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Theater Forward

Jen Uphoff Gray, Julie Swenson, and Mike Fischer | Forward Theater Company

From Madison to Manhattan, this podcast discusses theater on a local, regional and national level. Artistic Director Jen Uphoff Gray, Managing Director Julie Swenson, and Theater Writer/Dramaturg Mike Fischer offer a glimpse at running a regional theater company in the Midwest while exploring a variety of current topics affecting the American theater world. Insightful and timely conversations about the arts from flyover country.

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Episodes

100 episodes

  1. Let's Learn About Licensing: Interview w/ Theresa Posorske of Concord Theatricals 28:19
  2. America's Most Produced Plays & Playwrights | 2026-27 Season 27:35
  3. World Premiere Wisconsin 2.0 35:38
  4. The Mentor That Changed My Life - Pt. 2 48:55
  5. The Mentor That Changed My Life - Pt. 1 45:15
  6. The 2026-27 Season at Forward Theater 29:36
  7. We're in Love and We Don't Care Who Knows It 30:01
  8. Interview w/ Suzan Fete - Artistic Director of Renaissance Theaterworks 31:37
  9. The Algorithm vs. The Arts: Marketing for Theater in 2026 35:47
  10. The Write Stuff: A Conversation About Developing New Work 47:04
  11. Our 2026 New Year's Theater Resolutions 25:24
  12. What We're Grateful for in 2025 32:05
  13. Interview: Chad Bauman, Milwaukee Repertory Theater Executive Director 41:01
  14. Top 10 Most-Produced Plays & Playwrights in 2025-26 33:08
  15. Discussing Playwright Martyna Majok w/ Directors Marcella Kearns & Jake Penner 34:40
  16. Long Story Short(er): A Debate About LONG PLAYS 34:23
  17. Interview w/ BJ Jones, Northlight Theatre Artistic Director 45:19
  18. Summer Lovin' - What We're Excited to See in 2025 28:20
  19. Strings Attached: Arts Funding in America 30:58
  20. The 2025-26 Season at Forward Theater 24:31
  21. Fixing the Musical Pipeline: Interview w/ THE GREAT GATSBY's Kait Kerrigan & Nathan Tysen 39:25
  22. Leading vs. Listening 38:43
  23. Dreaming of Streaming 31:02
  24. What We're Grateful for in 2024 29:27
  25. The "Someone's Getting Canceled" Mailbag Episode 29:30
  26. The Most-Produced Plays & Playwrights in America - 2024-25 Edition 31:22
  27. Play Ball: When Sports Meet Theater 33:44
  28. Missing the "Business" in Show Business - TCG Conference 2024 32:25
  29. The State of Theater for Young Audiences 36:13
  30. The Plays That Stay 2024 - Vol. 1 53:13
  31. What We're Excited to See in 2024-25 29:59
  32. Forward Theater's 2024-25 Season 34:43
  33. Mentors (a Michael Blakemore tribute) 40:58
  34. No Longer a World Premiere...Now What? - Interview w/ Samuel Hunter 36:48
  35. The Best of 2023 39:58
  36. The Art of Making Money in Theater 36:31
  37. What We’re Looking Forward to in 2023-24 22:09
  38. Accessibility & ASL Interpretation 28:37
  39. Hot Take: We Are Surviving (and Thriving). 39:03
  40. Where is the Next Generation of Technical Artists? 36:16
  41. Producing in a Post-Dobbs Decision Era 28:17
  42. The Plays That Stay 2023, Vol. 1 50:51
  43. We’ve Got a Beef With ”World Premieres” 33:28
  44. Choosing Our 2023-24 Season 28:15
  45. Interview w/ Playwright Lauren Gunderson 30:41
  46. Fast Times at Understudy High 42:52
  47. World Premiere Wisconsin 28:25
  48. The State of Theater for Transgender & Non-Binary Artists 38:54
  49. Emerging Directors 40:12
  50. A Look Back at 2022 39:14