ZIP! ZAP! ZOP!
A podcast about educational theater and applied theater with BSC’s director of education, Jane O’Leary
Barrington Stage Company (BSC)’s director of education, Jane O’Leary, talks shop about community engagement, theater education, and applied theater programs with teaching artists and creatives in the Berkshires. BSC creates Tony Award-winning theater in the summer, but did you know that hundreds of students join us each year learning to create original theater?
Applied theater is an umbrella term for theater that is created for purposes other than pure entertainment or commercialism. Under this umbrella are educational theater programs, theater in and for the community, theater for social justice, and theater made with varied communities such as theater in prison or with veterans.
At its core, theater is about community and storytelling, and many artists develop work exclusively in the applied theater space. Jane will talk with many such artists about their work. This programming will highlight this important aspect of theater and the people who make it.
EPISODE 1: The MTC Journey Begins
Guests: Alan Paul and Emily Rivera
What does it take to build a life in musical theatre? BSC Artistic Director Alan Paul and Director of the Musical Theatre Conservatory Emily Rivera share their beginnings, backstage stories, and how BSC’s tuition-free Musical Theatre Conservatory prepares emerging performers for their next stage.
EPISODE 2: Big Ideas, Young Performers
Guests: Kurt Sparks, Quynn Mullis, and Trudy Poux
How do you turn kids’ ideas into an original musical in just two weeks? KATA! directors Trudy Poux, Quinn Mullis, and KATA! music director Kurt Sparks share the creativity, surprises, and student discoveries behind BSC’s KidsAct! and TeensAct! camps.
EPISODE 3: Inside The Urmetazoan
Guest: Playwright, Alex Rugman
Two sisters. Life’s biggest questions. Playwright Alex Rugman discusses his new play, The Urmetazoan, and its North American premiere at Barrington Stage Company with Jane O’Leary. Explore the science, grief, and family bonds behind The Urmetazoan and its journey from page to stage.
EPISODE 4: One Actor, Many Lives
Guests: Alan Paul and Mark H. Dold
How does one actor bring an entire world to life? Mark H. Dold and director Alan Paul take us inside VANYA, sharing the challenges, discoveries, and theatrical surprises of reimagining Chekhov’s classic as a one-person show.