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Zero Mostel talks about acting theory, French and American theater differences, and the reflection of art in society.
Now being a professional playwright, William Gibson talked about being able to write one of his plays in 8 days. A lot of the discussion is about his play, "The Miracle Worker". After reading one of Annie Sullivan's letters, and learning about a battle royale that Sullivan had with Helen Keller, Gibson envisioned what that battle royale would look like. It became a now famous part of the play.
William Ball discusses the American Conservatory Theater in Pittsburg, PA. They discuss in great detail how different the company is. Specifically that they keep themselves learning and perfecting the classic style. Dick Christiansen theater and film critic joins the conversation.
Studs Terkel interviews Valentin Pluchek and Stanislaw Pchenikov on Russia theater, focusing mainly on the city of Moscow.
Interviewing the cast of the musical revue "Suburbs of Heaven," songwriter Thom Bishop, singers Marty Peifer and Megon McDonough. Songs include "Mr. Arthur's Place," "Why Not Talk to Me?" "The Telephone Song," "Just Because You Didn't See Me," "Suburbs of Heaven," "Times I Tried to Love You," "Amateur Night/New Year's Eve," and "Somebody Feels the Water."
Maxene Andrews reminisces over Andrews Sisters songs with Studs Terkel. She acknowledges the heavy influence the Boswell Sisters played in the creation of their image. She relays musical stories surrounding songs in Abbott and Costello such as "Bugle Boy" from their movie "Buck Privates". How they found the song "Mir Bist Du Schon" and Sammy Cahn and Saul Chaplin helped with the lyrics. How song pluggers brought The Andrews Sisters "Tip-Pi-Tin". How "Apple Blossom Time" helped an injured soldier at Oak Knoll Hospital upon his return to the states.
Playwright Tennessee Williams discusses his play "The Night of the Iguana," which was currently playing at the Blackstone Theatre in Chicago. The conversation takes place in Mr. Williams' room at the Blackstone Hotel.
Tennessee Williams said he'll stop writing when he can no longer produce good work. He spoke of being puzzled as to why so little of his work gets produced in New York. Williams also talked about taking offense when the first sequences of the TV show "Dallas" aired. He explained that the owner of the great estate in "Dallas" was a copy of his Big Daddy character, who was a wealthy plantation owner.
Vlado Habunek, the Director of The Croatian National Theater, also a teacher at the University of Zagreb and board member for the Debrovnik Summer Festival discusses how all arts are seeking new revelations with Studs Terkel. Terkel asks Habunek to compare American Actors with Croatian actors because they are subsidized by the state. He sees Croatian actors as too secure and admires the ambition of American actors. The fact that theater reflects life and life is difficult begins a discussion on the status of theater today.
Studs Terkel discusses Russian theater with Stanislaw Pchenikov and Theater director Valentin Nikolaevich Pluchek.
In the play, "The Value of Names," Shelley Berman plays Benny Silverman, a role which he says is him, an actor from the Hollywood black list. Berman said being in Chicago, acting the role and working with the cast has been THE best experience of his life and when the show closes, it will be the saddest day of his life. The director of the play, Sandy Shinner, said she knew of the Hollywood black list but didn't know about all the personal stories. There is an excerpt of Vic Navasky.
Rilla Bergman, Lou Fant, and Bill Reese converse with Studs about The National Theater for the Deaf and the production they are presenting. Two of the actors Ms. Bergman and Mr. Reese discuss what it took to learn, as hearing people, the best ways to express themselves with sign language. They all talk about how much more expressive the actors in the Deaf Theater have to be to convey the message of the piece they are presenting.
Sam Wanamaker continues his discussion about the theater, with an emphasis on lights and music. With his production of "Macbeth," Wanamaker didn't want three-dimensional witches. Instead, he used lighting to convey their presence. In addition, similar to the line from Macbeth, Wanamaker was able to show the witches disappearing and melting into the air.
Sam Wanamaker talks about the curtain of a stage being a barrier between the set and the audience. Wanaker says that with theater today, there are more theaters in the round and more thrusts of ramps built into the audience, so that the audience can feel they are a part of the production of the play.