Says the artistic director of a Twin Cities company, "I believe that theatre is storytelling and we are creating a new hybrid art form. It's not quite theatre in that it's video and not onstage, and it's not exactly film or television because it's live — but I still call it theatre." Here's a look at what exactly she...
With the disclaimer that this wave of the research reflects current expectations about the pandemic, based on anxieties about vaccine distribution and the spread of COVID variants, and that theatregoers may adjust attitudes if they see prospects improve, the findings are unavoidably bleak for theatres. - American Theatre
"The biggest revelation, though, is that while a computer's imagination touches, somewhat randomly, on themes of love, loneliness, clowning and performance, it is most often obsessing about sex, which may not be surprising, given the prevalence of internet pornography." - The Guardian
The protocols these countries have developed the past year to permit some live performances depend greatly on the magnitude of the pandemic and the efforts by government to contain it. South Korea, for example, has operated some theater almost completely uninterrupted since the coronavirus manifested itself, and Australia has been inching back to widespread theater openings since the fall....
In a regular year, it's North America's largest summer theatre festival, but with the pandemic only barely starting to subside, Stratford is planning to present just a dozen or so performances, each featuring no more than eight cast members and running about 90 minutes, on two stages under large canopies outside their theatres in central Ontario. - Global News...
Actors get temperature-taking robots; there's Hamiltizer for your hands if you're rehearsing Hamilton; and then there are the actors who can't hug - so Olaf and Elsa flash each other peace signs instead. Audience members have their own rules, and they won't be at the stage door begging for selfies now either - but sales in Australia are strong...
"'I am calling you for a poetic consultation,' said a warm voice on the telephone. 'It all starts with a very simple question: How are you?' Since March, almost 15,000 people around the world have received a call like this. These conversations with actors, who offer a one-on-one chat before reading a poem selected for the recipient, started as...
"Across the country, and beyond its borders, many theaters say new audiences for their streaming offerings has been an unexpected silver lining — one that could have ramifications for the industry even after it is safe to perform live again and presenters try to return patrons to their seats." - The New York Times
"In a country where Turkish is the only official language, speaking Kurdish is sometimes seen as an act of rebellion." (It is the mother tongue of nearly 20 million people in the Turkish Republic and another 20 million in neighboring countries.) "Teatra Jiyana Nû, or New Life Theater, has struggled to find stages to perform its repertoire, which includes...
"I’ve debated different scenarios in my life about “What is Native?” And that is like the million-dollar question, at least within Indigenous communities at this moment. There doesn’t seem to be a consensus, and I love that, because it just demonstrates how diverse we are — that there is no singular definition — and that’s okay." - New York...
In a feature interview for The New York Times Magazine, the co-founder of the famed, and now troubled, improv company and school said, "It’s been brutal for us. We're basically using the fire of COVID to start some new version. We're changing our school and our theater to not-for-profit." (She and her co-founders have said they'll give up leadership...
It's an honorary, spokesperson role during a year when Fringe Fest may be online or may be in-person, or both, depending. Fleabag got its start at Fringe in 2013. Waller-Bridge: "From leaking caves to cobbled streets to the glamour of the Traverse Theatre up to Arthur's Seat, this festival is a beating heart of an industry that has been...
This sounds wildly exotic and dangerous to most theatregoers in the U.S. right now: "A few days ago, Kylie Estreich went to a theater in Sydney to see a Broadway show. In person. With hundreds of other people. She showed her ticket, went to her seat, and sat elbow-to-elbow with her masked mother on one side and a masked...
A Broadway stage manager who's now in graduate school for (logically) organizational leadership project management: "I initially thought, well, I'll get a class or two under my belt and then we'll be back. Well, now it appears that I will be graduated before." - NPR
Ethan McSweeny has served as artistic director of the American Shakespeare Center since 2018. He announced his resignation effective Feb. 11, 2021. - Washington Post
