Renowned cabaret performer Jeff Harnar
(UNION, NJ) -- Life as a cabaret performer. The role of dramaturgy in live theater. Teaching the next generation of playwrights and actors. These are the topics to be explored the next three episodes of The Theater Project Thinks About..., the Union-based theater company's monthly podcast series.
“When audiences attend the theater, they don’t think about all of the elements that go into creating what they see on the stage,” said Mary Iannelli, producer of the series, which launched in 2021 and has presented 40 episodes to date. “Our series offers them perspectives they otherwise wouldn’t encounter, from the likes of casting directors, set designers, and full-time actors, among others.”
The upcoming release schedule is as follows:
* February 23. Jeff Harnar, a renowned cabaret artist, will discuss what cabaret means to him and how he has navigated that world throughout his forty-year career. In addition, he will offer advice to young artists seeking to establish themselves. Hamar has performed in major cabaret venues, including the Oak Room at the Algonquin Hotel, Birdland, and the Russian Team Room, all in New York. He has received many awards, including the Broadway Cabaret World Award, the Mabel Mercer Foundation’s Mabel Award, and the Noel Coward Cabaret Award.
March 30. Timothy Scholl, executive artistic director of Angels Theatre Company in Nebraska, will sit down with playwright Brigid Amos to talk about dramaturgy, which is the study of dramatic composition and theatrical representation. He will delve into its history and role in live theater. In addition to producing new plays, his theater company hosts the ATC Playwriting Collective, Salon Reading Series, and the annual First Flight Festival, featuring new short plays by members of the Playwriting Collective. Scholl specializes in German theatre and works as an academic administrator for Perdue University Global.
April 27. Sandra Toll, a New Jersey theater educator and voice actor, will discuss teaching the next generation of playwrights, actors, and artists. Toll has taught theater in Elizabeth Public Schools since 1999 and directed more than 30 plays and musicals in the district. Her work has earned her the Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Award, the Montclair Theatre Award and the 2024 NJ Governor's Award in Arts Education. Toll holds a bachelor of fine arts degree in musical theater from Boston Conservatory and a master’s in theatre from Montclair State University.
To listen to The Theater Project Thinks About …, click here.
Founded in 1994 and based in Union, The Theater Project introduces New Jersey audiences to new plays and supports rising playwrights and theater artists. It develops new audiences for theater by service to the community, providing programs for children, and using theater as a forum to address current issues.
