Theatre to Film: Crossing the Great Divide

From the days of Maxwell Anderson and Lillian Hellman, writers for the stage have turned their attentions to the silver screen with various degrees of agony and ecstasy. More recently, the process has reversed, with Hollywood authors tackling the world of greasepaint and fresnels. This panel, composed of leading playwrights-turned-screenwriters, directors from both mediums, and actors who have often repeated stage roles for film, will discuss the challenges that lie in crossing that great divide. The stories we have heard about the studio system and its treatment of playwrights are legendary. Has independent film changed all that? What kinds of theatrical images and devices lend themselves to being "opened up" in a screen adaptation? Is writing for one medium a hindrance to work in the other? Are playwrights the best adapters of their own work? Is some work best left alone? Has the advent of independent film impacted theatre artists in a positive way? And what can the world of film offer to the theatre artist? These and other issues will be tackled by a panel of leading theatre artists and independent filmmakers, including playwright/screenwriter Terrence McNally of Love! Valour! Compassion!; Australian filmmaker Steven Vilder of Blackrock; Wendy MacLeod, playwright of The House of Yes; and Time Blake Nelson, director/screenwriter of Eye of God. The panel will be moderated by James Lapine, director of many Broadway productions and the film Impromptu.