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THEATRE

Ralph Fiennes: Time To Get Rid Of Trigger Warnings In The Theatre

Fiennes, 61, renowned for his roles in Schindler’s List and the Harry Potter films and currently starring in a touring production of Macbeth, said audiences should be “shocked and disturbed”. - The Guardian

Theatre Leaders In Kansas City Vow To Rebuild After Fire Guts Historic Building

This year was the Metropolitan Theater Ensemble’s fifth year in the Warwick Theatre building, which "originally opened on Sept. 26, 1914, and seated 1,200.” Though the theatre’s structure wasn’t damaged, "the costumes, electrical system and dressing rooms were destroyed." - Yahoo News (Kansas City Star)

How To Create A Musical With A Deaf Main Character

Never forget Deaf and hard-of-hearing audience members; audio signals must be matched with visual cues. And “finding the right actor to enlist as Jones — a deaf character who tricks his fellow soldiers into thinking he’s hearing and carries much of the show’s vocals — also proved critical." - Washington Post

Ralph Fiennes Wants Theatre To Be More Affordable, And More Surprising

That he, he’s so very finished with content warnings for something like the Scottish play, which he and Indira Varma star in. He said theatre should “shock and disturb,” and added, “I don’t think you should be prepared for these things." - BBC

Method Acting Can Actually Empower Women Actors (Despite What Natalie Portman Says)

Portman, who plays a method actress in May December, called method acting "a luxury women cannot afford." But acting professor Evi Stamatiou points out that "most accounts of the method style focus on male actors misbehaving under the guise of the character" and there are much better approaches. - The Conversation (ArtsHub)

“Starlight Express” Has Now Been Running Continuously For 35 Years

Many New Yorkers—including this one—forget that on the West End the show ran for 17 years. Estimations of the show’s total earnings ring up at more than $1.4 billion. Not bad for a musical that started life as a 1970s pilot for a Thomas the Tank Engine cartoon. - Gordon Cox

Meet The Woman Who Keeps Broadway Singing

"Joan Lader has never advertised, never solicited clients. But for two generations of Broadway stars, as well as dozens of opera singers and pop and rock luminaries, she remains an indispensable vocal therapist and vocal coach." Patti LuPone says flat-out, "She saved my career." - The New York Times

Kwame Kwei-Armah, Director Of London’s Young Vic Theatre, Announces Departure

"Kwei-Armah, who started out as an actor and has been greatly acclaimed as a playwright and director, ran Baltimore’s Center Stage theatre from 2011 to 2017 before returning to Britain." He ends his highly-lauded tenure as artistic director this fall. - The Guardian

Due To Sudden Illness, Tyne Daly Withdraws From “Doubt” On Broadway

An announcement from the Roundabout Theatre Co. says, "Ms. Daly was unexpectedly hospitalized on Friday and unfortunately needs to withdraw from the production while she receives medical care; she is thankfully expected to make a full recovery." Amy Ryan will take over the lead role. - Deadline

When Going To Broadway Theatre Was Cheap

After school, they would take the bus from the Upper West Side down to the theater district. I asked her how she could afford it. “It was under $10 for orchestra, third row,” she told me. That number looked low to my 2024 eyes, so I looked it up. She was right, of course; tickets were between $3 and...

Edinburgh Fringe Sets Up A “Festival Village” To Help Ease The Desperate Shortage Of Artist Housing

"A special rate of £269.50 a week is being offered for a private room within the shared student accommodation on the campus, which includes a self-catering kitchen. … The Fringe Society is joining forces with Queen Margaret University to run the venture" roughly 5 miles from central Edinburgh. - The Scotsman (MSN)

London’s Globe Theatre Pushes Back On Notion That Only Disabled Actors Should Be Cast As Richard III

The Globe released a social-media statement defending the casting, saying that although they “recognise the barriers to access in our industry and are working hard to address that”, they also believe that “all artists should have the right to play all parts in ”. - The Guardian

Boston’s Theatres Fight For Survival

In Boston as in many other places, "financial struggle has become a grim common denominator among theaters with different aesthetic identities and sense of mission.” Which companies will survive? - The Boston Globe (MSN)

The Theatre Director Who Likes To Go Too Far

“No one like Milo Rau exists in American theater, because commercial producers need to make money, and no government body is willing to match the generous artistic subsidies handed out by European governments. … Some of that subsidy will end up going to plays that disgust the audience." - MSN (The Atlantic)

Adapting Don Quixote For The Stage Means Taking Inspiration From Texas

"You need to pry that book from cold dead fingers and make it yours,” the artistic director of the California Shakespeare Festival told Octavio Solis as he worked on his third revision of a Quixote adaptation for the stage. - Los Angeles Times

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