Be More Chill, a show about a high-school nerd who takes a mysterious drug (an actual “chill pill”) that makes him popular, got one professional production at a Jersey Shore theater in 2015, dropped a cast album on the streaming platforms, and disappeared. Two years later, young fans started discovering the show online; before the year was out, it had been listened to 150 million times on Spotify. So the creators got an off-Broadway production together – and its initial run sold out in a day.
Category: theatre
How You Choreograph James Corden’s Street Broadway Productions In 45-Second Bites
“Once James [Corden] steps in, you want to laugh at everything, but what makes what we’re doing funny is that we take it very seriously. So I always have to tell the dancers: ‘You approach the crosswalk like this is Broadway. Like this is the best thing you’ve ever done in your life.’ And that’s what makes it so funny, because people that are driving by are like, Why is there a full-blown production in the street?“
Why Do Czechs Love Puppets So? Because Puppets Saved The Czech Language
It all goes back to the ugliness of the Thirty Years War and the rule of Emperor Ferdinand II, who, in addition to killing or throwing out all the Protestants, imposed the German language on the Czech Estates.
Edinburgh Fringe’s Record-Breaking Attendance: 2.8 Million
“Organisers of the event, which recorded its best-ever box office returns for the sixth year in a row, with 2,838,839 issued, said almost half its tickets were sold in Scotland. The Fringe’s final day tally was five per cent increase on its record-breaking 70th anniversary season in 2017 and a 52 per cent increase, of 979,604, on the 2009 event.
Has Playwright Domonique Morisseau Had A Meteoric Rise? No – She’s Been Around A While
“A respected playwright for years, she is now a name playwright, a rising star. She ranked No. 5 on American Theatre‘s list of the 20 most-produced playwrights of 2017-18 — one spot above Arthur Miller … [and] Broadway is likely next.”
Edinburgh Fringe Takes On Brexit (And Not Just For Laughs)
“‘It’s hard to make comedy out of situational paralysis,’ said Nish Kumar, a comedian whose show at the Fringe is called ‘It’s In Your Nature to Destroy Yourselves.’ … But many comedians on both sides are trying to understand and explain, rather than merely mock. Mr. Kumar said that 2016 was the year for angry Brexit-themed shows … In 2018, the festival seems to reflect a nation that is finally coming to terms with the fact that Brexit is happening.”
How Playwrights Deal With Productions That Muck With The Text
“Rajiv Joseph recalls the advice delivered in a class taught by none other than Edward Albee: ‘Be as explicit with instructions for delivering lines as possible.’ But at that point in his career, Mr. Joseph didn’t completely buy in to the opinion of a playwright known for exerting extreme authorial control. … His experience with Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo led him to think twice about Albee’s warning.” Journalist Stuart Miller talks with Joseph, Lynn Nottage, David Henry Hwang, Sarah Ruhl, David Lindsay-Abaire, and Lucy Thurber about how they deal with stagings they weren’t involved with that go places they didn’t intend.
Wildfire Smoke Has Cost Oregon Shakespeare Festival $2 Million
“Bill Rauch, the festival’s artistic director, said in an interview that the financial losses are a result of over 20 performances of the three outdoor main-stage shows having been either canceled or moved to a smaller indoor theater, which has diminished ticket revenue. Reduced attendance has also contributed. In recent years, the festival has reported around $20 million in ticket sales.”
Bomb Destroys Palestinian Theater
The Said al-Mishal Centre brought theatre, dance and music to the beleaguered residents of Gaza City. Its destruction in an Israeli air strike has sparked outrage – and dealt a heavy blow to Palestinian culture
Letting The Audience Onstage Can Have A Powerful Effect, Even If It’s Not During The Show
Howard Sherman: “The convention of the fourth wall is deeply ingrained in most regular theatregoers … But when such techniques [for breaking it] are deployed intentionally before, during and after a performance, the effect can be magical. … There needn’t even be a show in performance for the effect of bringing audiences on stage to have an impact. Even in smaller spaces, let alone iconic ones, allowing patrons to stand where the actors perform creates an inversion that can be highly affecting.”