Office Hours: Phelim McDermott

The Segal Center, NYU Skirball and Improbable presented Office Hours: Phelim McDermott livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network on Tuesday 28 March 2023 at 9:30 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 11:30 a.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 12:30 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

Join us for a live, virtual conversation on directing and collaboration with Phelim McDermott, the co-artistic director and co-founder of Improbable (UK); and Frank Hentschker, director of CUNY’s Segal Center. In advance of McDermott’s upcoming New York premiere of Tao of Glass at NYU Skirball, they will discuss McDermott's work and career, Improbable’s work with Open Space Technology, and McDermott’s long-term collaborations with Philip Glass.

Tao of Glass is a storytelling tapestry, performed by McDermott with a virtuosic ensemble of musicians and puppeteers, underscored by Glass’s mesmerizing music, and shot through with Improbable’s trademark magical stagecraft. This New York premiere marries ten new works from Glass with ten theatrical meditations on life, death, and Taoist wisdom. At NYU Skirball from March 30-April 8, 2023.

Phelim McDermott is the co-artistic director and co-founder of Improbable. He has directed renowned productions around the globe (Shockheaded Peter, Beauty and the Beast), most recently the world premiere of The Hours at the Metropolitan Opera and the Royal Shakespeare Company’s newest musical extravaganza, My Neighbour Totoro. Improbable's Website.

Philip Glass has had an extraordinary and unprecedented impact on the musical and intellectual life of our times. His acclaimed works include symphonies, film scores, wide-ranging artistic collaborations, and such operas as Einstein on the Beach, Satyagraha, Akhnaten, and The Voyage. Website.

Tao of Glass was commissioned by Manchester International Festival, Improbable, Perth Festival, Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen, Hong Kong New Vision Arts Festival, and Carolina Performing Arts–University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in association with Naomi Milgrom AO. Originally performed at Manchester International Festival 2019.

About HowlRound TV

HowlRound TV is a global, commons-based, peer-produced, open-access livestreaming and video archive project stewarded by the nonprofit HowlRound. HowlRound TV is a free and shared resource for live conversations and performances relevant to the world’s performing-arts and cultural fields. Its mission is to break geographic isolation, promote resource sharing, and develop our knowledge commons collectively. Anyone can participate in a community of peer organizations revolutionizing the flow of information, knowledge, and access in our field by becoming a producer and co-producing with us. Learn more by going to our participate page. For any other queries, email [email protected] or call Vijay Mathew at +1 917.686.3185 Signal. View the video archive of past events.