Podcast Episode 144 – Tony Award Winning Director, Pam MacKinnon
Here’s a statistical truth bomb for you: women direct only about 17% of the shows on Broadway.
How do I know that? Pam MacKinnon has been keeping track.
Pam is already one of the few female A-list directors that make up that unbalanced percentage, having directed as many shows on Broadway as any woman out there (only Stroman has her beat). But that doesn’t mean she’s not determined to help others get to where she is today.
During our podcast, we talked about what we can all do to even the playing stage, as well as . . .
- How she went from pursuing a Ph.D. in Political Science to a career in directing.
- Why a Director often has to act like a Producer (hear the story of how she had to negotiate Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf into existence).
- Why Broadway shows not slated for Broadway that end up there have an advantage.
- How she developed her own style, which is different than everyone else’s and why yours should be different too.
- Her method for approaching classic material and making it her own.
Pam MacKinnon was one of the few Directors that the esteemed Edward Albee trusted to direct his work (he wouldn’t let Steppenwolf do any of his plays until Pam took the reins of one). It’s pretty easy to hear why he handed her his treasures when you listen to this podcast.
Enjoy.
Click here for the link to my podcast with Pam!Listen to it on iTunes here. (And if you like the podcast, give it a great review, while you’re there!)
Download it here.
Podcasting
Ken created one of the first Broadway podcasts, recording over 250 episodes over 7 years. It features interviews with A-listers in the theater about how they “made it”, including 2 Pulitzer Prize Winners, 7 Academy Award Winners and 76 Tony Award winners. Notable guests include Pasek & Paul, Kenny Leon, Lynn Ahrens and more.