# Working in the Theatre

Working in the Theatre is the American Theatre Wing’s documentary series created to highlight the theatre industry's inner-workings. The series profiles notable members of the industry, and provides a closer look at unique stories and important work. Working in the Theatre aims to inform audiences about typically less well-known aspects of the theatre by sharing The Wing's extensive knowledge of the industry. The series has been running for more than four decades, and has featured extraordinary work from numerous members of the industry. Working in the Theatre receives leadership support from Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Dorothy Strelsin Foundation. The series is also supported, in part, by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

## History

Working in the Theatre was initially broadcast from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, led by Wing chair at the time Isabelle Stevenson, and moderated by various board members. Until 2005, the series was only available for viewing on CUNY-TV, a local New York City television station, or at a few NYC libraries. In March 2005 it was announced that The Wing would be releasing Working in the Theatre episodes for free streaming online.

## Current production

In July 2017, The Wing was $60,000 in National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) grants, $25,000 of which will directly support Working in the Theatre.

## Episode list

| Season | Episodes |
| 46 | Camden Rep; Direction and Writing - Appropriate; Circus Arts, Acrobats & Choreo - Water for Elephants; |
| 45 | Setting the Show - The Year of Magical Thinking; Direction and Design - The Piano Lesson; The Neo-Futurists; |
| 44 | Phantom Returns;Live: Company Part 1 and 2; Pressing On - Girl From the North Country; Taking Chances - Titanique The Musical; |
| 43 | A Community Comes Together - Carnegie Mellon University; Radial Park at Hallets Point; The Seagull on the Sims 4; Irish Rep - Together in Isolation; Ratatouille on TikTok; |
| 42 | Creating in Quarantine; Play at Home; The 24 Hour Plays Viral Monologues; Creating the Show; Virtual Theatre in the Classroom, American Conservatory Theater; Virtual Theatre in the Classroom, SUNY New Paltz |
| 41 | Orchestrations; Odd Jobs 2; Specialty Props; Expansive Technology; Documentary Theatre; Devised Theatre; Before the Show: Zulema Clares |
| 40 | Adaptation; Odd Jobs; D.I.Y. Theatre; Theatrical Animals; Vocal Coach; Magic; Cicely Tyson; Wigs; Wardrobe at LCT; Revivals; Chamber Opera |
| 39 | Building the Wall, Theatre in Arkansas; Polyphone; Solo Performance; Playwriting; LIVE: A Doll’s House, Part 2; Programming; The Blueprint Specials; Curtain Up!; School of Rock |
| 38 | Marie’s Crisis; Manual Cinema; Under Construction; Sign Language Theatre; Before the Show: Joel Perez; Double Edge Theatre; A Conversation with The Humans: Live; Choreography; Makeup; White Rabbit Red Rabbit; Casebook of Hadestown; The Ghosts of Lote Bravo; Ragtime on Ellis Island; Lighting Design; Clowning |
| 37 | Arena Stage; Steppenwolf; Colossal - Olney, MD; Colossal - Minneapolis, MN; Projection Design - 59 Productions; Before the Show: Celia Keenan-Bolger; Society of London Theatre; The Globe; Prop Masters; Colossal - Dallas, TX; Scenic Design; Second City; Projection Design with Jeff Suggs |
| 36 | Reimagining Shakespeare; Playwrights; Immersive Theatre; Before the Show: Billy Porter/Patina Miller; Swings, Standbys, Understudies; Since I Suppose - Site Specific Theatre; Before the Show: Jessie Mueller/Lena Hall; Costumes; Puppets on Stage |
| 35 | America’s New Theatre Companies; Theatre’s Super Lawyers; The Impact of Regional Theatre; The Anatomy of a Song; Reimagining Musicals; Critics and Social Media; Setting the Stage |
| 34 | The Stage of Theatre: Institutions and Producers; Regional Theatre; Producers: A Creative Approach; The Playwright’s Voice; Casting Directors; Featured Performers 2012; Directors: Process & Collaboration; The Publicists’ World; Exploring Musical Theatre; The Tony Awards: History, Highlights, and Backstage |
| 33 | The Vocabulary of Dance: Choreographers 2010; Embracing Process: Directors 2010; Getting the Show on the Road; Compelling Stories: Playwrights 2011; Through Their Eyes: Actors 2011; The Characters Start Talking: Playwrights 2011; Don’t Be Afraid: Stage Veterans 2011; Theatre Journalism: Online and Off; Passion and Compassion: Actors 2011; Directors 2011; Challenges and Triumphs: Actors 2011; Behind the Curtain |
| 32 | Leading Ladies 2009; Regional Theatres; Beyond Broadway; Amazing Affinity: Actors 2009; Production: Next to Normal; The Play That Changed My Life; Producing’s New Voices; Understudies; Playwrights 2010; Developing Musical Theatre; Equal Exchange: Actors 2010; The Next Generation 2010 |
| 31 | Actors Words, Writers Voice; Arias to Showstoppers: World of Opera and Theatre; 99 and Under; Making Ogre Broadway; Stage Veterans 2009; Consolation and Provocation: Playwrights 2009; New Writers, New Musicals: Jonathan Larson Grants 2009; Crafting Worlds: Theatrical Design; For the Record: Inside Cast Albums; At Work and Play: Lead Actors 2009; Fluidity and Change: Directors 2009; First and Loudest: the Marketing of Broadway |
| 30 | The Next Generation; Horton Foote’s America; From New Dramatists; Composers and Lyricists; Off-Broadway Companies; Featured Performers; Directors on Directing; Steppenwolf: From Chicago to Osage County; Unexpectedly Theatre; Performing Musicals; Demystifying the Classics; Producing Broadway |
| 29 | The Evolution of Encores!; Casting Directors; The Coast of Utopia; Leading Men; August Wilson’s Legacy; Artistic Directors |
| 28 | Critics; The Playwright; Production: The Drowsy Chaperone; Actors on Performing; Design; Directing; Producing Commercial Theatre Off-Broadway; Production: Grey Gardens; Leading Ladies; Playwrights |
| 27 | Stage Veterans; Off-Broadway; Musicals: Directors & Choreographers; Interpreting Tennessee Williams; Production: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels; Performance; Exploring Summer Theatre; Pop Music & the New Musical; Production: See What I Wanna See; Staging the Classics; Producing Commercial Theatre; Actors on Performing 2005 |
| 26 | New Plays & Playwrights; Performance; Producing New Plays for Broadway; Caroline, or Change; Playwrights; Puppetry & Theatre; Not-For-Profits of Broadway; Performance; Humor in Performance |
| 25 | World Theatre; Playwright, Director & Choreographer; Production: Urban Cowboy; Design; Performance; Production: Big River; Playwright, Director & Choreographer; Production: Avenue Q; Design; Performance |
| 24 | Playwright & Director; Thoroughly Modern Millie; Performance; Performance; Playwright & Director; Women Producers; Design; Performance; Hairspray |
| 23 | Playwright, Director & Choreographer; Production: The Producers; Performance; Playwright, Director & Choreographer; Production: Mamma Mia!; Performance; Design |
| 22 | Playwright, Director & Choreographer; Production: Aida; Performance; Playwright, Director & Choreographer; Production: The Full Monty; Composer & Lyricist; Performance |
| 21 | Performance; Performance; Playwright, Director & Choreographer; Production: The Civil War; Critics; Playwright, Director & Choreographer; Production: Contact; Design; Performance 1999 |
| 20 | Performance; Production: The Lion King; Playwright & Director; Production: Ragtime; Performance; Playwright, Director & Choreographer; Production: Side Man; Design |
| 19 | Performance; Playwright, Director & Choreographer; Production: Stanley; Unions & Guilds; Performance; Playwright & Director; Production: Side Show; Design |
| 18 | Performance; Playwright & Director; Production: Master Class; Return to Broadway; Performance; Playwright, Director & Choreographer; Production: Fit to be Tied; Design |
| 17 | Performance; Playwright & Director; Production: Love! Valour! Compassion!; Regional Theatre: Goodspeed Opera House; Performance; Playwright, Director & Choreographer; Production: Moon Over Buffalo; Design Awards |
| 16 | Performance; New Play Development; Playwright, Director & Choreographer; Production: Beauty & the Beast; Performance; Playwright & Director; Production: Damn Yankees; Design |
| 15 | Production: Anna Christie; Performance; Playwright & Director; Production: Fool Moon; Regional Theatre/New Play Development; Performance; Playwright & Director; Production: Kiss of the Spider Woman; Design |
| 14 | Performance; Playwright & Director; Production: Crazy for You; Performance; Playwright & Director; Production: Jelly’s Last Jam; Unions & Guilds; Design |
| 13 | Performance; Performance; Playwright, Director & Choreographer; Production: Will Rogers Follies; Design |
| 12 | Performance; Producing; Production: Gypsy & Cat on a Hot Tin Roof; Performance; Playwright, Director & Choreographer; Production: A Few Good Men; Design Aw |
| 11 | Performance; Playwright and Director; Production: The Heidi Chronicles; London; Performance; Playwright, Director & Choreographer; Production: Orpheus Descending; Design Awards |
| 10 | Performance; Playwright & Director; Production: M. Butterfly; Performance; Playwright, Director & Choreographer; Production: Spoils of War; Design Awards |
| 9 | Performance; Playwright & Director; Production: Sweet Sue; Performance; Playwright & Director; Production: Burn This; Design |
| 8 | Performance; Playwright & Director; Production: Precious Sons; Performance; Playwright & Director; Production: House of Blue Leaves |
| 7 | Performance; Playwright, Director & Choreographer; Production: Grind; Performance; Playwright & Director; Big River; Design |
| 6 | Playwright, Director & Choreographer; Production: Dancing in the End Zone; Performance; Performance; Playwright, Director & Choreographer; Production: Hurly Burly; Design Awards |
| 5 | Performance; Playscript; Production: Angel’s Fall; Performance; Production: La Cage Aux Folles; Design |
| 4 | Performance; Playscript; Production: Producing Now & Then; Performance; Design; Production: Nine |
| 3 | Performance; Playscript; Production: Fifth of July; Design; Performance; Production: The Shubert Organization |
| 2 | Performance; Playscript; Production; Production: Barnum; Playscript; Performance; Design |
| 1 | Performance; Playscript; Production: The Elephant Man |

## Notable guests

* Actors/Actresses
** Nathan Lane, Cherry Jones, Matthew Broderick, Lea Salonga, Phylicia Rashad, Natasha Richardson, Jessica Lange, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Jennifer Ehle, Adam Pascal
* Producers
** Emanuel Azenberg, Jeffrey Seller, Harold Prince
* Playwrights
** Edward Albee, Tony Kushner, David Henry Hwang
* Composers/Lyricists
** Mary Rodgers, David Yazbek
* Directors/Choreographers
** David Esbjornson, Julie Taymor, Moises Kaufman
* Lighting/Sound/Set/Costume Designers
** Lighting: Beverly Emmons, Jules Fisher, Natasha Katz, Howell Binkley
** Sound: David Meschter, Abe Jacob
** Scenic: David Rockwell, Eugene Lee
** Costume: Mary Peterson, Ann Roth

## Awards and recognition

* 2024 -Daytime Emmy: Arts and Popular Culture Program (nomination)
* 2023- Daytime Emmy: Arts and Popular Culture Program (nomination)
* 2022- Anthem Awards: Awareness Categories (Not-For-Profit), subcategory Education, Art, & Culture - Special Projects (win)
* 2020 - Daytime Emmy: Outstanding Directing Special Class (nomination)
* 2019 - Daytime Emmy: Outstanding Special Class Series (nomination)
* 2019 - Daytime Emmy: Outstanding Directing Special Class (nomination)
* 2018 - Webby Award: Online Film & Video: Documentary, Series (nomination)
* 2017 - Daytime Emmy: Outstanding Special Class Series (nomination)
* 2017 - Telly Award: Documentary (win - bronze telly)
* 2017 - Brooklyn Webfest (nomination)
* 2016 - Telly Award: Documentary (win - silver telly)
* 2016 - Brooklyn Webfest (win)
* 2016 - Webby Award: Online Film & Video: Documentary, Series (nomination)
* 2015 - W3 Awards: Online Video - Documentary (win - silver award)

## Related content

In 2006, a book series highlighting Working in the Theatre was published by Bloomsbury publishing, and edited by Robert Emmet Long. The series included three books, each highlighting WIT guests' insight to the theatre industry.
* Acting
** Foreword by Kate Burton
** Featuring: Brian Dennehy, Matthew Broderick, Nathan Lane, Blythe Danner, Joel Grey, Anne Heche, Dana Ivey, Swoosie Kurtz, Jessica Lange, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Cherry Jones, Tonya Pinkins, Phylicia Rashad, Vanessa Redgrave, Michael Crawford, Mercedes Ruehl, Patrick Stewart, Richard Thomas, Irene Worth, Natasha Richardson, and more
* Producing and the Theatre Business
** Foreword by Elizabeth Ireland McCann
** Featuring: Daryl Roth, David Stone, Todd Haimes, Fran Weissler, Mel Brooks, Richard Frankel, Margo Lion, Kevin McCollum, André Bishop, Neil Pepe, Thomas Schumacher, Emanuel Azenberg, Thomas Viertel, Michael David, Susan Gallin, Jeffrey Seller, Barry Grove, Judy Craymer, Robyn Goodman, Harold Prince, and more
* Writing
** Foreword by Paula Vogel
** Featuring: Edward Albee, Arthur Kopit, Lisa Kron, Christopher Durang, Marsha Norman, Brian Clark, Terrence McNally, Harvey Fierstein, Juan Guare, August Wilson, Samm-Art Williams, Charles Strouse, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Alfred Uhry, Peter Parnell, Arthur Miller, Robert Anderson, Tony Kushner, David Auburn, Charles Busch, David Henry Hwang, John Patrick Shanley, and more