“Let me just say that although I don’t mind watching other theatergoers getting into the act — as a longtime observer of how audiences behave, the psychology of these events intrigues me — I hate being compelled to be the show. I’m not shy or anti-social. I simply don’t want to be made to feel that I must cross the line, onto the actors’ playing field, or be a spoilsport if I don’t. “
Category: theatre
New York Theatermakers Experiment With Ways To Help Colleagues With Young Children
“The question of how well — or poorly — the theater world accommodates child care has been talked about for years, and is closely bound up with the discussion of why women are so underrepresented as writers, directors, and designers at the industry’s highest, and highest-paying, levels. … The theater world is experimenting with a variety of small-scale solutions to make the juggling easier.”
Britain’s Rachel Dolezal? Or Not? Director With White Parents Given Grant For Minority Theatre Artists
Anthony Ekundayo Lennon has always acknowledged that his parents and grandparents are white, but says that his skin coloring (which his brothers share) has led to his being treated, and discriminated against, as black or mixed-race for his entire life, including his work in theatre. Lennon applied, as a “mixed-heritage individual,” for and won an Arts Council England grant to work a a black-led London theatre company. The company, Talawa, willingly sponsors Lennon, but other black actors and directors are publicly objecting.
Taking Your Play From MFA Shape To Off-Broadway Can Require More Than A Few Complete Rewrites
Ming Peiffer says that the moment she realized she needed to stop writing for others and start writing her own truth changed her play Usual Girls extensively. “I recoiled from the original play that I was writing, and [a new version] almost just spewed out. … Even as I realized that I was going to some very deep, dark, and uncomfortable places, by that point I was already going — there was an energy attached to it that I didn’t want to stop.”
How ‘Harry Potter And The Cursed Child’ Found Its Musical Backbone
The two-part show’s movement director was in rehearsals with the cast, using some Imogen Heap music as inspiration. Then he decided that he wanted more. “‘The first I heard about it was pushing my baby at the time in a very muddy field with a pram,’ Heap recalled. She got a call from Hoggett who said he was working on a project for which they had been temping her music in workshops; he wanted to know if he could keep using it.”
This Festival Is Building A Theatre Audience From Scratch In Burkina Faso
“Founded in 2002, Les Récréâtrales takes place in a residential area of Ouagadougou. Plays are developed, rehearsed, and performed in family courtyards, bringing theatre to the people. Whereas non-festival performances at downtown cultural centers … attract audiences composed of Europeans, other artists, and the artists’ family members and friends, the festival’s audiences are locals of all ages who would not usually have access to or interest in theatre.” Writer and translator Heather Jeanne Denyer talks with the festival’s artistic director, playwright Aristide Tarnagda.
Theatres In Yorkshire Launch Program To Diversify Boards Of Directors
“The programme will see 10 members of [Artistic Directors of the Future] from a range of culturally diverse backgrounds given access to the boardrooms of five Yorkshire theatres, including Sheffield Theatres, Scarborough’s Stephen Joseph Theatre and York Theatre Royal, over the course of four months. It aims to develop relationships between aspiring trustees from culturally diverse backgrounds and existing board members, and to give the participants insight into the way theatre boards operate.”
Toulouse, France, Brings Giant Mythological Street Art Creatures To Life
Immersive street art theatre with a giant minotaur and a giant spider meeting around a city and playing out different acts? Why not, right?
Women In Theatre In Minnesota Succeed By Creating Their Own Spaces
In the Twin Cities, three theatre companies founded by women – including a new one focusing on opportunities for women of color and/or queer women – are changing the landscape. “‘These theaters are being founded as answers to a lack of opportunity,’ said Mary McColl, a former Twin Cities arts leader who now runs the 51,000-member Actors’ Equity union. Acknowledging that the politics of the moment have women fired up, she said she sees these companies as crucial ‘for the industry to become more inclusive and equitable.'”
The Public Theater Lives Up To Its Name With A Tour Of Lynn Nottage’s ‘Sweat’ To Devastated Midwestern Cities
Five states, 18 cities, free performances – and a plan that reaches far beyond the play itself; “Along with community organizations, public libraries, Rotary clubs, humanities councils, and whoever else is interested, it has encouraged lectures, discussion groups, story circles, and art pieces in the weeks before and after staging a free performance of Sweat. The tour is now over, but the project is not.”