Cathy Roskam

Actress, Producer, Director and Founder of the Joseph Jefferson Theatre Company (JJTC), Bishop

Interview #209

"In the church we talk about “call.” Everybody has a call of one sort or another—that thing in your heart that you’re really drawn to do with your life. For me it was acting. I thought I was going to be an actress my whole life. To my surprise, The Joseph Jefferson Theatre Company situated in Church of the Transfiguration became the bridge and catalyst to another calling, but I will never forget my sixteen years in the theater. Live theater is a great humanizing force for which there is no substitute."
Cathy Roskam

Abigail Rosen McGrath

Director, Producer, Playwright, Activist, Co-Founder Off Center Theatre

Interview #204

"We did shows about New York City that were informative…without making a judgment – that was very important to me. It’s so easy to dump…cheap shots…you show people what it is and then they can make their own decisions. What makes people good is the freedom to make mistakes…we learn from them"
Abigail Rosen McGrath

Nancy Gabor

Actor, Director, Acting Teacher, co-founder Het Collectief, Amsterdam

Interview #210

"Young people will always come together and create. You cannot stop that."
Nancy Gabor

Patricia Conolly

Actor, Director

Interview #200

"Acting is good for long lives…you’re so motivated."
Patricia Conolly

Anita Hollander

Actor, Singer, Writer, Composer, Lyricist, Director, Teacher, Choreographer, Dancer, Activist

Interview #197

"Everything that’s happened to me has turned out to be useful to keep me working in the theater, or arts or music…My whole career is art somehow."
Anita Hollander

Susan Mills (aka Roberta Lean)

Actress, Director, Producer

Interview #203

"Steve Mills started out when he was 14 years old doing amateur night and singing on street corners with Benny Rubin and Fred Allen…I felt as if I had stepped into 1935 when I married Steve [by then a famed Burlesque performer] in 1966…I stepped into a time machine."
Susan Mills (aka Roberta Lean)

Ellen Maddow

Composer, Writer, Actor, Mediator, Co-Founder The Talking Band

Interview #194

"We still have a desire to do it…. I don’t know if I would have had a career in the theater if not for this. I don’t think I fit into any other kind of way of being in the theater. I came to playwriting later, started as a performer. I was always interested in making my own stuff. I saw that The Open Theater was doing that so The Talking Band was modeled on the idea that you can make it up and do it yourself."
Ellen Maddow

F. Murray Abraham

Actor

Interview #205

"Off-Broadway’ – was a haven and it was a ticket people could afford…[RE: Acting} The Word is what makes it happen…when you say it, it brings life. That’s one of the great things about your work…people don’t understand the magic and power of Words…it’s not just words, it’s the beginning."
F. Murray Abraham

The Harris Family

Actors, Playwrights, Producers, Musicians, Designers, Stagehands

Interview #201

"We all came of age in the Experimental Theater Movement. We were kinda meeting the right people at the right time."
The Harris Family

Gerard Alessandrini

Director, Writer, Composer, Satirist, Producer, Forbidden Broadway

Interview #196

"I didn’t really enjoy being a child because the other children weren’t interested in what I was interested in. No other kids were listening to recordings of Madame Butterfly, Rigoletto or Carmen like I was. I’d not only listen for the music, but I was fascinated by the plots. Even though I grew up with opera, I learned to love theater, specifically theater with stories. I really love musical plays… because they kind of come from opera – not only is the music great, but the drama is too. It’s the fabulous invalid, so I suppose it will always survive in some form or other. I love people who still do shows with stories that have a point. ‘Gee I never thought of life that way…that’s an interesting take on how to think, act and feel!’ I love when you get that in theater!"
Gerard Alessandrini