Princeton University has thrown away the practice of traditional auditions and have introduced “Try On Theater Days,” replacing high-intensity auditions with educational workshops as a means to cast performers and stagehands for the school’s seasonal productions. - American Theatre
They've all been heroes over the past year, often stepping in at the last minute to keep the show going on after a cast member tests positive for COVID or is otherwise ill or unavailable. But the jobs are not the same. - Broadway Direct
"In return for the privilege of scraping by in a field they love, they are commonly expected to endanger themselves physically and emotionally." Long hours, exhaustion, even severe injury. Post-pandemic, some are insisting that it doesn't have to be this way. (Others insist it does.) - The New York Times
"Alan Paul, the associate artistic director of the Shakespeare Theater Company in Washington, will ... (take) over the nonprofit theater company in Western Massachusetts known for producing notable new musicals and popular revivals and helping turn the Berkshires into a cultural oasis." - The New York Times
"The Stage Directors and Choreographers Society is seeking to enforce payment of (more than $140,000 in) owed royalties, fees and pension and health contributions to the musical's director, Moisés Kaufman, choreographer Bill T. Jones, and three specialty choreographers who worked on the production." - The Hollywood Reporter
Three resident theater companies that present work at Victory Gardens have pledged not to work there until the artists’ complaints are addressed. - The New York Times
Games are kind of ragtag, and there’s not really a standard. For actors, there’s never been a guide what to expect, from auditions to showing up on set.” - Los Angeles Times
Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, the songwriting team behind the project, initially developed the musical on social media. The duo went on to score the No. 1 slot on iTunes U.S. pop charts and even won a Grammy this year in the category of best musical theater album. - Variety
Aaron Sorkin and Bartlett Sher emailed the play’s cast and crew late Thursday to inform them of the decision, and they blamed the original lead producer, Scott Rudin, who had stepped away from an active role in the show after being accused of mistreating collaborators. - The New York Times
"Their purpose seems obvious — to quench thirst, duh — but stage actors get dry mouths, and no Hamlet puts down his sword to pick up an Evian. The water bottle is the prop that clues us in that a comic — not a character — is at work." - The New York Times
The ways three major productions this summer have cast the role — a disabled white actor (England's Royal Shakespeare Co.), an able-bodied Black actress (New York's Shakespeare in the Park), and an admired white male Shakespearean (Canada's Stratford Festival) — feed right into current debates. - The New York Times
The enormous footwear, attached to an enormous leg, appeared to be slung over the roof of the theater where Sondheim's musical opened. The inflatable appendage was "the beacon that called us all to the theater," and the producers of the new Broadway revival want it back. - The New York Times
The challenge for larger companies like Stratford, which depend heavily on earned revenue, is how to afford to operate at partial attendance as they rebuild. - The Globe & Mail (Canada)
Arts Council England's Transfer Programme is pushing companies to move away from the capital into the underserved rest of England. But those whose work is mostly outside the capital already say that moving would block them from getting London funding but with no guarantee of Transfer Programme money. - The Stage
