PRIMARY PLUS: VIRTUAL MASTER CLASS SERIES
Many of our esteemed Primary Stages family of artists have graciously volunteered their time to host FREE Virtual Master Classes. These videos are brief interviews of different artists talking about their life and career, advice to artists, and answering some "questions from the audience" submitted in advance and answered by the artist. We hope that these conversations can be a source of comforting free content to keep you engaged and inspire your art. Master Class participants include Theresa Rebeck, Kate Hamill, Jason O'Connell, Mary Bacon, Thom Sesma, Jennifer Mudge, Chris Coffey, Kimberly Senior, Sharon Washington, and more to be announced.
Submit your questions for our upcoming Virtual Master Classes by DMing us on the Primary Plus Facebook Group or the Primary Stages Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram! Be sure to include which of our family of artists your question is for, and see above for our list of upcoming artists.
JUST ADDED! Virtual Master Class: Charlayne Woodard is available now! Stay tuned on Monday's for our new Master Class videos. Follow us on the Primary Plus Facebook Group and the Primary Stages Facebook or Instagram for additional updates!
CLICK HERE to view our latest Master Class video with Charlayne Woodard (Actor, Playwright;
The Night Watcher, "Pose",
Ain't Misbehavin' on Broadway)
Charlayne discusses her work on The Night Watcher, advice for BIPOC young people and artists, and her career journey.
CLICK HERE to view our Master Class video with Chesney Snow (Creator of
Soil Beneath: An Empirical Decay; Actor,
In Transit on Broadway; Beatboxing Pioneer)
Chesney discusses his process working on Soil Beneath, his growth in the beatbox community, advice for BIPOC young people and artists, and his career journey.
CLICK HERE to view our Master Class video with
Latra Ann Wilson and Winston Dynamite Brown (Choreographers/Ensemble of Soil Beneath: An Empirical Decay; Co-Founding Artistic Directors of The DynamitExperience)
They discuss their process working on Soil Beneath, their dance careers, and the creation of their company The DynamitExperience. For more information about The DynamitExperience, please visit www.thedynamitexperience.com
CLICK HERE to view our Master Class video with Charles Busch
(Actor, Playwright, Cabaret Performer, Drag Legend; The Tribute Artist, The Confession of Lily Dare at Primary Stages) and Carl Andress (Director; The Tribute Artist, The Confession of Lily Dare)
They discuss their long history of producing work together, the intricacies of producing theater online, and their upcoming film.
CLICK HERE to view our selection from the Primary Stages Oral History Project with Eduardo Machado (Playwright and Activist;
Broken Eggs, Havana is Waiting, Kissing Fidel and
The Cook; former Artistic Director of INTAR Theatre)
Eduardo discusses his career, leaving Cuba for the U.S., and his work with theater companies such as Ensemble Studio Theater and The Public.
CLICK HERE to view our selection from the Primary Stages Oral History Project with Vinie Burrows
(Actor, Writer, Producer, and Activist; The Wisteria Trees, Skin of Our Teeth, and Mrs. Patterson on Broadway, created and produced a repertoire of eight one-woman shows)
Vinie discusses her career, her work with the UN, and touring her solo performances world-wide.
CLICK HERE to view our selection from the Primary Stages Oral History Project with Ralph B. Peña (Director, Playwright, and Activist; founding member and current Artistic Director of Ma-Yi Theater Company)
Ralph discusses his career, using theater as a social instrument in mobilization, and organizing protest theater in the Philippines.
CLICK HERE to view our selection from the Primary Stages Oral History Project with Baayork Lee (Actor, Choreographer, Director, and Activist; Original Broadway Productions of
A Chorus Line, The King and I, Flower Drum Song)
Baayork discusses her career and providing opportunities for Asian actors through founding the National Asian Artists Project.
CLICK HERE to view our latest Master Class Video with Donald Margulies (Writer, 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Drama Winner for
Dinner with Friends, Sight Unseen, Collected Stories, Long Lost, The Country House, the Tony Award-nominated
Time Stands Still, and the Obie Award-winning
The Model Apartment at Primary Stages)
Donald discusses his upbringing as a visual artist, his writing process through some of his greatest successes, and the path of his extensive playwriting career.
CLICK HERE to view our Master Class Video with Arthur French (Actor, Director, founding member of the Negro Ensemble Company;
The Iceman Cometh (1973),
Death of a Salesman (1975),
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (1984), and
The Trip to Bountiful (2013) on Broadway)
Arthur discusses in this interview with the Oral History Project his childhood exposure to theater, balancing his career as a social worker and acting, and his work in Death of a Salesman and A Soldier's Play.
CLICK HERE to view our Master Class Video with Stephanie Klapper (Casting Director, Stephanie Klapper Casting;
Bronx Bombers, A Christmas Story on Broadway,
Pride and Prejudice, Dividing the Estate, and more at Primary Stages, “Lazytown”)
Stephanie discusses her career in casting, advice for actors auditioning and self-taping, and the realities of theater post-COVID. To read more of Stephanie's thoughts
CLICK HERE to view her feature in our latest blog post.
CLICK HERE to view our Master Class Video with Paola Sanchez Abreu
(The Wolves at Lincoln Center Theater, Little Women at Primary Stages)
Paola discusses her experience as an up-and-coming actress in the business including her work on
The Wolves and
Little Women, and creating her own theater company,
The Kaleidoscapes, an eco-theatre troupe.
CLICK HERE to view our Master Class Video with Steve Olsen
(Owner of West Bank Cafe and the Laurie Beechman Theatre in the West Bank Cafe).
Steve discusses in this interview with the Oral History Project in 2015 his beginnings in the restaurant industry, including the founding of the West Bank Cafe, the beginnings of Theatre Row, and the building of the Laurie Beechman Theatre.
CLICK HERE to view our Master Class Video with Val Day
(Artistic Director of 59E59 Theaters, former longtime agent with William Morris and ICM).
Val discusses her career journey from talent agent to artistic director, life at 59E59, and the Primary Stages partnership with 59E59.
CLICK HERE to view our Master Class Video with David Caparelliotis
(Casting Director, Caparelliotis Casting; “New Amsterdam”, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Minutes, and King Lear on Broadway).
David discusses how actors can best prepare to reenter the industry when it reopens, tips for self-taping and auditioning, and the importance of inclusion and diversity in casting.
CLICK HERE to view our Master Class Video with Kate Hamill (Actor, Writer;
Pride and Prejudice and
Little Women at Primary Stages,
Dracula at CSC) and Jason O'Connell (Actor, Director, Writer;
Pride and Prejudice and
The Dork Knight at Primary Stages,
Cyrano at HVSF).
Kate and Jason discuss the trajectory of their careers in the theater, their work on Pride and Prejudice, and advice to artists at this time.
CLICK HERE to view our Master Class Video with Charles Busch (Actor, Playwright, Drag Legend;
Die Mommie Die!, Psycho Beach Party, The Confession of Lily Dare at Primary Stages)
Charles discusses his early career influences, inspiration from movies and experimental Off-Broadway theater, and the origins of some of his many productions.
CLICK HERE to view our Master Class Video with Kimberly Senior (Director,
...Discord at Primary Stages,
Disgraced on Broadway)
Kimberly discusses theater that asks a question, being a female director, and the many turning points in her career.
CLICK HERE to view our Master Class Video with Sharon Washington (
Feeding the Dragon at Primary Stages,
The Scottsboro Boys on Broadway,
The Joker with Joaquin Phoenix)
Sharon discusses her training at Yale School of Drama, the process of creating her one woman show Feeding the Dragon, and the difference in mediums between film, television, and theater.
CLICK HERE to view our Master Class Video with Jennifer Mudge (
The Stendhal Syndrome at Primary Stages,
Rocky the Musical on Broadway) and Chris Henry Coffey (
Bronx Bombers at Primary Stages and on Broadway, Arthur Miller's Resurrection Blues)
Jennifer and Chris
discuss their early careers and communities, Theater of War, and tips for actors to stay on top of their audition game. For more information about Theater of War visit: https://theaterofwar.com/.
CLICK HERE to view our tribute to legendary playwright Terrence McNally (
The Stendhal Syndrome, Dedication or the Stuff of Dreams at Primary Stages).
CLICK HERE to view the full interview with Primary Stages Off-Broadway Oral History Project.
We honor Terrence, for his love of theater and theater artists, for the vast library of timeless new works he left us, for his profound legacy. We are grateful and we are forever changed.
CLICK HERE to view Master Class Video Series: Thom Sesma (
...Discord at Primary Stages,
Unknown Soldier at Playwrights Horizons,
Fruiting Bodies at Ma-Yi, title role in
Sweeney Todd at Barrow Street Theatre)
Thom Sesma discusses his experience as an Asian-American actor, his many favorite plays, musicals, and revivals, and advice to his beloved students.
CLICK HERE to view our first entry in the Master Class Video Series, by Mary Bacon (
Little Women and T
he Roads to Home at Primary Stages,
Coal Country at The Public Theater)
Mary Bacon discusses documentary theater, her recent work in Coal Country at The Public Theater, and advice to actors.
"Chemo in Quarantine"
Primary Stages family members Dan O’Brien (Sabina at Primary Stages) and Victor Slezak’s (Body of an American at Primary Stages) recently created a video interview series about “Chemo in Quarantine” from the perspective of cancer survivors who also just happen to be theatre people. All six of the interviews they have released are available to view below.
Episode 1: 3 Cancer Survivor’s Lessons for Pandemic Isolation
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