Korde Arrington Tuttle’s Sporting Chance
February 18, 2020 18:49The playwright of 'graveyard shift' talks about football, spoken-word poetry, and finding a home in the theatre.
Token Theatre Friends: Live From BroadwayCon With Zora Howard and Jordan E. Cooper
January 31, 2020 19:14This week Jose records a live episode with the playwrights behind 'Ain't No Mo' and 'Stew.'
Token Theatre Friends: Laura Michelle Kelly on Musicals and Motherhood
January 22, 2020 18:28Jose talks to the musical theatre star about her upcoming Carnegie Hall concert and her self-care practices between shows.