“How does expect writers to continue to find the will to write when there is not only little chance of production but also little chance of engaging a theatre in any meaningful discussion about work in which has already expressed an interest? - The Guardian
"Around the country, in blue states as well as red, theater teachers say it has become increasingly difficult to find plays and musicals that will escape the kind of criticism that, they fear, could cost them their jobs or result in a cutback in funding." - The New York Times
"On April 21 of the cursed year of 2020, the Upright Citizens Brigade — New York’s premier improv-comedy venue — announced it was closing its Hell’s Kitchen theater and training center permanently." But now, UCB has announced a new theatre will open in Manhattan this fall. - Vulture
"The desire to tell beautiful stories is still there, but the funding to support fair and livable compensation is not. Operating out of rental venues and struggling to regain audiences post-pandemic, Chicago storefronts find themselves at a crossroads." - American Theatre
"Theaters must think more expansively of themselves as communal spaces, not merely entertainment venues for stage presentations to ticket buyers; what does it mean to be a civic space, a public space, a 'third place'? No, really." - Culturebot
Can anything - musicals, serious plays, popular actors, dramatic cuts to staff, or great bundles of tickets - fix this issue? Who knows? "Audiences haven’t fundamentally changed since they started gathering at dramatic festivals in ancient Greece." - Los Angeles Times
The ensemble-driven theater, founded by a close-knit group of Northwestern University classmates and friends in 1988, famously has produced original work for the last 35 years, typically with a strong visual sensibility. - Chicago Tribune
Kay Dick's 1977 novel They depicts a world in which any painter who creates beyond an official limit is blinded, any musician deafened, etc. Peake, an audience favorite in Britain, is co-founder of Maat (Music, Art, Activism and Theatre), which is translating the novel into live performance. - The Guardian
59 countries and regions were represented. It is unsurprising that at a festival that asks how design can respond to the most pressing issues of our world, the climate emergency dominated. Almost as persistent were ideas of cultural heritage and of social inequality. - The Stage
The playwright talks about producing Lorraine Hansberry's The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window, the awkward conversation with a straight guy that inspired Slave Play, the easy way to become an in-demand actor (write a hit play), and why he turned down the chance to be a rich man's boytoy. - NPR
"A few months after she took the job, the booth was shut down because of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and in the time since it has been closed by a blackout, a hurricane, a strike and a pandemic. It's been an eventful 22 years for Bailey." - The New York Times
"Some 68.6 million tickets have been sold from the booth during its 50 years, with more than $2.6 billion going back to the shows. Despite the rise of ... apps hawking discounted theater tickets, lining up at the booth is as fundamental as cooing over the Statue of Liberty." - AP
A majority of the staff of 18 was told they’d be laid off Tuesday; six people will stay on for three to six more months to wrap up operations. Also affected are the roughly 300 people who work on Book-It’s productions throughout a given year. - Seattle Times
"'The general consensus is that we’re all dying,' Demson said. 'No hyperbole.' As California finalizes its state budget, advocates are hoping for millions of dollars to help keep the live performing arts sector — which also includes music, dance, magic shows and circus acts — afloat." - Yahoo! (The Wrap)
"The plans for growing the U.K.'s theater sector are part of the government's $63 billion vision for the creative industries. 'We want the Creative Industries Vision to be something that paves the way for a shift in the balance of power from Broadway to the West End,' Frazer said." - Variety
