You Need to Read This If You Are Interested in the Future of the American Theatre


Seriously.  In 2000, Jaan Whitehead, a seminal figure in the revolution that led to the regional theatre movement – which brought art back to communities, back from a purely commercial enterprise, back to its roots as a place artists could matter in America – published an article in American Theatre magazine called “To Have and To Have Not.”  I have referenced it here many times, explicitly or implicitly, so if you haven’t read it, do.  Her words in this article were hugely important to our thinking during the founding of Epic Theatre Ensemble, an organization that I like to think is contributing heavily to the NEXT big revolution in the American theatre…

But more importantly!  Ten years later, Jaan drops this brilliant bombshell on HowlRound.com’s blogosphere – which, if you don’t know it, is the epicenter of where we are headed in this new culture of “yes,” of imagination, of laughing wild at the status quo and all those tired NYC dinosaurs who practice it and participate in it!

http://www.howlround.com/a-new-revolution-by-jaan-whitehead/

Do yourself a favor and read this (it’s long, I know – take the weekend if you have to!).  It will inspire you.  It lays out the philosophical groundwork for where we all – actors, managers, producers, directors – have to go in the near future if we are to matter.  And I know you want to matter.  Or you wouldn’t be reading my blog in the first place…


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.