“Our motto is ‘big, cheap theater.’ ” “I’d rather make a glorious failure than an apologetic win.” “We’re the cockroach of the arts — we may be ugly, but we’re really hard to kill.” - Seattle Times
The pandemic forced Cirque to shutter 44 shows all over the world. Now, performers are getting ready - as ready as they can, within their apartments - to return to Las Vegas this summer and London in January. But: "At a time when the pandemic is still raging and uncertainty remains about people’s willingness to return to large theater...
But nothing can replace the live experience. "Call it immediacy or authenticity, unpredictability or uniqueness, but it’s part of the reason people pay more to attend a single concert than they will to purchase the entire recorded works of the same musician." Live streaming theatre, though, is tricky. - Irish Times
A survey released by the Actors Fund says that "40% of the arts and entertainment respondents reported being more food insecure during the pandemic, 28% were behind in rent or mortgage payments and 20% had been forced to change housing" - and nearly 80 percent could use some mental health help as well. - Broadway News
Kwame Kwei-Armah told the Guardian the pandemic had changed theatre forever, with the livestreaming of plays becoming “hard baked” into how the industry operates. - The Guardian
" Kwame Kwei-Armah told The Guardian the pandemic had changed theatre forever, with the livestreaming of plays becoming 'hard baked' into how the industry operates. said that during lockdown he had resolved to 'innovate, not just replicate' resulting in a project titled Best Seat in Your House which will use multiple cameras and allow online audiences to change...
"With as many as eight shows a week to fill, and the tourists who make up an important part of their customer base yet to return, producers need time to advertise and market. They need to reassemble and rehearse casts who have been out of work for more than a year. And they need to sort out and negotiate...
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has announced that Broadway will reopen on Sept. 14, with some tickets going on sale beginning tomorrow. Theaters will be open at 100% capacity, the governor says. - Deadline
The producers of Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap in London's West End have "employed two casts who will rehearse and work completely separately, and appear in alternating runs of three performances. If an actor were to test positive, the other cast – contracted to be available and in reach of the theatre in their time off – will immediately take...
In these uncertain, transitional days, theater companies remain perplexed about how and when to open their doors, and so many potential ticket-buyers fret over how safe it is to be in public. So at this point, my analytical eye is focused more on the rituals of theatergoing than on theater itself. - Washington Post
"For nearly seven decades, Juilliard has been a byword of rigor in the performing arts, with world-class music and dance divisions. The drama division has been no slouch either, educating a who’s who of name actors from Robin Williams to Oscar Isaac, Wendell Pierce to Viola Davis. But on top of the usual stresses of education in the theatre,...
"The decision, one of many such wholesale changes as the Chicago theater slowly emerges from the COVID-19 crisis of closures, is not unexpected by close observers: Shapiro long ago signaled her intention to leave at the end of her current contract and the ensemble and board of directors has been engaged in succession planning." - Yahoo! (Chicago Tribune)
"In my official capacity as theater critic, I’m prepared to make a cultural diagnosis. As the pandemic shows signs of coming under control in the U.S., an epidemic of stage fright is exploding." - Los Angeles Times
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday that one capacity restriction that will remain in place, with limits still being mandated on the number of people who can attend events at large outdoor stadiums. Those will remain at 33% capacity. Even though the rules have been loosened, Broadway isn’t expected to welcome guests back for several weeks, even months. - Variety
But for an Asian American director during the pandemic, kicking off Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month via an online platform, it's a whole new (basket)ball game. - Oregon Artswatch
