Episode 27: Neil LaBute, Playwright, Screenwriter, Director

On this episode of STAGE GROK, I talk with playwright, screenwriter, and director Neil LaBute, about his writing process and about the annual LaBute New Theater Festival at St. Louis Actors' Studio.

STAGE GROK host Scott Miller is the artistic director of New Line Theatre in St. Louis, and the author of six books on musical theatre, nine musicals, and the musical theatre blog The Bad Boy of Musical Theatre. Opening and closing theme music: Overture from Cry-Baby the Musical by Adam Schlessinger and David Javerbaum, from New Line Theatre's 2012 production. Used by permission. Logo designed by Matt Reedy. Stage Grok is available on iTunes.

               

Episode 26: Lucy Cashion on ERA and Trash Macbeth

On this episode of STAGE GROK, I talk with Lucy Cashion, educator and artistic director of Equally Represented Arts (ERA), a theatre company in St. Louis, about the process of creating their critically acclaimed devised work Trash Macbeth. Lucy is an assistant professor of fine and performing arts at St. Louis University.

STAGE GROK host Scott Miller is the artistic director of New Line Theatre in St. Louis, and the author of six books on musical theatre, nine musicals, and the musical theatre blog The Bad Boy of Musical Theatre. Opening and closing theme music: Overture from Cry-Baby the Musical by Adam Schlessinger and David Javerbaum, from New Line Theatre's 2012 production. Used by permission. Logo designed by Matt Reedy. Stage Grok is available on iTunes.

               

Episode 23: Actor Jeff McCarthy on Urinetown and Southern Comfort

On this episode of STAGE GROK, I talk with Broadway actor Jeff McCarthy, about playing Officer Lockstock in the original Urinetown, and about his newest project, the musical Southern Comfort. McCarthy has also appeared on Broadway in Beauty and the Beast, Chicago, Side Show, Urinetown, and The Pirate Queen; and off Broadway, in Dream True, Sympathetic Magic, and Southern Comfort.

STAGE GROK host Scott Miller is the artistic director of New Line Theatre in St. Louis, and the author of six books on musical theatre, nine musicals, and the musical theatre blog The Bad Boy of Musical Theatre. Opening and closing theme music: Overture from Cry-Baby the Musical by Adam Schlessinger and David Javerbaum, from New Line Theatre's 2012 production. Used by permission. Logo designed by Matt Reedy. Stage Grok is available on iTunes.

               

Episode 19: Champe Leary, stage manager at the Rep

On this episode of STAGE GROK, I talk with stage manager Champe Leary, about the job of stage managing and her decades working with the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis.

Also listen to the STAGE GROK interviews with other Rep staff, artistic director Steve Woolf and managing director Mark Bernstein.

STAGE GROK host Scott Miller is the artistic director of New Line Theatre in St. Louis, and the author of six books on musical theatre, nine musicals, and the musical theatre blog The Bad Boy of Musical Theatre. Opening and closing theme music: Overture from Cry-Baby the Musical by Adam Schlessinger and David Javerbaum, from New Line Theatre's 2012 production. Used by permission. Logo designed by Matt Reedy. Stage Grok is available on iTunes.

               

Episode 15: Architect Rob Lippert, on Designing the Marcelle Theater

On this episode of STAGE GROK, I talk with architect, scenic designer, and lighting designer Rob Lippert, about designing the new Marcelle Theater in St. Louis' Grand Center arts district, the new home to New Line Theatre. Rob has been designing sets and lights for New Line for the last two seasons, and he won the St. Louis Theater Circle Award for Outstanding Lighting Design in a Musical for New Line's Night of the Living Dead, and he was nominated for both his scenic and lighting designs for New Line's Bonnie & Clyde. Rob is a principal at U-Studios Incorporated.

You can read Rob’s theatre design blog, about his work for New Line, Stray Dog Theatre, and other projects, at u-studios.blogspot.com.

STAGE GROK host Scott Miller is the artistic director of New Line Theatre in St. Louis, and the author of six books on musical theatre, nine musicals, and the musical theatre blog The Bad Boy of Musical Theatre. Opening and closing theme music: Overture from Cry-Baby the Musical by Adam Schlessinger and David Javerbaum, from New Line Theatre's 2012 production. Used by permission. Logo designed by Matt Reedy. Stage Grok is available on iTunes.

               

Episode 13: Actor Tom Murray, on Theater Factory

On this episode of STAGE GROK, I talk with St. Louis actor and teacher Tom Murray, about Theater Factory, one of St. Louis' most interesting companies for ten years in the 1980s and 90s, about its founder Hope Wurdack, and all the great artists and shows that were part of the adventure.

STAGE GROK host Scott Miller is the artistic director of New Line Theatre in St. Louis, and the author of six books on musical theatre, nine musicals, and the musical theatre blog The Bad Boy of Musical Theatre. Opening and closing theme music: Overture from Cry-Baby the Musical by Adam Schlessinger and David Javerbaum, from New Line Theatre's 2012 production. Used by permission. Logo designed by Matt Reedy. Stage Grok is available on iTunes.

               

Episode 5: Jeffrey Carter, Webster University, on Music Directing

On this episode of STAGE GROK, I talk with Jeffrey Carter, chair of the music department at Webster University, and resident music director at New Line Theatre, about music directing in the theatre, vocal care and training, and the whole process of bringing a musical theatre score to life, from auditions through the run.

Read Jeffrey's blog post about music directing that he mentions in the interview. Also, check out his official biography on the Webster website.

STAGE GROK host Scott Miller is the artistic director of New Line Theatre in St. Louis, and the author of six books on musical theatre, nine musicals, and the musical theatre blog The Bad Boy of Musical Theatre. Opening and closing theme music: Overture from Cry-Baby the Musical by Adam Schlessinger and David Javerbaum, from New Line Theatre's 2012 production. Used by permission. Logo designed by Matt Reedy. Stage Grok is available on iTunes.