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THEATRE

Steven Dietz: New Theatre Is More Important Now Than Ever

"We quit on the theatre much more readily than the theatre quits on us. I am aware now—as a working artist in my 60s—that the theatre has outlasted all my teachers and mentors and heroes; that the theatre will outlast me, and all my students; everyone I’ve ever known, and everyone I am yet to meet." - American Theatre

Why Theatre Isn’t Just For The Privileged

 We have to collect the stories and inspire people, rather than fighting hipsters and fighting people who are gentrifiers—people don’t really understand how gentrification works. It’s not about white people coming in; Latinos can gentrify too. - American Theatre

Theatre That Redefines “Disabilities”

“Disability theatre is not all cute little community projects. I know that sounds like I’m dissing community projects, but that’s not what I mean … We exist, too. We can be professionals. We can be just as much angels or devils as everyone else. We can have the same kinks or non-kinks as everyone else.” - The Guardian

Adrienne Kennedy Is A Revered Playwright.  She’s 91.  Why Is She Only Now Being Produced On Broadway?

Her theory: "It's because I'm a Black woman." But there's more than that: her plays are more avant-garde than those of Lynn Nottage or Katori Hall, let alone Lorraine Hansberry or Anna Deavere Smith.  Better to ask how the mainstream finally found Kennedy. - T — The New York Times Style Magazine

How Virtual Musical Theatre Is Changing Participation

Our research has revealed that virtual music theatre — music theatre online — allows for a more accessible and a less exclusive way to engage with this art form with many benefits for participants. - The Conversation

More Legal Drama Over Mockingbird’s New Version

First, the new version sued the old; now it's reversed. "At stake is not only who will profit, long-term, from stage versions of the classic story, but also which dramatic interpretation will reach many audiences across the country." - The New York Times

Found: A Recording Of 18-Year-Old Stephen Sondheim’s College Musical

It's called Phinney's Rainbow, and Sondheim was a sophomore in college when he wrote and mounted it in 1948. "It's the stuff of legend in theater circles because nobody's heard much of it." - NPR

The Rise Of Celebrity Broadway Producers

The presence of famous folks in the credits for Broadway productions isn’t exactly new, but it does seem to be proliferating. - The Stage

Looks Like Actors’ Equity And The Broadway League Have Settled On A New Contract

"The details of the agreement have not yet been released and remain subject to ratification by Equity members who have recently worked on these contracts. ... Touring productions, which had been included in this contract in the past ... are being spun off into a new contract." - The Hollywood Reporter

The Right-Wing Twitter Mob Comes For The Washington Post’s Theater Critic

Last week, a review by the Post's Peter Marks of Bruce Norris's Downstate carried an eye-catching headline: "Downstate is a play about pedophiles. It's also brilliant."  Alas, that soon caught the eyes of the likes of Sen. Ted Cruz: "So now the corporate media is praising pedophilia." - Playbill

How Do You Put A 1957 Radio Documentary About Gay Men On The Stage?

The Homosexual Condition, the BBC's first-ever documentary about the lives of gay males, was believed lost until the script and other documents were located in 2015.  Here several people involved in creating the new stage adaptation, titled The First Homosexual, talk about the challenges of the project. - BBC

Why Is Theatre Dealing With (Or Not) Climate Change The Way It Is?

“Perhaps the way we respond to the crisis is part of the crisis,” observed Bayo Akomolafe. Producers can’t decide how climate change should be presented to theatergoers: they fear that scripts that come on too strong will scare off well-heeled audiences. - ArtsFuse

Funding Cuts To Two Small London Theatres Could Have Big Effects

Not only do the Donmar Warehouse and Hampstead Theatre regularly send productions out into the commercial theatre world (including the West End and Broadway), they bring major productions from abroad into London. Yet Arts Council England just zeroed out their government funding. - The New York Times

The Real Secret Of The L.A. Comedy Scene’s Success? Gigs In People’s Backyards

"No matter how cobbled together the entire operation might be, some of the very best comedy shows in L.A., for more than two decades, have happened in a comedian's (or a group of comedians') backyard, living room, garage, grotto, warehouse, etc." - Yahoo! (Los Angeles Times)

New Technology That Replaces Most Musicians In The Theatre Pit

The innovative aspect of KeyComp, he said, is that a single musician can play one or two of the most important musical lines, and the technology adds subsidiary lines in a way that matches the player’s tempo, articulation and dynamics. 

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