The Director's Voice, Twenty Interviews, Vol. 2

by Jason Loewith (Editor)

“Directors today are equipped with a larger toolbox than their forerunners, standing on their shoulders as well as those of pioneers in non-Western theater, experimental visual art, community-based theater, and the ever-evolving commercial theater scene.”— Jason Loewith This second volume presents a cross-section of the most diverse and dynamic stage directors defining today’s American theater, in conversation with director/producer Jason Loewith. A follow-up to the immensely popular first volume, which has sold over eighteen thousand copies, much has changed in the twenty years since The Director’s Voice debuted. “The nonprofit model has been turned on its head,” Loewith notes. “Institution-building is out for these directors; creating a distinctive voice from a multiplicity of influences is in.” Together, these directors sketch a compelling portrait of the art form in the new century. Interviews Anne Bogart, Mark Brokaw, Peter Brosius, Ping Chong, David Esbjornson, Oskar Eustis, Frank Galati, Michael Kahn, Moisés Kaufman, James Lapine, Elizabeth LeCompte, Emily Mann, Michael Mayer, Marion McClinton, Bill Rauch, Bartlett Sher, Julie Taymor, Theatre de la Jeune Lune (Barbra Berlovitz, Steven Epps, Vincent Gracieux, Robert Rosen, and Dominique Serrand), George C. Wolfe, and Mary Zimmerman. Jason Loewith is a producer, director, and writer. He has served since 2002 as artistic director of Chicago’s Next Theatre Company, where he conceived, co-wrote, and produced Adding A Musical , which had an award-winning run off-Broadway.

Genres: Theatre

400 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2010

Reviews

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are some strong ingredients (insightful, informed questions from Jason Loewith; a mix of engaging and talented directors; revealing anecdotes; etc), but what makes it more than the sum of its parts is the way it invites the reader to participate. Reading 20+ luminaries in a row discussing their experiences and opinions, sometimes identical and often contradictory, had me constantly reevaluating my relationship to directing. In some ways it's an overwhelming book (I had to do an interview a day), but it's given me an arsenal of new wisps of wisdom, reminded me of things I forgot, and reinvigorated my connection to making theatre.