Category: theatre

After just six months, actor and director David Storch has resigned as the artistic director of Toronto’s Canadian Stage Company. “It has become clear to me that the demands of artistic director of this company are not ones which I feel are in my creative interests to pursue.”

“In theory, it’s an almost revolutionary idea. There are three live audiences in three separate locations. There are three separate casts (about 30 actors on total), in complementary costumes. They’re all linked in real time using state-of-the art gadgetry and Internet2, a much faster version of the Internet available to higher-education institutions. If it all works as it’s designed, audiences in three locales would share a novel theatrical experience.”

“We should be careful not to simplistically romanticise the fringe – as with most theatre, the gems that are to be found often nestle among a great deal of rubbish. But if we see these spaces as simply stepping stones to other things, don’t we risk missing the potential that they have to not only teach the craft of creating theatre, but to fundamentally change and expand our understanding of what the theatre can do?”

Despite the general downturn, the tally was still higher than the $14.7 million for 29 shows reported during the same week last year, and weekly attendance was up from 2007 (about 201,000 vs. 195,000).

“Blues and jazz greats are taking the stage in Washington this month in biographical musicals that are virtually a cottage industry here. Why? Affinity for late, great jazz-blues legends. Timeless songs. And easy money.”

“In the coming weeks, three shows will open with casts that are entirely or nearly all nonwhite. Two furthur productions feature African-American stars in roles that are traditionally played by white thesps. Is this influx of ethnicity a noteworthy coincidence, or simply a sign that diversity is becoming the Broadway norm?”

“Internal strife again threatens the future of the Montalbán, one of the most high-profile Latino cultural institutions in Southern California. Tensions spilled over during a recent retreat for top staff to explore ways to build on recent gains after years of shoddy management and spotty programming.”

The festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., ended the 2007 season with a $927,000 deficit. “A volatile environment for theatre and tourism led to disappointing early sales to the general public from January through March, creating a box office revenue gap.”

Fifteen years ago, the theatre seemed ready to become a national player. Instead, “Freedom has endured a soap opera of snowballing institutional debt, stage lights dimmed for long periods of time, and vast amounts of frustration. Financial and managerial bumbling elbowed art right off the stage.”

A theatre-goer is suing because he says the Blue Men forced a camera down his throat during a show and damaged his esophagus. Blue Men counter that the stunt is an illusion; the camera footage is a video and the camera never goes in the mouth.