Friday Phone Call # 41

Today I talk with Paula Kerger, the President and CEO of PBS. As you listen to the things she and PBS are pulling off, you will be able to hear the tremendous energy and passion she's brought to the role, and in particular to her advocacy for the arts in public broadcasting. We are very, very fortunate to have such a smart and committed supporter in this role. We are also lucky that she's a triathlete, because the pace of what she's involved with has got to be grueling! There is just a ton of stuff going on at PBS that relates to our field, and the call is full of shout-outs and bright spots. She and I spoke in what was the final week of programming of the Summer Arts Festival. And then, upcoming is the series "Broadway or Bust" that focuses on the Jimmy Awards for high school musical theatre performers. A few other links to dig into right away: she mentions an online series called "Off Book" that I hadn't even visited yet. This leads to a discussion of the scope of the arts content organized here. We talk about a survey on arts programming and arts education that lives here.

Listen to weekly podcasts hosted by David Dower as he interviews theater artists from around the country to highlight #newplay bright spots. You can subscribe to the series via iTunes or this RSS Feed (for Android phones).