Theatre

The theater students of the UNC School of the Arts Class of 2020 hadn’t expected to be starting their careers right at the moment their chosen industry completely shut down. Here’s a look at how they managed and where they are now. – The New York Times

“An effort was made. Was it good enough? Was it the right effort? Was it an effort that was still within the blind spots that we have? Possibly.” – Dallas Morning News

Stage director Nicolas Kent and former Guardian security editor Richard Norton-Taylor have edited hundreds of hours of testimony, from early warnings to “bragging about fixing fire safety tests,” into a verbatim theatre piece. – The Guardian

“Black stage managers and their white allies … are establishing new organizations for racial equity, creating more opportunities for up-and-coming stage managers of color, and even examining aspects of their job that may do more harm than good.” – The New York Times

Any Equity production where everyone backstage has had their shots may now let those folks do their work more or less as normal, though some safety rules are still in effect. But no meeting audience members at the stage door! – Playbill

“When adversaries in politics go low, one has no choice but to go equally low, if not lower, in order to have the same visceral impact [on] the same number of people. And what was revealed to me under the previous administration was that the fate of our whole democracy might hang on your wit and your ability to use obscenity and travesty and mockery effectively.” – Los Angeles Review of Books

The fascinating idea is that the free tuition even can expand exponentially to help yet more artists. It’s an interesting argument, rarely applied to philanthropy in education. – Chicago Tribune

The move follows the paper’s loss of 40 journalists since Alden Global Capital bought the Tribune earlier this year. Jones says he’ll continue to review “the major shows” in town. – Robert Feder

Blanka Zizka, who with then-husband Jiri turned a small, experimental company into a major regional theater, is stepping down just 17 months after she instituted a new rotating artistic directorship structure at the Wilma. – The Philadelphia Inquirer

It’s 170 shows rather than the 3,000+ that were standard pre-pandemic, there’s still a big online component, many of the shows sill be outdoors, and the crowds will be a lot smaller, but the live, in-person Fringe is back. – BBC

The school said that, starting in August, it would eliminate tuition for all returning and future students in its masters, doctoral and certificate programs. Tuition at the school had been $32,800 per year. – The New York Times

The Broadway production and each of the show’s touring companies are incorporated separately, and each corporation can qualify for a $10 million Shuttered Venue Operators Grant. Lead producer Jeffrey Seller talked to the Times to justify applying for the money and explain what it’s being used for. – The New York Times

Before the pandemic, the award-winning hit played in two parts running a total of more than five hours. As theaters reopen, Cursed Child will remain as it was in Europe and Australia, but in North America it will be reduced to a single part, length as yet undetermined. – The New York Times

Artistic director Chris Fields: “We’ve had a very simple system at the Echo. We read a play every week amongst ourselves and talk about it. If we respond, we’ll do a public reading. … Actors would invite other actors, many of them new transplants to L.A., and so we really started to develop our network. And that really trickled down over the years.” – Yahoo! (Los Angeles Times)

It’s a bit safer than most productions; there are “no mesmerizing choreographed musical numbers, no enchanted sets, no multi-page bios of cast members in the Playbill. The show consists of a man alone onstage; his ensemble a microphone, a harmonica, a piano and six steel strings stretched across a select slab of spruce wood.” Still, Broadway. – The New York Times

There are issues: “Many educators of color find themselves entering or working at predominantly white institutions (PWIs) with little guidance on how to push for change and support their students, while managing to take care of themselves. And there are still cases in which an institution makes a new hire as a Band-Aid solution when they’re called out for problematic practices, as if one person from a marginalized community can somehow suddenly solve the institution’s problems.” – American Theatre

These plays arrive at a time of intensified attention on racial inequity in many corners of society, including the theater industry. – The New York Times

“The Scottish Government and the city council have joined forces to offer £1.3 million worth of support to leading venue operators to help offset the impact of possible restrictions and extra health measures. … The Fringe funding is aimed at helping to pay for the costs of creating temporary outdoor venues, which public health experts say are much less risky for major events.” – The Scotsman

Andy Señor, Jr., a Cuban-American actor and director who played the role of Angel on Broadway and helmed productions of the musical around the U.S. and overseas, talks about directing the show’s first-ever staging in Havana, which happened at a key point in American-Cuban relations. (audio) – Variety

“Without its creative leadership in place, we believe that Kneehigh’s chapter in history has come to an end. – The Stage

“If it were just me, I would happily risk arrest and fines to make a stand and lead the live music and theatre industry back to the full capacities we so desperately need.” – BBC

Theater is perhaps the closest term to describe the experience, but even that is poorly suited; “Liminality” evades any one category or definition, though what else could we expect from a show that’s all about the in-between spaces in perceptions and realities? – The New York Times