Well, people are still mad they didn’t get to play Mercutio in their high school production of Romeo and Juliet … but seriously, what? “For the summer festivals — often leafy affairs for families, picnics, and a bit of Shakespeare under the stars — the venting has been a jarring reminder of the country’s political divisions. And while company directors say that Shakespeare, whose works are wildly adaptable to a variety of social contexts, is no stranger to controversy, the current maelstrom has taken their breath away.”
Category: theatre
Two Pro-Trump Protesters Disrupted Friday Night’s ‘Julius Caesar’ In Central Park
A woman jumped on stage to decry “normalization of political violence against the right,” and a collaborator, who was a player in the Pizzagate conspiracy theory, shouted, “You are all Goebbels.” Both were removed by security. “The show then resumed as a stage manager announced, ‘Pick up at ‘liberty and freedom,’’ referring to the lines in the play that came next.”
Chicago Theater Accountability Coalition Protests Longtime Sun-Times Theatre Critic
“Hedy Weiss has been with the newspaper since 1984 covering theater and dance, reporting on national and international productions outside of Chicago as well. She also contributes theater reviews to PBS’s program WTTW Chicago Tonight. The petition does not call for a ban on Weiss attending performances but rather asks that she is no longer given free press tickets due to accusations that she writes insensitive reviews.”
Free Theatres Get Outpouring Of Threats After Public Theatre “Julius Caesar” Controversy
“It began about two days ago,” Raphael Parry, the executive & artistic of Shakespeare Dallas said. “Some were just telling us ‘I will write to your sponsors to pull your funding,’ or to go to hell. But others said they hoped we’d all be sent to ISIS and killed with real knives.”
Need To Stage A Sex Scene In Your Play? Call The Intimacy Choreographer
Oh yes, it’s a real job. Laura Collins-Hughes profiles Tonia Sina, who works with actors and directors on performing love and sex onstage in a way that’s both convincing for audiences and (more or less) comfortable for the people doing it.
Something Old, Something New, Something Astonishing: Programming A Coherent Season At A Regional Theatre Company
“‘Nobody knows how a theatre season is made,’ Paul Miller says cheerily. There is no rule book, no key to artistic or box-office success. Still, nothing made Miller, the artistic director of the resurgent Orange Tree theatre in Richmond, more chuffed than a recent compliment from a fellow director, Ellen McDougall. She said she would recognise an Orange Tree season at a glance, even if the theatre’s name was omitted. So, what gives a programme coherence?”
Ottawa’s National Arts Centre Appoints Head Of Its New Indigenous Theatre Company
“Kevin Loring, an actor and Governor General’s Award-winning playwright, will take up his duties at the Ottawa performing arts venue in October and will debut a full program of works for the centre’s 2019/2020 season. While Indigenous theatre companies and programs are beginning to flourish across Canada, the centre’s decision to appoint a full-time artistic director dedicated to aboriginal performance is a bold step.”
Shakespeare’s Globe At 20: A History In Clips
“To mark the Globe’s 20th birthday, we raid the Guardian archives to see how it has divided critics, sparked academic arguments, faced down political protests – and weathered the British summertime.”
‘Indecent’ Is Closing On Broadway; Bitter Playwright Blames Ben Brantley And Jesse Green
Paula Vogel tweeted, “Brantley&Green 2-0. Nottage&Vogel 0-2. Lynn, they help close us down” and gave the two New York Times critics the hashtag #footnotesinhistory. The “Lynn” of the tweet, Lynn Nottage, whose play Sweat is also closing its Broadway run, replied by describing Brantley and Green as “the patriarchy flexing their muscles to prove their power.”
Community Theatre May Not Be Glamorous, Or Even Get Much Respect, But It Changes Lives: Lyn Gardner
“It is the invisible in our theatre culture – those who work tirelessly delivering community and participatory projects or who work in children’s theatre – who are its under-sung heroes. They are the ones who daily demonstrate how art touches and changes lives.”