News

AGMA Elects New Officers

The American Guild of Musical Artists, (AGMA) has recently elected several new officers from all over the country. Linda Mays was elected president, and five new vice presidents were elected to two-year terms.

Franklin Classes

Master classes in voice-over technique will be offered by Ruth Franklin in Manhattan this fall, beginning right after Labor Day. One of New York's premier voice-over instructors and performers, Franklin has just returned from Los Angeles, where she drew a large turnout for a series of such classes. To ...

BACK STAGE: What were the biggest challenges

BACK STAGE: What were the biggest challenges presented to you when you arrived at the NEA?

Playwright James Murray Dies at 75

James Murray, a playwright and restaurant manager for famed restaurateur Warner LeRoy, died April 24 at Bergen Regional Medical Center in Paramus, N.J., from complications related to Alzheimer's disease.

AGENCY UPDATE

Last week's "Agency Update" included partially incorrect information about Renƒe Glicker, now with Abrams Artists & Associates, 420 Madison Ave., S1400, New York, N.Y. 10017. Ms. Glicker only represents stand-up comics for TV, radio, and

SKiNNY

Time to recover from all that turkey and get ready for some hot auditions. The Humana Festival of New American Plays is casting, and two movies are seeking performers who can play Southeast Asians. Also, scripts and prospective producers are sought.

PROFILE: A Lot of Night Music - Prolific director/actor Randy Brenner brings much musical style to L.A. stages.

Some 13 years ago, Philadelphia-born director/actor Randy Brenner moved to Los Angeles, ending his 10-year career tenure in New York. In a recent interview at Solley's Restaurant in Sherman Oaks, Brenner told Back Stage West: "In New York, I often went up against Nathan Lane and Jason Alexander ...

Sundance Honors 'Push,' 'We Live in Public'

The Sundance Film Festival's prizes for best U.S. drama on Saturday went to "Push," the dark yet hopeful story of a young woman finding her way out of nightmarish circumstances in 1980s Harlem.

NOW PLAYING

Even as President Bush and Congress continue squaring off over Iraq, even as the electorate continues seething about the war, it's still hard to imagine tens of thousands of antiwar protestors committing acts of civil disobedience in the manner of the 1960s and early '70s. In the era of ...