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THEATRE

Oregon Shakespeare Festival Revamps Its Artistic Directorship

Three associate artistic directors, Scarlett Kim, Mei Ann Teo, and Evren Odcikin, join artistic director Nataki Garrett "to serve as a nonhierarchical team working to transcend traditional text-centric models and give priority, resources and space to theater artists across media and professions." - The Mail Tribune (Medford, Oregon)

Professional Theatre Deep In A French Mountain Forest

"Hundreds of productions have been performed at the Théâtre du Peuple, a 126-year-old playhouse 45 miles from the German border. Yet no matter how good the actors, they are often upstaged by the theater's unusual backdrop: a steep forest, visible right behind the stage." - The New York Times

They Waited Over A Year, But They’re Finally Making Their Broadway Debuts

Laura Collins-Hughes interviews four young performers who were just about to start living their dream when COVID shut Broadway down. (The youngest of them, now 13, spent months worrying that his voice would change or he would outgrow his role.) - The New York Times

‘Rodeo Clowns Are The Best Athletes In The Arena, And They Save Lives’

"Their work is just as dangerous and exciting as the bull riders they're employed to protect. Working in teams, their job is to distract an enraged bull from attacking the rider who's just been catapulted to the dirt." - Texas Highways

Is Seeing Live Theatre Worth All Of The COVID Precautions And Stress?

Charles McNulty, in Los Angeles, says yes, but: "Anticipating the stress of the new COVID-19 protocols, I forgot the old stresses, the lunatic driving at Hollywood and Vine, the $25 parking fee ('credit card only, please'). The woman sitting behind me returned after intermission with a bag of potato chips." - Los Angeles Times

Broadway Wants Locals Back

But will they come in the midst of a Delta surge? - The New York Times

The Funny Thing Is

Asian American stand-ups fight back against violence and bigotry with ... comedy? - Los Angeles Times

Broadway League Turns To Oprah To Convince Theatergoers To Come Back

Winfrey is narrator for the audio and video components of a multi-million-dollar campaign across print, broadcast, and social media to convince COVID-wary audience members to go ahead and see a show. - The New York Times

Actors Stranded In Sydney With No Work Or Money By Lockdown And Border Closures

With the Delta variant on the rise in the city, many Melbourne-based actors who had been performing in Sydney were contractually obligated to their shows. Now theatres are closed, the border between New South Wales and Victoria states has slammed shut, and they're stuck. - The Guardian

The AI Program That Wrote A Guardian Essay Is Now Writing A Play

"The GPT-3 system argued (in the article) that humans had nothing to fear from robots. Kwame Kwei-Armah, artistic director of the Young Vic, read it and felt inspired." A year later, GPT-3 is now co-author and co-star of the Young Vic's current show. - The Guardian

Luis Alfaro’s Plan To Make LA A Theatre Dynamo

“A theater is best expressed by the work it initiates. I think it’s really important that we not just bring in the great work but that we make the great work. We haven’t even begun to express the city and its fullness.” - Los Angeles Times

As Pandemic Worsens, So Does Outlook For LA’s Small Theaters

"And so the question looms: How much longer can these companies stay afloat financially? With pandemic funding drying up, 99-seat theaters are scrambling to stay on track with reopenings that were planned during better days." - Los Angeles Times

Edinburgh Fringe Starts Emergency Campaign To Raise $10 Million

"The Edinburgh festival fringe has launched a £7.5m emergency appeal after it lost millions of pounds during the COVID pandemic. … (The Fringe) was entirely shut down in 2020 and this year has operated at a fifth of its normal size." - The Guardian

Wanted: Theatre Directors Without Vision

"The laser focus on a director’s vision is problematic. It sets the director up as a prophet rather than a leader. It focuses on a destination, an imagined end goal, and not on the journey." - Howlround

“The Theatrical Arm Of The Civil Rights Movement”

The Free Southern Theater was founded by members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee to travel around 1960s Mississippi, performing for poor Black farmers to let them know about the battle to secure their right to vote. - American Theatre

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