Production Promos & Interviews

When Emma, a high schooler in small-town Indiana, is banned from bringing her girlfriend to prom, a group of Broadway has-beens swoop in to help. But their motives may not be as selfless as they appear.

That’s the premise of the latest musical produced at IU Theatre. We talk with co-directors DJ Gray and Ansley Valentine about how the show speaks to this moment. The interview begins at 40:00.

Florida Repertory Theatre in Fort Myers is currently mounting a production of Katori Hall’s Olivier-award-winning play “The Mountaintop.”

The play serves as a fictional reimagining or a surrealistic fantasy about King’s last night at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, TN after delivering his now-iconic “I Have Been to the Mountaintop” speech, and a chance encounter with a mysterious maid who brings him a cup of coffee.

The play consists largely of their sometimes humorous and sometimes volatile conversation, that serves to humanize Dr. King, warts and all, and prompts the iconic civil rights leader to confront his life, past, legacy, and the future of the civil rights movement.

We’ll take a closer look in a conversation with the production’s director, Ansley Valentine.

On this episode of Profiles, host Ashley Chilla asks me about my life and career, the current state of "Zoom" theatre productions, and the role of diversity in arts education. Ashley Chilla is the co-host of Journey Indiana on WTIU.  Profiles is a weekly one-hour radio program produced by WFIU Public Radio featuring interviews with local and national figures affecting the Bloomington, IN community.  

In Part 1 of the program, hosts Clarence Boone and William Hosea share their hosting duties with Vernon William, who is a playwright and organizer of the Onyx Fest, a festival for Black playwrights. We discuss the state of Black theatre and plays we have recently produced.

Host Rich Paige sits down with the visiting director and member of the Wabash class of 1990 Ansley Valentine, discussing advocacy in theater, being a big brother to current Wabash students, and how it feels to direct on Ball Stage (Episode 243).