Playing the last Plantagenet king will be Arthur Hughes, 30 years old and born with radial dysplasia. (He identifies as "limb-different".) The production opens at Stratford-upon-Avon in June. - The Guardian
The quick upshot: While the formerly $15 billion industry was still recovering, many shows made up much, if not all, lost momentum. But the gains were uneven; established brands saw strong sales while newer work, especially plays, struggled. - Forbes
Would you believe that interactive Zoom mystery theatre is a thing? Actor Bright Ong says, "The tectonic plates under have shifted, and the industry is changing." - BBC
As Music Man showed, you shut down for days; keep paying everyone; and hire great swings. "We had swings covering seven roles and trying to hold up that show. And they did." One swing "is 10 years old, and she was covering three tracks." - The New York Times
Those changes include better pay equity and HR, safety training, hour caps, and, crucially, ending the ambitious seven-production summer season. The Festival's statement says its programming henceforth "will match its capacity to support the staff and trainees who make the Festival possible." - Yahoo! (Los Angeles Times)
This Los Angeles cultural institution is at a crossroads as it goes through its first leadership change in 17 years, and confronts questions about its mission, programming and appeal in a changing city, all amid a debilitating pandemic. - The New York Times
In an excerpt from his new history of Method acting, Isaac Butler looks at the American Laboratory Theatre, where, in the 1920s, two of Stanislavski's students at the Moscow Art Theatre, Richard Boleslavsky and Maira Ouspenskaya, began teaching what they called Stanislavski's "system." - American Theatre
So argues one business-oriented demographer. Why drama? Because you learn how to work closely in groups and to fill a variety of roles, onstage and off. - ArtsHub (Australia)
Since the revival began rehearsals in October, five dozen cast and crew members have tested positive for the virus; at one point producers had to cancel 11 performances. Here, six company members (including stars Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster) tell us how they've gotten through it. - The New York Times
In all, the total attendance of 139,584 indicates that about 74% of available seats were filled. Average ticket price was stayed at a modest $108, same as the previous week. - Deadline
From Epiros in the north down to Sparta and beyond, the outdoor venues where classical drama was born are being rediscovered: 25 are hosting events, with another 20 under renovation. A second, smaller arena has even been uncovered in Epidavros, which hosts the famous drama festival. - The Guardian
The idea that an actor must authentically experience and feel the lived reality of the character he is playing—and therefore be infinitely present and malleable—now underpins almost everything that Americans deem to be “good” acting. - The Atlantic
"During the months when the pandemic kept Broadway shuttered, a hypothesis took hold: Once theaters reopened, the audience would include more New Yorkers and fewer tourists, and the result could be a more receptive marketplace for ambitious new plays. It did not turn out that way." - The New York Times
Strasberg began to think about what made some performances succeed and some fail, and concluded that it must have to do with whether or not the actor was feeling inspired. This presented its own dilemma. - The New Yorker
How much Shakespeare do audiences really want these days? What adjustments are required in the performance of his canon to accommodate those who do not buy the line that Shakespeare is the “greatest” playwright of all time? - Washington Post
