Theater and Film

Archie Crisanto is a local filmmaker and actor who is directing an upcoming production of "The Taming of the Shrew" in Provo, Utah. He sits down with Sam Payne to talk about adapting Shakespeare for the modern stage.

Many parents turn to movie ratings to get a quick insight into the appropriateness of a movie for their kids. But the movie rating system in the United States is often criticized for not providing an accurate reflection of a movie’s content for parents. Our producer, Rod Gustafson, has a long professional history of reviewing movies from a parent’s perspective, so we figured he would be a great resource to discuss some of the pros and cons of movie ratings.

Guests: Tim Threlfall, Music Dance Theatre Program Chair at BYU; Shelley Graham, Adjunct Professor of Theatre at BYU and the Resident Dramaturg at the Covey Center for the Arts; Christopher Clark, PhD, Theatre Program Chair at Utah Valley University and Executive Producer for Robert Redford's Sundance Summer Theatre in Sundance, Utah; Melissa Leilani Larson, Award-winning Playwright and Screenwriter  Have you ever wondered what’s going on behind that empty stage in those minutes before it’s show time? Or what goes on in the days and months leading up to a show? Or before the show is even a show? How it goes from being somebody’s vague idea of a story to lines actors recite on stage?  We’re devoting our first hour to the magic of theater - How theater happens. And the panel we’ve assembled knows every detail of the process.

Have you ever wondered what is like to grow up acting?

Have you ever been disappointed by the direction your favorite franchise took? Today we play the What-If game and put these blockbuster movies under different direction.

Guest: Tim Slover, Ph.D., and Jane England of the University of Utah's Department of Theatre Everybody knows when you visit New York, you need to see a play - preferably a big, shiny musical on Broadway. But this next guests says, if theater is your thing, New York is not your best bet. Hop the pond to London, and not just because that's where Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch is onstage doing Hamlet in what one review called "an extravagantly royal affair."

There are lots of ways to enjoy the scary season and we're exploring them all month long on Screen Cleaning. Last week was books and this week we're going to the theatre.

Guest: Patrick Livingston, Improv Comedy Actor, Director, “The Glorious Story Emporium,” Young Company, Adjunct Professor of Theatre and Media Arts, Brigham Young University Improvisational theater is a like a high-wire act coming up with dialogue, characters and laughs on-the-spot, never sure if the thing that pops into your mind will be a hit or miss with the audience. Improvising an entire play in front of a restless bunch of kids raises the wire a few feet higher and yanks out the safety net. Which is why it’s not done often. But they’re doing it at BYU right now.

Be More Chill is a “sci-fi musical” opening on Broadway in 2019 about a teenager who tries to fit in at school by taking a computerized pill that will make him cool. The show originally had short run in New Jersey in 2015, and that would have been the end of it, were it not for a small group of high school- and college-aged fans rallying behind it. These dedicated fans blasted the cast recordings over social media until the show gained hundreds of thousands of fans, resulting in its comeback and Broadway opening.

Within the humanities there are many topics. Art, history, music, literature, and theatre are just a few. Theatre and drama, especially, can be engaging and fun for children, but it is also a little daunting to introduce them to it. We’re in studio today with Teresa Love, a professor of theatre and drama here at BYU. Teresa participates as a professional development partner with the Beverly Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Project. She recently directed Water Sings Blue with BYU’s Theatre for Young Audiences known as The Young Company.

Professor Heather Nathans tells us about the benefits and importance of theater.

Going to the theater to see a live production can be a rich and fulfilling experience. There is so much thought and effort that goes into a single production, from sets, costumes, and acting. Today Rachel has in the studio Julia Ashworth, a theater education professor at BYU who specializes in theater for young audiences.