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.

Terkel comments and presents songs and stories from "The Eight Hours"

Studs Terkel and playwright Wallace Shawn discuss Shawn’s play “The Designated Mourner,” and the play’s deeper themes. Both Shawn and Terkel read monologues from the play.

Viveca Lindfors discusses her roles and the roles of women in society. Includes Viveca Lindfors reciting lines written by Lillian Hellman.

While performing some of their original material, comedians Vic Greco and Fred Willard talk about how they come up with their ideas for their shows. Always the entertainers, and while talking over one another, Greco and Willard explain that most of what they do on stage is improvisation.

Studs Terkel interviews Valentin Pluchek and Stanislaw Pchenikov on Russia theater, focusing mainly on the city of Moscow.

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.

Studs speaks with the author, theater scholar, and biographer about her book, W. S. Gilbert: A Classic Victorian and His Theatre.*Please note: some sections have been edited out from the original recording due to copyright considerations 

The British historian and writer relates Shakespeare to modern day sensibilities, reads sonnets, and discusses Elizabethan cultural norms.*Please note: some sections have been edited out from the original recording due to copyright considerations 

The theater scholar and biographer talks about some of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas staged at the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.*Please note: some sections have been edited out from the original recording due to copyright considerations 

The Irish theater actor discusses his performance as George Bernard Shaw in the one-man show, My Astonishing Life, at the St. Nicholas theater. This program also includes two excerpts from a 1937 BBC recording of Shaw.

The playwright, director, actress, and founder of the Black Ensemble Theater talks with Studs about her portrayal of singer and actress Ethel Waters in Sweet Mama Stringbean.*Please note: some sections have been edited out from the original recording due to copyright considerations 

The British playwright discusses his nine-hour adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel Nicholas Nickleby, at Chicago's Blackstone Theatre.*Please note: some sections have been edited out from the original recording due to copyright considerations 

The playwright, director, actress, and founder of the Black Ensemble Theater joins Studs to discuss her role as Blanche DuBois in the Tennessee Williams play, A Streetcar Named Desire.*Please note: some sections have been edited out from the original recording due to copyright considerations