The Present Stage: Conversations with Theater Writers Podcast
1) Else Went — INITIATIVE
Else Went joins The Present Stage to talk about her new play Initiative, a 5-hour exploration of post-millennium adolescence. We talk about Initiative's AOL Instant Messenger storytelling, how the clo...Show More
2) Anne Washburn — THE BURNING CAULDRON OF FIERY FIRE
Anne Washburn joins the podcast to explore her new play, The Burning Cauldron of Fiery Fire. We talk about navigating audience disorientation, what's so necessary about choral singing, and why Anne Wa...Show More
3) Alex Lin — LAOWANG: A CHINATOWN KING LEAR
Alex Lin joins the podcast to talk all about the first of her two Off-Broadway plays this season, Laowang: A Chinatown King Lear. She shares how one great actor spurred the creation of a lead role, wh...Show More
4) Morgan Lloyd Malcolm — THE WASP
Morgan Lloyd Malcolm joins the podcast to talk about her thriller "The Wasp," a 2015 play making its U.S. debut. We dive into how Malcolm created this twisty plot; how she interweaves themes of violen...Show More
5) James Ijames — SATURDAY CHURCH
Pulitzer Prize winner James Ijames returns to the podcast to talk about his new musical Saturday Church, based on the 2017 film of the same title. What was it like to reimagine the film alongside the ...Show More
6) SPECIAL EPISODE: A Giant Broadway and Off-Broadway 2025-2026 Season Preview (w/ Joe Weinberg)
HERE SHE IS, BOYS! HERE SHE IS, WORLD! TikTok theater critic Joe Weinberg rejoins the podcast to preview dozens of upcoming shows both on Broadway and off in the 2025-2026 season! Follow this current/...Show More
7) Sophie McIntosh — ROAD KILLS
Playwright Sophie McIntosh joins the podcast to talk about her new plays Road Kills. Hear why she co-founded The Good Apples Collective, how she strikes a balance with introducing an audience to shock...Show More
8) Troy Anthony — PERICLES
Hours after the world premiere of his musical adaptation of Pericles, Troy Anthony joins the podcast to share how he adapted one of Shakespeare's knottiest plays for the Public Theater's community-cen...Show More
9) Douglas Lyons — BEAU THE MUSICAL
Douglas Lyons returns to the podcast to talk about his new show Beau the Musical. How can theater especially help to amplify queer voices and stories in 2025? What drew the writer-composer to a Nashvi...Show More
10) Donald Margulies — LUNAR ECLIPSE
Pulitzer Prize winning playwright (and Dan's college playwriting professor!) Donald Margulies joins the podcast to talk about his new play Lunar Eclipse. How does the play pay tribute to the playwrigh...Show More