Our guests tonight were Joanna Rotté and John Zak. We talked about the unique challenges of directing and playing in Tennessee Williams, including Joanna's experience with his works studying with Stella Adler, how Brando's interpretation of Stanley in A Streetcar Named Desire impacted the play's female characters, the quintessential Williams actor, and the differences between his two plays Summer and Smoke and The Eccentricities of a Nightingale.

~~~~~~~

Joanna Rotté is a theatre director of non-mainstream work and a member of Actors Equity Association. She holds the position of Professor Emeritus at Villanova University, where she served on the faculty for 30 years, including 7 years as Chair of the Department of Theatre and 5 years as Director of East Asia Studies. Her books include Scene Change (A Theatre Diary: Prague, Moscow, Leningrad) and Acting with Adler. Her essays on theatre, art, and culture – written for The Soul of the American Actor Newspaper and Broad Street Review – can be found at http://joannarotte.com.

A longtime meditation practitioner, she’s narrated five books written by Pema Chodron. Joanna periodically posts a blog called DharmaTheatre. You are cordially invited to visit http://joannarotte.com/blog/ and you may subscribe: http://joannarotte.com/contact/

John Zak is an actor and voice over artist currently based in Philadelphia, PA. John made his debut with IRC in The Bald Soprano and is glad to be back for more. John was previously seen in Come Back Little Sheba and The Eccentricities of a Nightingale. Other theatre credits of note: Mr. Kraler The Diary of Anne Frank (People’s Light & Theatre); Michael The Pillowman (Luna Theatre)*; My Wonderful Day (Wilma Theater)*; Amadeus (Walnut Street Theatre); Jihad Jones & the Kalashnikov Babes (InterAct Theatre), The Life of Galileo (Wilma Theater), Red, White & Tuna (Walnut Street Theatre), The European Lesson, Jo Stromgren Kompani (Philadelphia Live Arts/Norway tour), and Caliban The Tempest, (Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre)--Barrymore Award; and numerous other Shakespeare plays. *- denotes Barrymore nomination.

~~~~~~~

To explore past episodes of Into the Absurd, visit our Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/pg/IdiopathicRidiculopathyConsortium/videos/
OR
The IRC's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist...
And while you’re there, be sure to SUBSCRIBE, so you don't miss any future episodes.