Julie TaymorEvery podcast appearance, updated as new ones drop

Julie Taymor made history as the first woman to win the Tony Award for Best Director of a Musical with The Lion King. But long before Broadway, her journey began at Oberlin College, where she created her own major in mythology and folklore. From there, she traveled the world, immersing herself in the theatrical traditions of Indonesia, Japan, and beyond—experiences that would go on to shape her groundbreaking approach to storytelling. In this episode, Oberlin College President Carmen Twillie Ambar speaks with the visionary director about her fearless approach to art, the lessons she learned from world theater, and why she continues to push boundaries in both film and stage. From her early inspirations to her latest projects, Taymor shares insights on creative collaboration, cultural storytelling, and what it really means to take risks as an artist. What We Cover in This Episode The Oberlin Influence: How Taymor’s self-designed major in mythology and folklore set the foundation for her career in visual storytelling. World Theater as Inspiration: How living in Indonesia for four years and studying global theater traditions shaped her artistic vision. Bringing The Lion King to Life: The challenge of adapting an animated film into a groundbreaking stage production—and how she fought for authentic representation. Taking Risks in Storytelling: Why Taymor never repeats herself and how she chooses projects that challenge both herself and the audience. Shakespeare and the Power of Language: How Taymor’s work in Titus, The Tempest, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream explores the visual power of Shakespeare’s poetry. Who Gets to Tell Stories? T aymor’s perspective on the debate around cultural appropriation, authenticity, and why storytelling should be universal. Breaking the Broadway Mold: Why she believes Broadway is creatively stagnant and what it will take to push musical theater into new territory. The Grand Delusion: A sneak peek into Taymor’s latest musical project, a boundary-breaking production that blends modern New York, mythology, and surrealism. *Photo © ANNIE LEIBOVITZ Episode Links Oberlin College & Conservatory Learn more about Oberlin College, where Julie Taymor developed her unique approach to storytelling by designing her own major in mythology and folklore. Julie Taymor’s The Lion King Explore the official Broadway production of The Lion King, which has captivated audiences worldwide with its groundbreaking visual storytelling Richard Schechner’s Performance Theory A foundational text in performance studies, this book explores many of the theatrical concepts that influenced Taymor’s approach to storytelling. Frida (2002) – A Film by Julie Taymor Watch Frida, Taymor’s Academy Award-winning film about the life and art of Frida Kahlo, featuring a visually stunning and theatrical approach to biography. Julie Taymor’s Titus (1999) Discover Taymor’s cinematic adaptation of Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus, starring Anthony Hopkins, showcasing her signature blend of theatricality and film.

When Rodrigo Prieto meets with a director, he comes with a clean slate and a present state of mind to hear their vision. Rodrigo first met Julie Taymor in New York to talk about filming Frida. He had just finished shooting Amores Perros with director Alejandro González Iñárritu and decided to move to Los Angeles from Mexico City. For Rodrigo, Frida Kahlo's work was very influential, and he was eager to work on a film about her life. He found that Julie Taymor loves collaborating with her team on her movies and is open to other's input, but knows what she wants and pushes for it. Working with a theatrical director means her ideas tend to be more representative and symbolic, rather than the naturalistic realism seen in most movies. For The Glorias, Rodrigo and Julie had to determine how realistically they wanted to portray some of the events in Gloria Steinem's life. In one scene, Rodrigo and the crew had to recreate the tornado from The Wizard of Oz, with the four Glorias as the witches on brooms. The crew built a 70's era TV studio, rigged lights and a green screen with a camera on a crane and the actresses on wires on brooms. They also decided early on to shoot the bus scenes in black and white, with color sequences showing outside the windows. You can watch The Glorias streaming on Amazon Prime. A new color timed version of Amores Perros will be coming out from Criterion Collection. Find Rodrigo Prieto, Instagram: @rpstam Find out even more about this episode, with extensive show notes and links: http://camnoir.com/ep94/ Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras: www.hotrodcameras.com Website: www.camnoir.com Facebook: @cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Twitter: @ShortEndz

With guest Adam Wesley Brown. In this episode we break down the 2014 live production of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream directed by Julie Taymor. From inspired visual choices, to double jointed elbows, to thousands of stage pillows, this was an enchanting and wonderfully weird production that we highly recommend. Broadway HD link - https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/amzn1.dv.gti.0caf29cf-a190-d961-0fff-476df6af2373?ref_=imdbref_tt_wbr_pvc_broadwayhd&tag=imdbtag_tt_wbr_pvc_broadwayhd-20

Laura revisits conversations with two of her theatrical heroes, Julie Taymor and Eve Ensler. Taymor redefined both Disney and Broadway with her vision of The Lion King; she spoke to Laura in the summer of 2018 about the cinematic re-release of Across The Universe, the glorious film featuring the music of the Beatles. Ensler is best known as the creator of The Vagina Monologues (in which Laura performed in 1999!). They spoke about her 2018 off-Broadway memoir play, “In the Body of the World.”

On March 12, 1997, eight months before the opening of Lion King on Broadway, Julie Taymor was interviewed by author and collaborator Alexis Greene at Fordham University. In this One-on-One conversation Ms. Taymor reflects on her history as a performer in the collaborative theatre companies of the late 60's and 70's. She speaks about her origins as a director and puppeteer and the development of her aesthetic through international study of eastern theatre. She remarks about the potential for commercial success with Lion King , and the freedom Disney producers were giving her to create a piece that wasn't simply putting the animated film on stage.