Category: theatre

“No matter how good you are or how hard you work, the jobs may not be forthcoming. But instead of drowning in a pool of disillusionment, it is possible to take the power back.”

“Though effective in many ways, he’s largely unsuited for the entrepreneurial and managerial tasks for which he’s responsible.”

“Actors may move to Los Angeles with the hope to make money in movies and television. What they find, however, may surprise them and save their artistic lives: a thriving Los Angeles theater scene of generous, talented artists.”

And not just productions, but also scripts. “If you’re sitting anywhere else on planet earth, you know that this country is the country that produces. Wherever you are, you’ll see more British plays than anything else – apart from maybe Neil Simon. On the whole, British plays have a better build quality.”

“In one scene from a Cleveland-area high-school production of Grease, the character Kenickie … carried a pizza box from Guys Pizza, a local place, though the script calls for a bag lunch. Later the restaurant owner’s father briefly appeared as a burger restaurant worker who happens to be wearing a large button with a Guys Pizza logo.” (The fee: $500.)

A reporter shares the secrets of the lighting at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse: what types of candle provide the right light, how to keep them from going out while actors walk, how to prevent drips and pools of wax – and how the company’s management convinced their insurers and the London fire department to go along with the whole thing.

“The scheme will mean producers are able to claim up to a 25% tax rebate on 80% of a production’s up-front eligible budget costs ahead of its run.  Touring shows will receive a 25% relief, while other productions will be eligible for a 20% tax credit.”

“With this requirement [for scientists] to perform (student assessment of lecturers’ abilities is now standard), comes an increasing readiness to engage with audiences who might have little understanding of the process of science, but a lot of interest in the message of science. But theatre can engage with science in more ways than simply the technical. The key thing here is that they share a common term and a common tool – that of ‘interpretation’.”

“Jugglers have always taken advantage of audiences’ ignorance. Instead of performing hard tricks, they perform easy tricks that look hard. They lie to delight. But then came a guy who wasn’t interested in lying, who wanted to do stuff that was hard because he could.”

Jon Robin Baitz’s first title for Other Desert Cities was Love and Mercy. Tennessee Williams initially gave Cat on a Hot Tin Roof the title A Place of Stone. And then there’s Urinetown – did that one hurt, help, or both?