Peter Marks: “One can sense, in visiting … companies and talking to leaders of classical theaters across North America, a revolution in how to package Shakespeare is not only gradually gaining momentum but is also being viewed as essential. At Stratford, for instance, an ethos prevails of theater as not simply a passive entertainment. More and more, it’s a conveyance for other social and intellectual activities on the sprawling festival campus.”
Category: theatre
Too Much Edinburgh Fringe?
For more than a decade I’ve heard people say the fringe can’t get any bigger and one day it will go pop. So far, I haven’t heard any big bangs, but maybe the air is beginning to slowly escape from the balloon.
Portland Center Stage Names Marissa Wolf Artistic Director
“Marissa Wolf, chosen after an eight-month search, will lead the city’s largest professional theater company in partnership with Cynthia Fuhrman, Portland Center Stage’s managing director. Wolf replaces Chris Coleman, who stepped down as artistic director this spring after 17 years to take a similar position in Denver.”
In Two Months, Alaska’s Largest Theatre Bounces Back From Financial Disaster
“In June things were looking bleak for Perseverance Theatre, a 40-year-old institution and the largest theatre in Alaska. The company had been forced to cancel its spring show, a new musical called Snow Child, had furloughed several employees, and was more than $200,000 in debt. Local press wondered if the theatre was on its deathbed. Then something miraculous happened.”
LA’s Mark Taper Forum To Offer Free Tickets To 25-And-Unders
In a new program called FreePlay, “Center Theatre Group … will start giving people 25 and younger free tickets to the first preview of productions at the Mark Taper Forum and the Kirk Douglas Theatre.”
More UK Theatres Commit To Giving All Actors Who Audition A Yes-Or-No Response
Last week, in response to a social media campaign tagged #YesOrNo, Britain’s National Theatre promised to contact all actors who auditioned but weren’t cast to give them a definitive answer. Now the Royal Shakespeare Company, London’s Almeida and Royal Court, and several major regional playhouses have joined in making the same commitment, as have a number of prominent casting directors.
Theatre Study In Danger Of Disappearing From UK Schools
According to a survey of 420 members of the Association of School and College Leaders, 28% said they had cut back lesson time, staff or facilities for drama in the past two years. Drama has already weathered substantial decline over recent years, with entry figures tumbling year-on-year. The ASCL’s research comes as this year’s A-level results are announced in England. Final figures show that entries for drama fell by a further 6% on last year, to a total of 11,239 students.
Taking A ‘Concept’ Show On Tour Is Totally Acceptable, Critic Says
Lyn Gardner: Consider the issue that “many British artists and companies cannot hope to make a living in the UK and desperately need international touring fees” – but that Brexit is taking those international opportunities away. Perhaps the ‘concept’ show can fill in, at least if companies work together.
London’s National Theatre Commits To Telling Actors If They Haven’t Been Cast
“It is vital that we pay respect to the actors we meet by always acknowledging their work and contribution to the casting process, which is why the NT wholly supports the #YesOrNo initiative.” He added that while the NT is not always able to make decisions right away, it will let actors know if they have been successful as soon as possible. The #YesOrNo campaign was started after actors criticised the practice of not telling auditionees if that had been unsuccessful.
New York Times And Guardian Theatre Critics Get Together And Compare Their Greatest-Play Lists
Earlier this summer, the Times critics got together and hashed out their choices for the 25 best plays of the last 25 years; a month later, Guardian senior critic Michael Billington assembled his own list of Britain’s best scripts from the last decade. And on “one very sticky afternoon last month,” Brantley invited Billington over to his (un-air-conditioned) temporary London flat for a chat.