The Belarus Free Theatre is at the forefront of the democracy movement in Belarus. Founded by Nikolai Khalezin and Natalia Koliada in 2005, the Free Theatre has quickly become known internationally as much for their political actions as they are for their theatrical artistry.

Last August, the performers and audience of a Free Theatre performance were arrested. (Read the original story, and the theatre’s open letter.) Since then, the international community, including Tom Stoppard, Mick Jagger, Václav Havel and many others, have helped bring attention to the theatre’s struggle to create honest and truthful work.

This interview was recorded between the theatre’s performances at the Under the Radar Festival, part of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters’ conference, in New York and the Arts in One World conference at Cal Arts, outside of Los Angeles.

In our talk, Nikolai and Natalia examine their own artistic and political journeys, and the revolutionary spirit of their work.

On-site translation provided by Yuri Kaliada.

This interview is part of an ongoing series with the Association of Performing Arts Presenters.

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Suzanne Callahan founded Callahan Consulting for the Arts in 1996, to help artists, arts organizations and funders realize their vision through a range of services that includes strategic planning, resource development, program evaluation, philanthropic counsel, and meeting facilitation. Callahan served as Senior Specialist for the Dance Program at the National Endowment for the Arts for nine years, where she was responsible for annual funding programs, reviewing over 6,000 applications and providing technical assistance to artists and arts organizations. Also while at the NEA, she received a Distinguished Service Award for her leadership as Chair to the agency’s AIDS Working Group and for her efforts to address the issues of AIDS and health insurance for artists. She is the author of “Singing Our Praises: Case Studies in the Art of Evaluation”.

In this podcast Suzanne talks about the value of the performing arts and the tough questions arts organizations and their funders need to ask themselves.

This interview is part of an ongoing series with the Association of Performing Arts Presenters.

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Maure Aronson is the executive director of World Music/CRASHarts, a multidisciplinary presenting organization. Prior to 1990 he was the general manager for the modern dance companies Beth Soll & Company and Concert Dance Company. World Music/CRASHarts presents approximately 60 concerts every year and, over the last 12 years, has presented more than 350 performing ensembles from around the world. Aronson is also a co-creator of GlobalFest.

In this podcast Maure Aronson talks about the exponential growth of world music, the performing arts scene in Boston, and the impact of the euro on arts exchanges.

This interview is part of an ongoing series with the Association of Performing Arts Presenters.

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Linda Brumbach is the founder of Pomegranate Arts, an independent production company with a roster of artists that includes Philip Glass, Laurie Anderson and Dan Zanes and Friends. Prior to Pomegranate Arts, she was the producing director of International Production Associates (IPA), and has served on the board of directors of the International Society for the Performing Arts, and been a chairperson for the Arts Presenters Conference.

In this podcast Linda talks about how to support creative thinking, and the vital importance of the role artists play in representing the best America has to offer to the rest of the world.

This interview is part of an ongoing series with the Association of Performing Arts Presenters.

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Ken Foster is the executive director at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, a multidisciplinary contemporary art center that features exhibitions, performance, film/video and community engagement programs. He has worked in the arts for over two decades as an administrator, curator, educator and performing arts presenter.

In this podcast Ken reflects on the challenges and opportunities for arts centers, the cultural landscape of San Francisco and what kind of cultural institutions he visits in his free moments.

This interview is part of an ongoing series with the Association of Performing Arts Presenters.

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