Making “Swan Lake” His Own by Mark Blankenship

Dancer Richard Winsor puts his stamp on Matthew Bourne’s productionMatthew Bourne's celebrated reimagining of Swan Lake has swooped into New York City Center through November 7. Much o…

SOURCE: TDF at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Building Character: Allison Mack and Erin Gann by Mark Blankenship

In Apple Cove, Erin Gann and Smallville’s Allison Mack make absurdity feel authentic__________________Welcome to Building Character, TDF’s ongoing series about actors and how the…

SOURCE: TDF at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

A Very Intimate “Hello Again” by Mark Blankenship

Transport Group drops Michael John LaChiusa’s musical into the audience’s lapShort of performing it yourself, you may never get closer to a musical than when you see Transport Gr…

SOURCE: TDF at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

TDF Video: Life as a Professional Theatre Usher by Mark Blankenship

From Hugh Jackman to matinee matrons, these ushers have seen it allIn this video, TDF Stages takes you inside the world of professional theatre ushering.Fast Tube by CasperWatch a closed cap…

SOURCE: TDF at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Getting Senseless in “A Small Fire” by Mark Blankenship

An actress and playwright create a woman deprived of almost everythingHow do you create a woman who can’t see, smell, taste, or hear? That may sound like a Zen riddle, but it’s b…

SOURCE: TDF at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

The Sound of the “Gruesome Playground” by Mark Blankenship

How two composers created music for a play’s unreal worldThere are really two worlds in Gruesome Playground Injuries, the new play by Rajiv Joseph that’s running at Second Stage …

SOURCE: TDF at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

VIDEO: Making “Jersey Boys” Run by Mark Blankenship

Go backstage at Broadway's “Jersey Boy's” to learn how an unseen army keeps the show up and running every night. Featuring production stage manager Michelle Bosch.Fast Tube by Ca…

SOURCE: TDF at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

VIDEO: The Art and Service of Open Captioning by Mark Blankenship

A national TDF program brings access to the deaf and hard of hearingExperience the art and service of open captioning, a national TDF program that makes theatre more accessible for the deaf …

SOURCE: TDF at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Curious Feelings in “Middletown” by Mark Blankenship

Director Ken Rus Schmoll builds silent tension in Will Eno’s playThere’s a birth, a death, and a scene where a cop chokes a guy with his nightstick, but the spirit of Middletown …

SOURCE: TDF at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Building Character: Boyd Gaines by Mark Blankenship

The four-time Tony winner plays a frustrated son in Driving Miss Daisy.
Welcome to Building Character, TDF Stages’ ongoing series about actors and how they create their roles...

SOURCE: TDF at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

How Two Composers Created Music for a Play's Unreal World by Mark Blankenship

LA-based composers Gwendolyn Sanford and Brandon Jay (Showtime's Weeds) tackle two distinct worlds in

SOURCE: LA STAGE Times at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Arguing with “Lingua Franca” by Mark Blankenship

Peter Nichols’ new comedy invites all sorts of debatesIt’s easy to argue with Lingua Franca, but that’s a good thing.Written by Peter Nichols (A Day in the Death of Joe Egg…

SOURCE: TDF at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

The Path to Broadway: David Lindsay-Abaire by Mark Blankenship

The Pulitzer-winner’s new play comes to Broadway without a tryoutIt may be hogging all the attention, but Spider-Man isn’t the only show getting its world premiere on Broadway th…

SOURCE: TDF at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Broadway’s Almost-True Stories, Part 1 by Mark Blankenship

Audiences react to fact and fiction in “The Scottsboro Boys” and “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson”Welcome to Part 1 of our two-part look at how Broadway is currently sta…

SOURCE: TDF at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Working Together (Again) by Mark Blankenship

What Happens When Artists Keep Collaborating?By MARK BLANKENSHIPIn some ways, Lisa Kron’s political comedy In the Wake, now playing at the Public Theater, is a major departure. After a…

SOURCE: TDF at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Frank Rich Interviews Stephen Sondheim: The Highlights by Mark Blankenship

Last night, as part of the New York Times‘ ongoing Times Talk series, Frank Rich interviewed Stephen Sondheim about his life and career. Rich, who is a mentor in TDF’s Open Doors…

SOURCE: TDF at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

The Meaning In “The Milk Train” by Mark Blankenship

Director Michael Wilson balances symbolism and reality in a Tennessee Williams playNotice how the mobile affects the light on stage, its small pieces of colored glass throwing red on a table…

SOURCE: TDF at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

More New Audiences for New York by Mark Blankenship

With a lively orientation session, TDF kicks off the second year of the NANY programYou know you’re at a theatre event when people introduce themselves by touching elbows, knees, and h…

SOURCE: TDF at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Building Character: Colman Domingo & Forrest McClendon by Mark Blankenship

The Scottsboro Boys stars create metaphorical minstrels—Welcome to Building Character, TDF Stages´ ongoing series about actors and how they create their roles.—The new Broadwa…

SOURCE: TDF at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Making an A Cappella Musical by Mark Blankenship

The “In Transit” team explains how they make a musical with no instruments When it comes to collaboration, the cast of In Transit, now in previews at Primary Stages, makes every…

SOURCE: TDF at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Dressing Albee’s Twins by Mark Blankenship

How Jennifer von Mayrhauser’s costumes evoke the spirit of Edward Albee’s new play In the Playwrights Horizons production of Edward Albee’s Me, Myself & I, twin brot…

SOURCE: TDF at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Video: Stars of “Memphis” Reveal Their Secrets by Mark Blankenship

The stars of the Broadway musical “Memphis,” Montego Glover and Chad Kimball, tell TDF Stages the secret to playing a role for over seven years.Fast Tube by CasperWatch a closed …

SOURCE: TDF at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

The Ibsen We Hardly Know by Mark Blankenship

The Pearl revives an obscure masterpieceQuestion: How is Ibsen’s play Rosmersholm like Halley’s Comet?Answer: It may be seventy-six years before you get another chance to see it.…

SOURCE: TDF at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Murder-Mystery Opera? Aisle Three by Mark Blankenship

Culturemart stocks its shelves with ambitious new workMultimedia chamber operas about murder and reality television don’t just write themselves, and neither do video-driven solo shows …

SOURCE: TDF at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Freud, Fiction, and God by Mark Blankenship

A new play uses history and fiction to argue about faith

SOURCE: TDF at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑