Visionary Builders

Auditions are not about the director. They are an opportunity to discover “good actors that have not yet discovered they’re good actors.” Greeted with gentleness and treated with care, they can be molded into actors that deeply connect with their work. “The environment where things grow has to be cordial and kind and gentle.” 

Deaths from despair in my own community plus high-profile hate-driven killings have slammed home the necessity of making a difference and building peace in this world, however daunting the task may seem.  And in the middle of all of this, Alexander emailed me the studio video of her newest release, “Conversation on a Train.” It’s a duet by two women, both heading home from a rally/protest where they faced off against each other on one of our society’s most contentious issues:

Guinevere Govea as Finley (center) with much of the Metro production cast. Photo by Jennifer A Lin. Today, we’re taking a peek at the...

Fourteen years in the bureaucracy-bound Chicago public school system taught Marva Collins that there had to be a better way to teach children. And peddling a Broadway musical, Marva!, has taught John Kunich a similar lesson: there has to be a better way to bring transformative stories to the stage. 

Can we be courageously inclusive without risking our ability to pass on a precious, religious or cultural identity to future generations?  That’s the fundamental question that captured me as I read the libretto of Meet Me There: An Interfaith Musical. It was then pushed aside by an even more pressing question: what do we risk if we don’t practice courageous inclusivity? 

The director’s job is not to micromanage in order to bring their exact vision to the stage, but to guide the actors, giving adequate direction so that they can embrace their characters and create something great themselves.

It’s impossible to separate the sounds that we call “music” from the processes of creation and their social impact. So Zork uses “musicking” to describe the whole parcel. It's a term that sums up his daily life. And his song, "The Sound of Us" encapsulates his collaborative and inclusive philosophy.

Gilbert and Sullivan had the courage to disrupt the status quo in Victorian theatre life, and we are all their beneficiaries. Now, here's an outline for a classic Broadway musical, to the tune of Modern Major General.

Simon of Cyrene: The Musical was to reach Black people and help them see themselves in the story of Jesus’ suffering, crucifixion and resurrection. Its writer wanted “to demonstrate to other Black boys and men how God works miracles to turn circumstances and situations into God-honoring destinies.” But just the trailer choked me up and helped me connect with the story in a way that deepens my understanding and grief about racial relations

Mind the Gap participants enact an ideological tug-of-war Collaboration across all sorts of divides is one of Summit Stages’ core...

A Voice for Good's 2018 choir and orchestra, that was focused on building people, not highlighting stars. Paul Schwartz stands 4th from...

Paul Schwart (L) and family members on the set of Savior of the World. For Paul Schwartz, putting on a professional-quality production is...

On the night of August 23, 2020, the streets of Kenosha Wisconsin filled with an angry mob. Earlier that day, Jacob Blake, an African...

Jerry (J.J) First Charger Jr. In recent weeks I’ve brought you inspiring stories from the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and a visionary...

Zach Kautter launched PK productions to heal divides by helping people understand each other and connect with their common humanity.

Charles St. Clair was alienated and on a fast track to nowhere until theatre changed his life and many others.

Luqman Ali's Khayyal Theatre has been transforming the way Britons see Muslims and the way Muslims see the arts for 1/4 century.

Despite no formal training in musical theatre, Burton and van de Graaff have a world-class show: vibrant, entertaining and touching.