Name: Theater Collaboration That Stirs Controversy and Changes Lives
Start: 2023-08-11T17:00:00-04:00
End: 2023-08-11T18:45:00-04:00
Location: ZOOM Room

Theater Collaboration That Stirs Controversy and Changes Lives

Friday 8/11 at 5pm ET

Community Gathering on Zoom - register with the bright red reservation box to receive the Zoom link. These gatherings are a service for the theater community and are offered free for TRU members; we ask that non-members help keep us running by making a donation or joining as a member.

In the room: Peter Van Heerden, executive director of Fairfield University's Quick Center for the Arts, and Cheryl Wiesenfeld, Broadway producer (Pictures from Home, 4-time Tony winner for Elaine Stritch: At Liberty, The Gershwin's Porgy & Bess, All the Way and Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike; plus off-Broadway's The Exonerated) and curator of the Quick’s Global Theatre: Performance Series. Winning Tony Awards is certainly gratifying, but one of Cheryl Wiesenfeld's proudest achievements was being on the producing team of The Exonerated, a play that literally changed lives and laws, and forced many to rethink our prison system. Theater as a means of social change is her passion and years later she has found a perfect partner for pursuing that passion: Peter Van Heerden at Fairfied University. Together they help give voice to an ongoing series of theater works intended to spur conversation. How do they find these plays? What informs their decision to produce this reading series?

Panelists

CHERYL WIESENFELD

Following a career in publishing, Cheryl began her theatre producing career in 1998. Broadway: The Great Society, The Heidi Chronicles, All The Way, Rocky, Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, A Steady Rain, Legally Blonde, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, ‘night Mother, Caroline or Change, Elaine Stritch At Liberty, and Hedda Gabler. Off Broadway: 10th Anniversary Exonerated, Play Dead, In The Continuum, Shockheaded Peter, Talking Heads, The Exonerated, The Waverly Gallery. Film: Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me. Current: Ain’t Too Proud- The Temptations musical. Upcoming: The Harder They Come. Cheryl has produced shows that have spawned national and international tours and sit down productions, regional productions, and London engagements which have grossed hundreds of millions of dollars. Cheryl has won numerous awards for her productions including the Drama League, Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, New York Drama Critics Awards and 4 Tony Awards. She has been honored by Theater Resources Unlimited with “The Spirit of Theater” award in 2007, and The Houses on The Moon Amplify 2015 Award for her support in championing the unheard voice. Her board commitments: Theater Resource Unlimited where she co-founded the TRU mentorship program. The program to date has mentored over 200 commercial producers and self producing artists. Cheryl is on the board of Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan, Connecticut, and is on the Honorary Council of Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven Connecticut. Cheryl continues her mentoring work and speaks at universities, on panels and for different organizations. She is in her second year of curating a theatre program with the title - Theatre that changes OUR World- at The Quick Center at Fairfield University.

CHERYL WIESENFELD