Category: theatre

Tony Taccone, 65, served as the Berkeley Rep’s associate artistic director for 11 years before taking the reins in 1997. Along the way he has catapulted the East Bay institution to the top ranks of regional theaters. Over the years, the troupe has sent 25 shows onward to London and New York. He has also directed dozens of plays, including Sarah Jones’ solo show “Bridge & Tunnel,” which won a Tony Award in 2006.

The Stage‘s anonymous West End Producer, in response to a reader request, lays out “the cardinal sins of auditioning.” For instance: “Avoid slagging off other directors or performers. We will usually know the people involved, and my casting director will often have slept with them – so they will be personal friends.”

Hand puppets, rod puppets, shadow puppets – with visits to a festival in Chicago, an Off-Broadway play, and a gallery show, Laura Collins-Hughes gives us an update on the state of the art.

Michael Billington: “Rufus Norris has made clear that he wants the National to more visibly represent the nation at large: if that means more work by women and greater racial diversity, I am happy to fling my hat in the air. But that need not – indeed should not – mean an almost total severance with the past.”

The poll, hosted on The Stage website, asked whether readers had ever been left unpaid by an employer, after performer Jonathan Ansell stormed a stage in protest against a producer who he claims has failed to pay him money owed.

Small venues are often encouraged to ‘buddy up’ with larger venues to develop their skills, expertise and knowledge. This can lead to an erosion of confidence, implying that small venues are somehow inferior and need help or advice. Small venues operate differently from larger ones, in that they manage their resources extremely well and develop a close understanding of and relationships with their audiences in ways that larger-scale organisations sometimes find difficult to achieve.

Richard Roxburgh, currently starring on Broadway with Cate Blanchett in The Present: “In terms of the study of alcohol and its effects, I probably have an unfair advantage in that I am, A, Australian, and, B, an actor. I’ve had probably an unhealthy overexposure to the shenanigans of booze over time.”

“The experiment brings to mind Komar and Melamid’s “Most Wanted” project in the 1990s, in which that Russian duo created paintings based on polls of what people from various countries like to see in art. Here, the cast, with help from the musician Liljie, go through vignettes that illustrate some of the survey’s results.”

Where are the classics? Almost nowhere to be found. The Guardian’s Michael Billington: “This strikes me as a staggering dereliction of the National’s duty.”

Good news, Hamilton lottery fans: “Beginning Tuesday, 46 seats per performance at the Richard Rodgers Theatre will be available on the day-of, through the musical’s digital lottery.”