"Eric Ting is leaving his position as artistic director of California Shakespeare Theater, the company announced Wednesday, July 20, bringing to an end a dynamic, artistically vibrant seven-year tenure that has given the Bay Area some of its finest theater in recent memory." - San Francisco Chronicle
In a statement released this week, Ken-Matt Martin writes, "I have decided that I need to take a break from nonprofit theatre administration and would not immediately return if asked. ... (This case is an) example of the industry-wide need to seriously reevaluate our models and modes of operating." - American Theatre
"The award-winning British comedian Tom Parry ... led facilitators in Athens and Lesbos in teaching the infamously nerve-racking art of standup comedy. Speaking to migrants and non-migrants alike, he told them over Zoom that 'you don't need to be funny, you just have to be interesting'." - The Guardian
Not only is there the longstanding question of whether or not the actual English monarch was as evil as depicted, only a decade ago was it confirmed that he really did have a misshapen back. And now there's a debate over whether non-disabled actors should continue taking the role. - BBC
"In conversation with (several) artistic directors, one trend seems abundantly clear: more equitable access to better opportunities for fewer people. ... Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily." - American Theatre
Of all the great makers of the American song, none has undergone so drastic a change in educated—O.K., call it “élite”—opinion in the past twenty years as Hammerstein. - The New Yorker
It's been a quarter-century of ideas, fundraising, failed plans, failed lotteries, failed trusts - and a lot, lot, lot of donations. - The Observer (UK)
"I think back to when I was her age, and I wonder how many terrific fight choreographers we missed out on because we had these preconceived notions about what fight choreographers looked like. We’ll never know." - Oregon ArtsWatch
What is Medieval Times? Well: "Queens, knights, squires and stablehands at the Lyndhurst castle voted on Friday to unionize." Audience members get rowdy; horses can be dangerous; and the pay is far too low for skilled weapons work, they say. - The New York Times
And yes, theatre folks on social media absolutely lost it. "All of this getting out so soon made what could have been a difficult-but-privately-handled situation into a messy, public shitshow." - Slate
How useful is sanctuary theatre anymore? "The confessional genre of sanctuary theater places a labor demand—for a coherent, affectively productive story—on an already distressed migrant. This gig becomes only the latest in an endless string of temporary, contingent jobs." - Public Books
"The Victory Gardens train wreck brings to the fore important questions of where the primacy in institutional theatres lies when dissension grows too great: Is it with the professional leadership, the volunteer board, the affiliated artists, the donors, or the audience?" - The Stage (UK)
It's a deliberate process. "We are not starved for folks being able to select shows and communicate with artists and keep those programs running. ... But the thing we’re predominately lacking in the role of the artistic leader is a singular point of truth." - Yahoo (Los Angeles Times)
Lily Janiak: "Brook sympathizes with artists' complaints about critics — they're wrong; they're mean-spirited and 'disapproving' — but then he issues a warning: 'An art without critics would be constantly menaced by far greater dangers. For instance, a critic is always serving the theatre when he is hounding out incompetence.'" - San Francisco Chronicle
"The actors and stage managers of (Paradise Square) asked for Drabinsky to be put on the 'Do Not Work' list due to 'outstanding payments and benefits, and a continued pattern of abuse and neglect that created an unsafe and toxic work environment.'" - The Hollywood Reporter
