[Interviews with George C. Wolfe, Lynn Redgrave, Jane Alexander, and Rosemary Harris]
Title
[Interviews with George C. Wolfe, Lynn Redgrave, Jane Alexander, and Rosemary Harris] [videorecording] / City University Television in association with The Center for Advanced Study in Theatre Arts [presents]
Four separate interviews with George C. Wolfe, Lynn Redgrave, Jane Alexander, and Rosemary Harris (ca. 28 min. each)
George C. Wolfe discusses growing up in Kentucky in a self-contained black world, how his creativity was encouraged, attending Pomona College and later New York University where he focused on writing, what an advantage it is for a director to have been a writer and actor, his first professionally-produced play, Paradise, and its negative critical reactions, his next play, The colored museum, a success that launched his career, his recurring theme of a journey by black people who try to shed their skin and their past, his arrogant characters, how he often writes fantasy laced with satire, and how his Jelly's last jam is about self-hatred and the racism of Jelly Roll Morton.
Lynn Redgrave discusses her book This is living, about her career and weight problems, her family, her first role, how Noel Coward influenced her acting and gave her confidence, appearing with him in the revival of his Hay fever, her plans to appear in her one-woman show, Shakespeare for my father, the movie Georgy girl with Alan Bates and its unexpected success, and performing with sister Vanessa and niece Jemma in Anton Chekhov's The three sisters.
Jane Alexander talks about attending college briefly and then moving to New York City, her work in regional theater, joining the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., her first big break in the mid 60's in Howard Sackler's The great white hope and its themes of civil rights and race relations, repertory acting, moving The great white hope to Broadway and later turning it into a film, her husband Edwin Sherin directing the show and another later play, Friedrich Dürrenmatt's The visit, the latter play's themes of greed and capitalism, her pleasure in playing strong women such as Eleanor Roosevelt in Eleanor and Franklin, the television series on the Roosevelts, her portrayals of Calamity Jane and Georgia O'Keeffe, her belief that art is politics and has something to say to people, and her involvement in politics and the women's movement.
Rosemary Harris talks about her early career performing in Great Britain and later with the A.P.A. Phoenix Theatre, the latter started by her then-husband Ellis Rabb, playing Desdemona opposite Richard Burton, her interpretation of the role of the grandmother in Neil Simon's Lost in Yonkers, her work in the United States and Great Britain and the differences in audiences, her pleasure in long runs and how they require experience in keeping one's work fresh, her regrets about lacking confidence as a young actress, and her belief that young actors should prepare themselves by reading and studying classical roles.
Part of the series, CUNY Spotlight, broadcast on CUNY-TV, sponsored by the City University of New York.
Event (note)
Videotaped by the cable station, CUNY-TV, New York, N.Y., 1992.
Title
[Interviews with George C. Wolfe, Lynn Redgrave, Jane Alexander, and Rosemary Harris] [videorecording] / City University Television in association with The Center for Advanced Study in Theatre Arts [presents]
Imprint
1992.
Series
CUNY Spotlight
Performer
Interviewed by Edwin Wilson.
Event
Videotaped by the cable station, CUNY-TV, New York, N.Y., 1992.