Theater Site Looks To Reach Those Waiting In The Wings
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A new website that aims to be the go-to spot for all media related to theater is taking center stage. NY1's Adam Balkin filed the following report.With more than 700 hours of programming, it's trying to become the place to go for any and all media related to theater. AmericanTheatreWing.org is the website of the non-profit with the same name, minus the ".org," that aside from creating the Tony Awards, is always looking for new ways to educate in theater.
"We want to be the one stop shopping place for people who really want to see and hear how theater is made, but we're not doing it in little soundbites our programs for the most part are lengthy programs," said Howard Sherman of The American Theatre Wing. "And the fact is, if you live in Manhattan, there are places to go to listen to people talk about theater but the minute you leave Manhattan this kind of material isn't accessible."
The effort includes TV programming "The Wing" and other theater groups produce that are, for the most part, only seen in the Big Apple. Now though, they're accessible to everyone for free.
"You're going to have access to everything from short videos on specialty professions in the theater to lengthy interviews talking with people talking about how they got their start right up to what their current success are, to groups of artists talking amongst each other about how they do what they do," Sherman said.
Although the site is primarily designed to help quench your thirst for anything more you want to learn about the theater, developers say it can also be a valuable tool for young people potentially looking to pursue a career in theater.
"Most kids, high school even college to some degree, when they think about getting involved in theater for the most part they're thinking about getting involved as performers," Sherman said. "We give them the breadth of the field and they can discover whether in fact they want to think about directing, writing, producing, all of those aspects."
And to make all the material even more accessible for the younger generation, it's not only available as streams on AmericanTheatreWing.org but also as downloads via the site or iTunes.