Theatre

The conventional wisdom on curtain times has long been broken, and it’s proving beneficial to producers and audience. More show-by-show tinkering can only continue to evolve theatregoing practice, which is essential in an era when most entertainment can be scheduled on demand. – The Stage

Some see other current trends—the conversion of old structures, the blurring of boundaries between disciplines, the increasing move of visual artists into performance, the popular interest in all things digital – will be reflected in future theatre design. “We are still in the supposed old ways of thinking. But yeah—change is on its way.” – American Theatre

“With overdoses at troubling heights and recovery no longer a sotto-voce secret, a new wave of plays dealing with the realities of rehab and the challenges of sobriety have started to emerge, often created by playwrights who have dealt with such problems themselves. And part of their mission, the writers say, is to destigmatize these struggles.” – The New York Times

“In this paper we first explore the U.S. economic and financial outlook to better understand the environment and its risks. Then we follow trends for theatres’ finances and operations, starting with the years prior to the last recession, to identify key trends in the not-for-profit resident theatre industry. We conclude with recommendations of steps to take for recession preparedness given the identified vulnerabilities.” – SMU Data Arts

“After nearly a quarter century as the artistic director of one of Off Broadway’s most acclaimed nonprofits, [Tim] Sanford is announcing his departure. The theater’s next season — its 50th — will be his last as artistic director, and at that point he will have led the organization for half of its history. He will be succeeded by his longtime deputy, the theater’s associate artistic director, Adam Greenfield.” – The New York Times

“I want to say to readers: You have no idea that you want to go to this weird corner and eat these spicy noodles, but trust me, you’ll love it. If I could do one millionth of that for theatre, I’d be happy.” (On the other hand: “I love theatre, but I am not a fan. I don’t feel like a fan. And I do get very, very angry at things.”) – American Theatre

Charles McNulty: “What is the distinctive stamp of L.A. theater? In posing this question to myself, I find my answer to be dismayingly similar to what I would have said when I moved to Los Angeles from New York 14 years ago to be The Times’ theater critic. The theater has remained decentralized, widely variable in quality and ambition, and sorely in need of institutional leadership able to meet the self-regard of a city that, long out of New York’s shadow, has come to recognize itself as a global metropolis.” – Los Angeles Times

“Sustainable. It was one of the hot buzzwords in the funding community a few years ago, until some began questioning why it was desirable to enable artistically limp arts organizations be better able to limp along. Sometimes perhaps it’s better to declare victory and acknowledge you’ve said all you needed to say.” – Post Alley

“Shaw was most recently theater critic at Time Out New York and 4Columns.org, and was awarded the 2018 George Jean Nathan Award for theater criticism. (The previous year’s winner was Sara Holdren, her predecessor in the job, who is leaving the magazine to return to full-time directing.)” – New York Magazine

Everything I See I Swallow, which scored a success at this summer’s Edinburgh Fringe and is now touring regional England, involves “the art of shibari, the centuries-old practice of Japanese rope bondage … It’s the spark for a piece of theatre that speaks to something universal and pressing, about the rights of women over their own bodies, the ramifications of digital life, and that knotty old question: can it ever be empowering for a woman to take her clothes off in public?” – The Guardian

The organization works with theatre companies and professionals at all levels, including amateur, professional, and educational, with advocacy, education, and training, and has run many programs to that end, including the Talent Bank, and Summer Theatre Intensive. – Ludwig Van

“I’m stepping away from full-time criticism to pursue more directing, but there’s no disentangling the two pursuits for me now. … Critic and director must both articulate a vision and relate it to the wider world. Both are authors, whether of an argument or an event. Both must contextualize; both must reveal themselves in the work; both must dream the future of the form they love. I’m off now to a different kind of dreaming.” (ninth paragraph) – Vulture

“The RSC’s move will make it much harder for other arts institutions such as the Royal Opera House, the British Museum and the National Portrait Gallery to keep taking money from oil companies on the grounds that it helps widen access. It may signal the start of the arts world distancing itself from oil companies.” – The Stage

The National Theatre joins the Royal Shakespeare Company, which had been deliberating for quite some time before ending its longtime “relationship” with BP (formerly British Petroleum). Pressure from youth, climate activists, and even its own artists means that “the National Theatre has announced it will end Shell’s membership from next year, as the arts organisation accelerates plans to make itself carbon neutral in the face of the climate emergency.” – The Guardian (UK)

Jane Campbell, who died in March at 87, served as the managing director of Honolulu Theatre for Youth for more than four decades. “At a time when theatre for children was seeking a place at the American professional theatre table, Jane quietly yet determinedly guided her company from a tiny community ensemble to a fully professional company with national and international recognition.” – American Theatre

Barely more than a week ago, the board of the Seattle company said there wasn’t money to continue operating even for another month and was prepared to close. (This just nine months after Intiman finally retired $2.7 million in debt.) Artistic director Jen Zeyl and her colleagues insisted that they could raise $200,000 by the end of the year, and the board has agreed to let them try. In fact, they’re already more than halfway to the goal. – The Seattle Times

Spoken-word artist and author Abd el Malik is staging Camus’s The Just Assassins, now considered a classic play in France, at the Théâtre du Châtelet with R&B and hip-hop accompaniment and an almost entirely non-white cast that includes amateur actors from the housing projects in the Paris suburbs. Says one cast member, “Here, onstage, are people like us. Blacks, Arabs, who come from the suburbs, who didn’t think they would do drama one day, even less so at the Châtelet.” – The New York Times

“The RSC announced that after months of deliberations and a vociferous campaign from artists, the public and environmentalists, it had decided to curtail its eight-year relationship. The move will increase pressure on other cultural institutions such as the Royal Opera House, British Museum and National Portrait Gallery, which have all come under pressure over their tie-ins with fossil fuel companies.” – The Guardian

“In [Soft Power], a stand-in for Hwang named DHH is hired by a Chinese producer to try to stage a theatrical production in Shanghai. Then, after a stabbing that mirrors Hwang’s own, he falls into a coma and imagines a full-blown future production of a Chinese musical about an intrepid Chinese producer who meets Hillary Clinton and teaches lessons from the communist perspective about screwed-up American democracy. There’s also, of course, a ‘Getting to Know You’-style lesson scene, but about learning to distinguish tones in Mandarin.” – Vulture

Mind you, this isn’t a question of mime or dance. Chris Jones considers the implications of The King’s Speech, in which Britain’s King George VI learns to use his voice properly, and Lucas Hnath’s recent play Dana H, in which the star (brilliantly) lip-synchs to a recording of the playwright’s own mother recounting a horrific experience and its aftermath. – Chicago Tribune