The Theater Project Thinks About...

Mary Iannelli, Mark Spina, Kevin Carver
  • 5.0 (12)
  • Performing Arts
  • Updated Daily

The Theater Project thinks about... was created as a way to take our patrons on a “deeper dive” into the process of the actors, directors, playwrights & other artists in our community, as well as the mechanics of bringing an artist’s work to an audience.

  1. May 31

    Creating Your Own Opportunities

    Mark Spina sat down with Derek Crosby and Jack McManus to talk about what steps they have taken to create their own opportunities after facing the void out of college. Credits:Audio Engineer Gary Glor One Heartbeat Away is provided to The Theater Project by Gail Lou  References: Derek Crosby https://derekcrosby.squarespace.com/about Jack McManus https://newplayexchange.org/users/72403/jack-mcmanus Young Playwright’s Competition https://www.thetheaterproject.org/young-playwrights-competition#YoungPlaywrights2025 1319 Press https://www.1319press.com/ All at Once: 40th Anniversary Remaster https://newplayexchange.org/script/2039913/all-at-once-40th-anniversary-remaster The Tank https://thetanknyc.org/ Producers Club https://producersclub.com/ Raul Garza https://newplayexchange.org/users/23270/raul-garza New Play Exchange https://newplayexchange.org/get-started The Ninety-Nine Cent Players https://ninetyninecentplayers.com/ Giovanna DiSanto https://www.giovannadisanto.com/ New York State Puppet Festival https://www.newyorkstatepuppetfestival.org/ Bunraku https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunraku Alex Church Gonzales https://www.alexchurchgonzales.com/ 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee https://spellingbeenyc.com/ Godspell https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godspell

    37 min

  2. Apr 26

    Combining Musical Theater & Science

    Brigid Amos sits down with David Quang Pham to discuss how he combines his love of musical theater with science to educate and entertain. Credits:Audio Engineer Gary Glor One Heartbeat Away is provided to The Theater Project by Gail Lou  References: David Quang Pham is an award-winning songwriter, theatre and filmmaker, recognized for creating musicals that personify science to explore the human condition and social issues. His notable work includes plant-based comedy Turnover: A New Leaf, evolutionary fantasy The Living Fossils, and astrophysics family drama Ellipses. They have been produced Off-Broadway, nationally, and internationally. His talent has been recognized with numerous accolades, including a Working Title Playwrights apprenticeship, Playwrights Foundation fellowship, 2024 Great Performances Fellowship Award, and appearance at the 78th Tony Awards on CBS. Be up to lightspeed at science.studio and @ScienceTheatre Tour (2019): A musical revolving around subatomic educators competing in an academic accelerator. It was a finalist at the 2019 Downtown Urban Arts Festival. Turnover: A New Leaf is an award-winning plant-based musical by David Quang Pham that follows Vietnamese cilantro Rau Ram trying to earn a green card while running a salon and raising her son, Parsley, in "Dirty City". The story, inspired by Pham's childhood, explores immigrant assimilation, queer identity, and photosynthesis through a comedic, dramatic lens. Aliyah Curry https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8550270/ Dr Quincy Thomas https://www.queertk.org/bios/dr.-quincy-thomas Queer Theatre Kalamazoo https://www.queertk.org/ Janelle Lawrence janellelawrence.com Gonzalo Valencia Pena http://www.gonzalovalencia.com/ Cải Lương is a form of modern folk opera that originated in southern Vietnam in the early 20th century. Often translated as "reformed theater" or "renovated theater," it represents a cultural fusion that combines traditional Vietnamese music and folk songs with Western stage techniques and modern spoken drama.

    32 min

  3. Mar 29

    YPC Lucas Luchsinger - College

    Today TTP is thinking about...up and coming playwrights.  Prize winner of our 2025 Young Playwrights Competition, Lucas Luchsinger introduces an audio reading of their award winning play, College. Followed by an interview with past honoree, Jaylen Mingo. General description:3rd Place Prize winner of our 2025 Young Playwrights Competition, Lucas Luchsinger introduces an audio reading of their award winning play, College. Followed by an interview with former prize winner, Jaylen Mingo. Credits: Our Audio Engineer was Kevin Carver, audio description provided by Gary Glor and Our Theme music was by Gail Lou and Demien De Sandies References: Thomas Jefferson Arts Academy https://www.epsnj.org/jefferson Kean University: Home Kean University https://www.kean.edu Five Nights at Freddy's Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Five_Nights_at_Freddy's Montclair State University Montclair State University https://www.montclair.edu New Jersey Fencing Alliance New Jersey Fencing Alliance https://www.njfencingalliance.com The Simpsons Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › The_Simpsons Marvel.com | The Official Site for Marvel Movies, Characters ... Marvel.com https://www.marvel.com Spider-Man : Earth Infinite Rebirth Productions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrEd0n_8fYU The Office (American TV series) Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › The_Office_(America... The Good Place Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › The_Good_Place Starbucks Coffee Company Starbucks Coffee https://www.starbucks.com Russ Columbo Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Russ_Columbo Quentin Tarantino Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Quentin_Tarantino Arthur Miller Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Arthur_Miller Angels in America Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Angels_in_America Tennessee Williams Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Tennessee_Williams Elizabeth Olsen Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Elizabeth_Olsen Daniel Radcliffe Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Daniel_Radcliffe

    46 min

  4. Feb 22

    Script Doctor

    Mary Iannelli sits down with Playwright and Screenwriter, Sarah Congress to discuss the role of the script doctor.  What do they do?  What value do they add to a project, the skills needed to do the job and the pitfalls you may encounter. Credits:Audio Engineer Gary Glor One Heartbeat Away is provided to The Theater Project by Gail Lou  References: Sarah Congress https://sarahcongress.com/ Playwrights Horizons https://www.playwrightshorizons.org/ Downtown Urban Arts Festival https://www.duafnyc.com/ Jersey Shore Film Festival https://jerseyshorefilmfestival.com/ Nabisar Films https://www.nabisarfilmsus.com/ SUNY Purchase College https://www.purchase.edu/ Caryn Whitman https://www.crunchbase.com/person/caryn-whitman Vasana Ventures https://vasanaventures.com/ "Delulu" by Sarah Congress This play was a semifinalist in a new play festival and was scheduled for a reading in October 2025. Sarah Congress is a playwright and script doctor, but her professional websites and social media do not offer the full script for public access. It is a new work still in the process of development and production. Centre Stage https://centrestage.org/ Actors Guild  https://www.actorsguild.org/ Ego Actus https://egoactus.com/

    25 min

  5. Jan 25

    At Risk Youth

    Mark Spina and Harry Patrick Christian talk about Arts Education and how it has had an impact on at-risk youth.   Credits:Audio Engineer Gary Glor One Heartbeat Away is provided to The Theater Project by Gail Lou  References: Mark Spina https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-spina/ Harry Patrick Christian https://www.facebook.com/harry.p.christian.3/# Pushcart Players https://pushcartplayers.org/ Ruth Fost https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruth-fost-617a2111/ Turrell Fund https://www.turrellfund.org/ Lenny Vega Website (without actual link) Viola Spolin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viola_Spolin

    37 min

  6. 11/30/2025

    Cracked Christmas Carol

    A Cracked Christmas Carol, a radio play, was one of the first virtual productions produced by The Theater Project during the pandemic.  We invite you to enjoy listening to the show as a podcast or watching it on our website. To view it, go to:  www.TheTheaterProject.org/Podcast  Credits:Audio Engineer Gary Glor One Heartbeat Away is provided to The Theater Project by Gail Lou  References: Lionel Barrymore https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lionel_Barrymore The Vienna Boys Choir https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienna_Boys%27_Choir David Alberts (Playwright) https://www.playscripts.com/playwrights/bios/1405 Gruel Recipe:   2 tablespoons ground oats (Scottish or steel-cut work well), 1 cup water or milk, pinch of salt. Optional: sugar, cream, cinnamon, or a splash of brandy for flavor. Instructions: Rub the oats with a little cold water to make a paste.Bring the remaining water or milk to a boil in a small pot.Stir in the oat paste and a pinch of salt.Simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes, or until it reaches the desired consistency.Season to taste with any optional ingredients. Gary Glor (Actor) https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-glor/ Terri Sturtevant (Actor)  https://www.facebook.com/terri.sturtevant/ Ilana Beth Schimmel (Actor) https://www.ilanaschimmel.com Lili Summer (Stage Manager) https://www.facebook.com/lili.summer.14/ Andrew Falcon (Video Editor) https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-falcon-b26b54132/

    1h 3m

  7. 10/26/2025

    Play Structure

    Playwright Brigid Amos sits down with world renowned playwright  Emma Goldman-Sherman to further dive into the world of dramaturgy.  Credits:Audio Engineer Gary Glor One Heartbeat Away is provided to The Theater Project by Gail Lou  References: Emma Goldman-Sherman Bio: Emma Goldman-Sherman is a playwright and coach who teaches Structure Is Not a Dirty Word and other fun classes full of  useful, world-changing tools. They can be reached at BraveSpace.online or subscribe to their Substack for weekly prompts.  Structure is not a dirty word https://goldmansherman.substack.com/p/structure-is-not-a-dirty-word Aristotelean Structure https://pwcenter.org/article/decoding-the-6-aristotelean-elements-of-drama/ August Wilson https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_Wilson Caryl Churchill https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caryl_Churchill Suzan Lori Parks  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzan-Lori_Parks Jaclyn Backhaus https://www.jaclynbackhaus.com/ María Irene Fornés https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mar%C3%ADa_Irene_Forn%C3%A9s Claire Baron https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clare_Barron Helen Banner https://helenbanner.com/ Hansol Jung https://sites.google.com/nyu.edu/contemporaryplaywrightsofcolor/hansol-jung Jeremy O. Harris https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_O._Harris Octavia Butler https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octavia_E._Butler Brave Space https://www.bravespace.online/ Emma’s Brave Space.online Substack https://goldmansherman.substack.com/

    23 min

  8. 09/28/2025

    Stage Managing

    Gary Glor sits down with Amy Hadam to discuss the role of the stage manager and the skills and techniques needed to do the job. Credits:Audio Engineer Gary Glor One Heartbeat Away is provided to The Theater Project by Gail Lou  References: Jekyll and Hyde, the Musical https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jekyll_%26_Hyde_(musical) Surflight Theater https://surflight.org/ Molly Ivins https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Hot_Patriot:_The_Kick-Ass_Wit_of_Molly_Ivins Erma Bomback at Wits End https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erma_Bombeck Ann Richards https://theannrichardsplay.com/ Buyer and Cellar https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buyer_%26_Cellar One Man show - A Christmas Carol https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Christmas_Carol_(1988_play) Five Lesbians Eating A Quiche https://www.concordtheatricals.com/p/9940/5-lesbians-eating-a-quiche QLab https://qlab.app Hedda Gabler https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedda_Gabler Heisenberg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heisenberg_(play) Topic Website (without actual link)

    35 min
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5
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About

The Theater Project thinks about... was created as a way to take our patrons on a “deeper dive” into the process of the actors, directors, playwrights & other artists in our community, as well as the mechanics of bringing an artist’s work to an audience.

Information

  • Creator
    Mary Iannelli, Mark Spina, Kevin Carver
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    56
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 The Theater Project Thinks About...
  • Show Website
    The Theater Project Thinks About...