“Artists and Thinkers” – An Intimate Conversation Series
Thursday, September 30 @ 5pm
with Hermitage Curator Christopher Burney (New York Stage and Film) & Hermitage Alumna Regina Taylor (Playwright)
Join us online for a deep dive into the creative process! Register here.
The Hermitage Artist Retreat is launching a new series of virtual programming spotlighting the brilliant curators and Hermitage alumni who have developed their work and craft in residence at the Hermitage.
Presented online, these candid and intimate conversations between artists and members of the Hermitage Curatorial Council strip away the trappings of performance to get at the heart of the creative process and the vital role art plays in shaping our future. Focused on themes determined by the curator and artist, these hour-long events will be moderated by a member of the Hermitage team and provide audiences a unique glimpse into how curators and artists alike keep their finger on the pulse of our time to boldly create the impactful works of tomorrow.
For the second program in our “Artists and Thinkers” series, award-winning producer and current Hermitage curator Christopher Burney, Artistic Director of New York Stage and Film, speaks with Regina Taylor. An acclaimed writer, actor, playwright, and educator, Taylor has been honored with numerous awards including a Golden Globe and NAACP Image Award and is currently the Denzel Washington Endowed Chair of Theatre at Fordham University.
Christopher Burney is the Artistic Director of New York Stage and Film. Previously, he was the Tony-Award nominated Artistic Producer of New York’s Second Stage Theatre where he worked since 1996. He is on faculty at Columbia University where he teaches creative producing. He has lectured at Barnard College, The Einhorn School for the Performing Arts at Primary Stages, The Juilliard School, Bard College, The Boston School of Music, Marymount Manhattan College and the New England Theatre Conference. He currently serves as a member of the Tony Awards Nominating Committee. He is a graduate of Brandeis University, B.A., and Columbia University, M.F.A.
Among many notable productions at Second Stage, selected productions he has shepherded include Dear Evan Hansen (book by Steven Levenson, music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul); Bachelorette (Leslye Headland, playwright); Murder for Two (book and music by Joe Kinosian, book and lyrics by Kellen Blair); Animals Out of Paper (Rajiv Joseph, playwright); Lonely, I’m Not (Paul Weitz, playwright); the Pulitzer Prize-winning Next to Normal (music by Tom Kitt, book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey); Warrior Class (by Kenneth Lin); King Liz (by Fernanda Coppel); and Mala Hierba (Tanya Saracho, playwright). He has worked with such writers as Anna Deavere Smith, Douglas Carter Beane, Gina Gionfriddo, Craig Lucas, Lanford Wilson, Theresa Rebeck, William Finn, Sam Shepard, David Ives, Kenneth Lonergan, Cheryl West, Martin Sherman, Jason Miller, Wendy Kesselman, August Wilson, Michael John LaChiusa, and Stephen Sondheim. He has worked with many leading directors such as Thomas Kail, Trip Cullman, Carolyn Cantor, Kenny Leon, Peter DuBois, Leigh Silverman, Mark Brokaw, Scott Ellis, Michael Greif, Garry Hynes, James Lapine, and Kathleen Marshall. As curator for 2ST Uptown, he developed numerous emerging writers and directors including Rajiv Joseph, Bess Wohl, Erica Lipez, Marisa Wegrzyn, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Brooke Berman, Adam Bock, Carly Mensch, Michael Golamco, Trip Cullman, and Joe Calarco, among others.
He has consulted for various organizations including the Philadelphia Theatre Initiative, the Kesselring Prize, the Kurt Weill Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the New York Foundation for the Arts, the Asian American Arts Alliance, and the Jerome Fellowship. Previously, he worked from 1991-1997 at Lincoln Center Theater as the Assistant to the Director of Musical Theatre.
Actress, Director, Playwright, Educator, Activist, and Hermitage Fellow Regina Taylor is the Andrew W. Mellon grant Playwright in Residence for Repertory Theatre of St. Louis.
Taylor is writing new plays for Audible and for The Old Vic.
Taylor is the curator/director of the black album mixtape in collaboration with SMU. The Black Album is an initiative created by Taylor to invite creatives from all fields to think about how we got here and what ways we can create a better future. Students, professionals and all communities are welcome to create in your given fields- technology, science, art, activism.
Taylor’s Playwright credits include “Bread” (Edgerton Award. Water Tower Theater), “Crowns” (four Helen Hayes awards, including Best Director), “Oo-Bla- Dee,” (Steinberg-ATCA award) and “Drowning Crow,” (Broadway, MTC), “The Trinity River Plays” (Edgerton Foundation Award) and “stop.reset” (Signature Theater Residency Five).
Ms. Taylor received the Denzel Washington Endowed Chair Fordham University at Lincoln Center. An Artistic Associate of Goodman Theatre, Taylor is its most produced playwright.
Regina Taylor is featured in First Lady (starring Viola Davis), Love Craft Country (Jordan Peele, J J Abrams, Mischa Green), Netflix’ All Day and a Night starring Jeffrey Wright, Ashton Saunders and directed/written by Joe Robert Cole (writer: Black Panther), guest stars on Council of Dads (NBC) Red Line (Producer Ava DuVernay CBS) The Good Fight. Taylor in her TV role as Lily Harper in “I’ll Fly Away” received a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress, 3 NAACP Image Awards and two Emmy Award nominations. Her other television roles include “The Unit”. Taylor was first African American lead in Masterpiece Theatre’s “Cora Unashamed, starred as Anita Hill in HBO’’s “Strange Justice” (Gracie Award) and “A Good Day to Die” starring Sidney Poitier. She has co-starred in USA Networks’ Dig and guest starred in “Elementary” and “The Black List”. Taylor’s film credits include “Saturday Church”, “The Negotiator,” “Courage Under Fire,” “Clockers,” and “Lean on Me.”
Taylor was also the first Black woman to play Juliet in “Romeo and Juliet” on Broadway (Belasco Theatre).