Masters of the Stage

In 2002, theatre icon Harold Prince gave the opening remarks to a packed house of esteemed theatre artists, professional directors and choreographers, and aspiring early-career post graduates at SDCF's annual Directing Symposium. The focus of Mr. Prince's address, as well as the focus of the weekend's series of panel discussions and lectures, was "Creating the American Musical". Throughout this ninety minute discussion 'Hal' embodies the ideal of the venerable Broadway veteran, lauding the importance of practical experience and mentorship to personal artistic development while enlightening the audience with stories from his early career. He speaks of his mentor, George Abbott and those of his collaborators. He outlines a "three halves" philosophy to becoming a successful musical director or choreographer: First, being grounded in the fundamentals of the craft; Second, cultivating courage to provide your audience with innovative work; Third, harboring such a healthy regard for the importance of information that it borderlines on pretension. He continues by proving the success of his philosophies by recounting his 50 year career as a director and producer. He covers his development process and the art of collaboration. He affectionately calls his producing ventures "second childhood time", and bemoans the current state of commercial productions with their armies of producers. He concludes by maintaining that the future success of the American musical is contingent upon the cultivation of the next generation of theatre artists - Specifically that of the neophyte creative producer.