Alex Burns of Philadelphia's Quintessence Theatre Group has been criticized by a number of female and trans actors for, in effect, robbing them of all-too-rare opportunities. He asks, "When does the community get to abort someone else’s creative impulse or vision or claim it’s not appropriate?" - Broad Street Review (Philadelphia)
"Russian theatre director Zhenya Berkovich and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk have been added to an official list of 'terrorists and extremists' as they await trial on charges of 'justifying terrorism' … (for) an award-winning play about Russian women who married Islamic State fighters." - Reuters
"Women dressed as priestesses are at the heart of the ceremony, first held for the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. Leading the group is an actress who performs the role of high priestess and makes a dramatic appeal to Apollo ... for assistance moments before the torch is lit." - AP
If Broadway feels more expensive than ever before, that’s because it is. Despite crowds that haven’t rebounded to pre-COVID levels, the average ticket price for a Broadway show reached an all time high: $128 in the most recent full season. - Gothamist
“Her plays, inventive provocations whose sometimes scathing visions of race and gender can unsettle audiences, have something to tell us about the troublesome relationship between individual identity and national community” - and they’re having a bit of a renaissance. - The New York Times
“You know, at Ford’s we have an obligation. We have an obligation to the facts. We have an obligation to truth, we have an obligation to, you know, be respectful and be reverential. This is a memorial site. It’s a national historical site.” - The New York Times
Some have attributed the trend to the tourists who fill many of the seats at Broadway shows; they may be less familiar with theater and therefore especially enthusiastic. But standing ovations are the default even at shows and plays that attract few tourists. - The New York Times
Critical Insight is "a new generative arts journalism fellowship that will bring the best in the field to early-career and aspiring critics through mentorship, professional insight, arts experiences, and an immersive regional theatre retreat." - American Theatre
"Staged at a massive round table for 25 audience members, covered with 330 pounds of dried Irish peat," Luke Casserly's Distillation "is not easy to pigeonhole. It’s part TED Talk, part community-building and part campfire story, during which Casserly speaks at times in the voice of the bog." - The Washington Post (MSN)
"A small sector of New York’s theatrical economy and one that has for years been somewhere between difficult and dormant, is back in business." One key factor: location downtown. "There are several generations of potential audience members who will not go above 14th Street." - The New York Times
Even well-established comedians and other artists say that the costs, particularly for housing ("pure greed"), have soared to prohibitive levels, especially for those just starting out. Fringe officials say they're doing what they can to help. - BBC
The STAGE Act of 2024, sponsored by three Senators and one Congresswoman (all Democrats), "would direct $1 billion annually to the struggling industry for five years. That money could be used for payroll and workforce development, as well as other expenses like rent, set-building and marketing." - The New York Times
“That era of celebrating acting ensembles—it’s rare, and it’s rare to find opportunities to try to do that. But in some ways, those are my favorite plays. Those are Chekhov plays, those are some of my favorite Ibsen plays. Those are what August Wilson was doing.” - American Theatre
Berkeley's Aurora Theatre Company, which just learned that a play it commissioned and incubated (Jonathan Spector's Eureka Day) is opening on Broadway in November, says it needs to raise $500,000 as soon as possible or it can't produce any shows next season. - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
