Unify the Stage

DOCS... VANYA ON 42ND STREET-- Amazing actors working on Uncle Vanya in a run down theater in New York. If you haven't seen it, do not pass go...get it now. BROOK BY BROOK-- This documentary is about Peter Brook, created by his son. It comes in a double dvd set with Peter Brook's HAMLET, which is also amazing to watch.  ARIANE MNOUCHKINE - THE LOVE OF THEATRE -- A great documentary about Ariane Mnouchkine and the founding of Theatre du Soliel. You can watch it here , and be sure to turn on the English subtitles. BECOMING TRAVIATA --an amazing documentary focusing on the rehearsal work of stage director Jean-François Sivadier with soprano Natalie Dessay on a beautiful production of La Traviata. Yes, it's opera, and yes, you should watch it. It's a master class in good opera stage direction. WAGNER'S DREAM-- An exciting documentary about Robert Lepage and his recent production of THE RING CYCLE at the Met. Dreaming big. FICTION... ALL ABOUT EVE-- Funny,

Directors of the world! Have a road trip coming up? Need some podcasting to listen to while you clean your house? Just want to learn a lot by listening? CHECK OUT THIS PODCAST SERIES It's the Stage director's and Choreographers Foundation's Masters of the Stage podcast, and there is so much to listen to and learn... 131 podcasts to catch up on, so get listening!

 Vanity Fair: 3/11/14 Always choose good collaborators. It seems so obvious, but the best collaborators are the ones who disagree with you. It means they’re passionate, they have opinions, and they’ll only ever say yes if they mean it. Try to learn how to make the familiar strange, and the strange familiar. Direct Shakespeare like it’s a new play, and treat every new play as if it’s Shakespeare. If you have the chance, please work with Dame Judi Dench. Learn to say, “I don’t know the answer.” It could be the beginning of a very good day’s rehearsal. Go to the ancient amphitheater at Epidaurus, in Greece. It makes you realize what you are a part of, and it will change the way you look at the world. If you’re an artist, you will feel central, and you will never feel peripheral again. Avoid, please, all metaphors of plays or films as “pinnacles” or “peaks”; treat with absolute scorn the word “definitive”; and if anyone uses the word “masterpiece,” they don’t know what they’re doing. The p