PREVIEW: SPAC Announces Return of Pre-Performance Talks With "Setting the Stage" Series
Starting 07/08 @ Charles R. Wood Stage at SPAC, Saratoga Springs
Photo by NUA Photography
Have you ever attended a performance and just wanted more? Sure, the show itself is great, but sometimes, it leaves you with questions — questions about the creative process behind the show, perspectives of performers, or insights that add context to what you saw.
Lucky for you, the Saratoga Performing Arts Center is going above and beyond to deepen the audience experience. With the new “Setting the Stage” series, SPAC grants patrons an immersive experience through a close conversation with some of the leading voices in performing arts. “Setting the Stage” is a series of engaging conversations presented in advance of select New York City Ballet and Philadelphia Orchestra performances. In honor of their 60th anniversary season, SPAC offers a rare opportunity to hear explicitly from the figures shaping today's classical landscape.
Returning for the first time since 2019, “Setting the Stage” will now take place outdoors on the Charles R. Wood Stage. Free to ticket holders, the 30-minute conversations begin approximately one hour prior to performances and feature artists, conductors, choreographers, scholars, and cultural voices. These intimate, engaging conversations offer background into the production audiences will experience afterward.
“We are thrilled to bring back pre-performance talks after a six-year hiatus,” said Christopher Shiley, President of Saratoga Performing Arts Center. “‘Setting the Stage’ will reimagine these talks in a way that makes them more accessible to audiences. By moving these conversations outdoors and offering them free to ticket holders, we are creating even greater opportunities for the community to connect directly with the artists and deepen their experience of the performances they are about to see.”
Foregrounding the series on August 7 is a discussion co-presented with Caffè Lena featuring Philadelphia Orchestra Principal Guest Conductor Marin Alsop alongside singer, author and activist Janis Ian. Through this conversation, Ian and Alsop hope to delve into the significant impact Leonard Bernstein had on both artists’ lives and careers — with his early championing of Ian’s “Society’s Child,” and his positive influence on Alsop as a young aspiring conductor. Together, they will reflect on mentorship, artistic courage, and the challenges they have faced in their respective fields.
Featured guests include New York City Ballet Principal Dancer and choreographer Tiler Peck, NYCB Principal Dancers Taylor Stanley and Daniel Ulbricht, NYCB and School of American Ballet Artistic Director Jonathan Stafford, NYCB Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan, Metropolitan Opera House Principal Guest Conductor Daniele Rustioni, Producer and Host of the Mahler Hour Morten Solvik, Assistant Conductor Naomi Woo, and Philadelphia Orchestra Principal Bass Joseph Conyers.
The full schedule is as follows:
July 8 | 6:30pm
Jonathan Stafford (Artistic Director of New York City Ballet and the School of American Ballet)
Moderated by Jay Rogoff
July 9 | 6:30pm
Taylor Stanley and Daniel Ulbricht (NYCB Principal Dancers)
Moderated by Jay Rogoff
July 10 | 12:45pm
Tiler Peck (NYCB Principal Dancer and Choreographer)
Moderated by Jay Rogoff
July 11 | 6:30pm
Wendy Whelan (Associate Artistic Director of NYCB)
Moderated by Jay Rogoff
August 6 | 6:30pm
Morten Solvik (Music Scholar with Mahler Foundation)
Lecture Style
August 7 | 6:15pm
Marin Alsop (Principal Guest Conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra)
Moderated by Songwriter, Author, and Activist Janis Ian
Co-presented with Caffè Lena
August 12 | 6:15pm
Daniele Rustioni (Principal Guest Conductor of the Metropolitan Opera House)
Moderated by WMHT Host Rob Brown
August 13 | 6:30pm
Naomi Woo (Philadelphia Orchestra Assistant Conductor)
Moderated by WMHT Host Rob Brown
August 20 | 6:30pm
Joseph Conyers (Philadelphia Orchestra Principal Bass)
Moderated by SPAC CEO Elizabeth Sobol
To follow along and be the first to receive updates, visit spac.org and follow Saratoga Performing Arts Center on social media.
