University College London’s Bloomsbury Theatre, now back in action after a 3½-year renovation, aims to re-examine “traditional ideas about the role of theatre in a research-intensive university.” UCL’s new Performance Lab “will explore how live performance and research can inspire each other, bringing artists and organisations into the theatre to work with researchers from fields including science, technology, art and design.” – The Stage
Category: theatre
How Social Media Got ‘Be More Chill’ To Broadway
“The origin story of Be More Chill is already one of musical theater legend. After a month-long run at the Two River Theater [in New Jersey], the creative team … thought the show’s lifespan had unjustly passed. About two years later, … fan art [began] popping up on Instagram. … By the spring of 2018, the album had been streamed over 100 million times.” – Dance Magazine
Broadway Is Being More Chill About Licensing Shows To High Schools
“‘There is starting to be an understanding and a sensibility that, in certain cases, the high school market does not necessarily cannibalize the commercial run of a show,’ observed Sean Cercone, the president of Broadway Licensing. ‘In fact,’ he said that ‘we have always made the argument that nobody chooses to go to a little league game, and not buy a ticket to see the Yankees.'” – Forbes
Disability As Strength – Except When Portrayed As Cliche In The Theatre
“Modern thinking around disability looks to a social model: people are disabled by society’s structures, the stairs they can’t climb and the doors a wheelchair can’t fit though are simple examples. It’s the job we can’t get, because having a disability is viewed as an inherent weakness rather than living with it being a demonstration of strength.” – The Guardian
The Six-Foot-Seven Prisoner Who Staged The First All-Black Shakespeare
Richard Crafus, aka “King Dick”, was shipped off to a prison in southwestern England as an enemy combatant during the War of 1812. The biggest and strongest man in a segregated wing of the jail, he ran everything there — including a prisoners’ theatre, where he staged Romeo and Juliet and Othello. – The Stage
Play Under Attack For Using Puppet To Play Autistic Child
In All In A Row by Alex Oates, “a puppet portrays the character of Laurence, who is described as ‘autistic, non-verbal and occasionally violent’. … The play has faced a backlash online since a production video previewing it was released.” Critics say that the casting “fed into ‘a negative narrative of dehumanising’. A spokesman for the play said it was ‘untenable’ to get autistic performers to play the part.” – London Evening Standard
How A Teenager’s Lecture On The US Constitution Made It To Broadway
“Much as Hamilton gave America’s founding a progressive cool factor and became the quintessential Obama-era musical, [Heidi Schreck’s] What the Constitution Means to Me captures the mood of a time when institutional protections feel shockingly vulnerable and the country is getting an unwelcome crash course in constitutional arcana. (How many Americans knew about the emoluments clause before November, 2016?)” – The New Yorker
About Time: Landmark Deal Gives Actors Profit Sharing On Work They Help Develop
The deal, reached between Actors’ Equity, a union representing 51,000 performers and stage managers, and the Broadway League, a trade organization for producers, is a milestone, marking the first time that the industry’s financiers have tacitly agreed to acknowledge that performers are contributing ideas, not just labor, to shaping new musicals and plays. – The New York Times
Is Britain’s West End Finally Stepping Up For Women Playwrights?
Looks like it. Of course, there’s always (been) Agatha Christie and The Mousetrap, but looking beyond Dame Agatha, “Changes do appear to be happening. And activism … is helping.” – The Stage (UK)
Actors Equity Strike Ends For Shows In Development
The strike was against the Broadway League; Actors Equity said that actors and stage managers involved with readings, labs, and developmental shows hadn’t seen a raise since 2007. “The new agreement will include profit sharing, higher wagers, and additional stage manager contracts.” – American Theatre