“Aurora Theatre Company announced in May that it was suspending production next season, Bay Area theater fans have feared the worst: permanent closure of yet another beloved institution. On Monday, Aug. 11, Artistic Director Josh Costello shared that the company was taking decisive steps toward disbanding.” - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
“ATG, which owns dozens of theatres across the UK and has produced recent versions of Cabaret and Pretty Woman, is likely to line up against US bidders for TodayTix, which brought paperless tickets to London and also owns the Secret Cinema events company.” - The Sunday Times (UK)
Their hearts were in vaudeville. But we were all in Kentucky. Side by side by side, we stood near the entrance of the Vent Haven Ventriloquist ConVENTion — the annual international hajj for ventriloquists — where dummies condomed nearly every right arm. - n+1
“(This is) in part because European cities are teeming with foreigners who use English as a lingua franca and want to connect through laughter. After the COVID-19 pandemic, many people who had been stuck at home watching Netflix comedy specials and YouTube clips suddenly craved a live experience.” - The New York Times
“Thayne Jasperson … IS still thrilled to be in the room where it happens, finding new ways to make sure starring in a pop culture phenomenon doesn’t become just another job. It’s a running joke that he’s moved into the building. Fans predict he’ll haunt the place one day.”- The Washington Post (MSN)
It is an uncertainty that haunts the AI-themed plays on this year’s Edinburgh fringe. It also accounts for their apocalyptic mood. Do we even have a future, they all seem to ask, or are we bequeathing it to the machines? - The Guardian
There’s not a lot (other than a slightly more welcoming exterior) that will look different to an average theatergoer. However, the facilities backstage had become dilapidated enough that some performers refused to work there; that’s been remedied, and the technical equipment has been upgraded as well. - The New York Times
“Little on Broadway looks the way it did on Aug. 6, 2015, when Hamilton opened; that’s what happens when a show runs 10 years, sells more than four million tickets and earns more than $1 billion — not counting tours, international productions and the 2020 movie.” - The New York Times
“National Theatre Productions is the commercial arm of the National Theatre, created to oversee touring productions and West End transfers of NT shows. ... The NT plans to reduce (NTP's core team of 24) by 70% to just seven by the end of the restructuring period.” - The Stage (UK)
“Covered in blood, soaked by rain, adorned with crowns and capes: … ‘There’s nothing more magical,’ Oscar Isaac said. We spoke to actors, directors and others about their memories of working en plein air. These interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity.” - The New York Times
At Northern Sky, “There’s kind of an ownership because you saw shows about people that you know, Midwesterners.” Some of them, like Lumberjacks in Love and Guys on Ice, even translate outside of the state. - The New York Times
So many of the Fringe’s problems could be solved by a massive injection of cash: to subsidise performers’ costs, to shore up struggling venues, to make sure everyone’s paid fairly. But outgoing Fringe Society director Shona McCarthy sounded a gloomy note as she left her role this spring. - The Independent
“Tax credits ran out quickly this year, both due to demand, and as productions had been conditionally approved for the credit before the (law was signed). This meant there was already a line of shows ready to receive the funding once it was approved in May, and it went quickly.” - The Hollywood Reporter
“The sprawling festival, open to any act that can find a venue and pay a registration fee, will this year showcase over 3,000 acts.” … Yet costs there, especially for lodging, are so high that “a sellout run doesn’t guarantee that a performer will break even, much less turn a profit.” - The New York Times
