What does theater "do"? Does it matter in a contemporary, screen-driven society? This intermittent series, drawn from the Kennedy Center Education Department archives, examines the way theater impacts modern society and culture.
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Marcia Norman on the unique tools of the playwright
4:26
4:26
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"When you're in a pipowerTheater/ece of wonderful theater your whole body responds to what's on the stage." In this Power of Theater podcast, part of the Kennedy Center Education Department's American College Theater Festival's summer intensive for playwrights, playwright Marcia Norman discusses the different forms and forums for storytelling, and …
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"A playwright...first and foremost has to compel people." In this Power of Theater podcast, part of the Kennedy Center Education Department's American College Theater Festival's summer intensive for playwrights, playwright Lee Blessing discusses the difference between writing for the theater and writing for television and film. For more information…
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Kathleen Turner from Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
2:25
2:25
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"When you sit in a theater, you're sitting closer to a complete stranger that you ever would in your own living room. You haven't just seen a show, you've been part of something." Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is the story of George and Martha, two of the most famous roles ever written for the stage. Over the course of one wickedly…
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Alan Stanford and the cast of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot
3:16
3:16
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Come to this play with an open and pure sense of imagination, and it will embrace you." Since its first performance in 1953, Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot has generated controversy with its unconventional plot and disturbing themes. Audiences have reacted strongly, with many embracing the play, others rejecting it, but all debating its meaning…
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Richard Thomas and Randle Mell from Twelve Angry Men
2:04
2:04
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"Theater at its best is always a mirror. It's a reflection of who we are." Twelve Angry Men deals with issues of prejudice and fear of "the other" but also promotes the ideas of debate and reasonable doubt. The characters in the play argue opposing positions with plausible conviction, and the audience members are left to decide their interpretation…
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August Wilson and embracing the content of life
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3:31
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When asked to describe the work of August Wilson, actor James Earl Jones said, "...when he writes he leaves some blood on the page. You can't get that stuff out of yourself without hurt. It's not therapy; it's more like revelation." August Wilson was one of America's most significant and successful playwrights. Less than 20 years ago, he began an a…
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