ON “THE ANIMALS SPEAK,” CAMERON DARWIN BOSSERT’S PLAY ABOUT WALT DISNEY IN SOUTH AMERICA

On tonight’s show we’ll be joined by playwright/producer/actor  and composer Cameron Darwin Bossert to discuss, The Animals Speak, his third play in a trilogy, A Venomous Color, all based on real events in the life of Walt Disney. The Animals Speak  takes place in 1941 when a depressed Disney, along with his wife and a small crew of animation artists, take a goodwill tour funded by the United States government to sway South America from the influence of the Nazis. Walt is trying to forget everything: the near bankruptcy of his company, the ongoing animator’s strike, and the recent death of his mother, for which he blames himself.

Closing out what began with The Fairest (about the harsh working conditions of a female Disney animators) and followed by Burbank (about the Disney animators’ strike), Bossert’s Venomous Color trilogy asks what is the true cost of commodifying art for the masses and examines the role of women at the Disney Studio, artistically and financially.

Cameron Darwin Bossert, whom The New York Times called “a keen observer of America’s media landscape,” is the founder of Thirdwing, an innovative new hybrid theater company presenting at affordable prices -- on stage and by streaming -- original works about American history and international politics, His directing credits include Burbank, The Fairest, The Female Genius by Rachel Carey, the United Nations play series and the feature films The Last 48 and Jewtah. He designed the opening sequence for John Turturro’s feature film Fading Gigolo and the multi-media film elements for Yasmina Reza’s A Spanish Play at the Classic Stage Company. As an actor he appeared in Bambi Everson’s The Thin Man in the Cherry Orchard and Rachel Carey’s The Disciple. Bossert is also a composer whose work has been performed by the American Symphony Orchestra, The Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra, Da Capo Chamber Players and the JACK Quartet for which he was commissioned by the Utah Symphony Orchestra as part of their Meet the Composer Series.