Behind the Play explores the stories and people behind upcoming theatre events and productions on stage at TNB.
We have talked about doing a podcast since early 2020. But we always seemed to find an excuse to wait and do it later when there would be “less to do.” That’s the joke. Anyone who works in the arts knows full-well there is never a time when there is less to do. Coming to terms with this reality helped get this idea off the ground.
During some early marketing meetings that involved exploring new ways we could spread the word about our season productions, we talked briefly about adding short audio clips to a series of Instagram Stories we were creating to promote the upcoming production and tour. And it all kind of fell into place from there. Collecting a little audio here. Editing a little audio there. Learning where to record and where NOT to record. It wasn’t too long before we had much of the content needed to stitch our first episode together. And now, with a rough (but fluid!) template in place, our list of ideas for future episodes is growing. Let’s see where it takes us!
Our first series of episodes will focus on Don Hannah’s play Resident Aliens which will make its world premiere on our stage in March. And for our first episode, we thought it would be best to speak with our Artistic and Executive Director Natasha MacLellan to learn about her relationship to Hannah’s work and why she thought Resident Aliens would be such a good fit for our 2022-2023 season. Have a listen.
One of the few parameters we placed on making this podcast has to do with frequency. We are not committing to a weekly endeavour. As we noted off the top, there is never “less to do” in the world of performing arts, but there is always something to talk about. We will share new episodes as the come together and we hope you will join us to listen, to learn, and to share in our appreciation for the actors, directors, playwrights, and designers whose work we all get to enjoy.