An Interview with Associate Artistic Director: Erin Daley

05/26/20 • 32 min

Upstage Left | Intimate Conversations with New York Theater

In this episode, Rachel chats with Erin Daley, the associate artistic director of Primary Stages. They recorded this episode on March 25th (two months ago), when New York City was only two weeks into quarantine. While things were much less certain then, it might have also been easier to be more optimistic. With this in mind, listen in, as the two discuss what the realities of the industry might look like on the other side of this pandemic and what organizations are thinking about as they navigate the current state of affairs.
Having met almost a decade ago at the Flea theater, Rachel was excited to chat with Erin about organization structure, and what it takes to run a theater. They talk about her roles and responsibilities as associate artistic director, her experience working with emerging artists, and what she's thinking about when reading new scripts.
Mentioned in this episode:
Dorothy Strelsin New Writers Group
Primary Stages
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Music by David Hilowitz

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Previous Episode

An Interview with Actor, Teacher, & Director: Maria Dizzia

A special Mother's Day episode with Tony Award nominated actor, Maria Dizzia.
The celebrated stage & screen actor, director, & teacher chats openly and honestly with Rachel about her career, and the challenges she faced early on. They talk about how she got an 'unsatisfactory' in grad school, her experience playing Eurydice in Sarah Ruhl's Eurydice, and how being a mom has changed her work.
In this episode:

On school: "I knew as a person who did well in institutions... I knew I needed to have a little sense of "fuck you"-ness."
On moving to New York: "I was very fortunate, but I was not having a good time."
On her first job: "I was scared the whole time. I was terrified. I was afraid people were going to discover I didn't know what I was doing and fire me."

We're so excited to share this episode that is filled to the brim with anecdotes & wisdom. AND, listen to the end to catch a very special surprise guest!!
Mentioned in the episode:
Actors at Work
The Neighbor's Window
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Music: David Hilowitz

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Next Episode

An Interview with Playwright: C.A. Johnson

In this episode, Rachel speaks with C.A. Johnson - the playwright of All the Natalie Portmans, which premiered at MCC this February. C.A.'s play The Climb was part of the 2019 Cherry Lane Mentor Project, and her work has also been produced at the Contemporary American Theater Festival, and Strawdog Theatre in Chicago.
C.A. and Rachel speak about life during COVID, and the state of the American Theater during this long overdue uprising. C.A. talks about the experience of her first New York run - what it was like to be in the room, the ups, and the downs. We talk about the uncertain future of theater, and what she wishes she had known before starting out on the journey of being a playwright.
More information about C.A. HERE.
Mentioned in this episode:
MCC Theatre
American Contemporary Play Festival
Strawdog Theatre
C.A. also writes for T.V.
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Intro music by: David Hilowitz

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