“ZOOM. Agents, casting directors, theatre companies, and producers are using it more and more to create work during and maybe even after this pandemic. Of course, not having to travel for miles on the tube, metro, or subway to auditions is something we can all rejoice in. However, you’re tired of Zoom and I don’t mean that metaphorically, I mean physically and mentally. You know that foggy brain exhaustion you get after just an hour on Zoom; it’s a THING and here’s why.”

“On June 10th, the staff at the Old Creamery Theatre Company posted a statement of support for the Black Lives Matter movement and an action plan to do better on their social media platforms. Within days, the theatre’s Board of Trustees demanded they take down the post. Weeks later, the board fired ten of the eleven staff members. While the board is citing budget cuts as the reason for the terminations, the former staff aren’t so sure about that.”

“You do not have to write a play during the shutdown. You do not have to choreograph something transformative during the shutdown. You do not need to memorize every Shakespeare play during the shutdown. Existing is enough.”

“If there is one play in this world that you MUST read it is ‘Lungs’ by Duncan MacMillan. To say this play is a masterpiece would quite frankly be an understatement. In my opinion, it is a bible for how we as humans navigate the complexity of our lives.”

“As long as there is a need and a willingness, theatre will always be around. Again, it may experience periods when it is momentarily stifled, like if someone cuts your funding or banishes you from Rome, but it always manages to come back in new, innovative ways.”

“Over the next few weeks, we are going on an arduous journey unpacking the legacy of Disney’s Song of the South, and subsequent abysmal handling of one of its most controversial properties.”

“Through theatre, I was given a map to navigate the overwhelming experience of childhood loss. I often wonder, almost ten years later, what route my grief would have taken if not for the positivity taught to me through theatre?”

“With the growth of the Black Lives Matter movement, more and more artists have been sharing their experiences with racial injustice in the theater. While community theatre artists might believe their practice is not at all related to these issues, systemic racism affects theatre of all sizes.”

“News broke today that the Walt Disney Company will be redesigning one of its most popular attractions in Disneyland and DisneyWorld, Splash Mountain. But while the announcement included the rides in both Anaheim and Orlando, the one location that was missing was Tokyo. And I wouldn’t expect Tokyo to change it anytime soon.”

“After the audience files out, the usher sweeps through the rows of seats to tidy up before the next performance. There are discarded drinks, wrappers, headphones that will live in the lost and found for a while, and, if the world is fair, at least a little bit of fallen money. But none of that confuses me like the abundance of playbills I see picked up and headed for the garbage after a show.”

So your friend has auditioned for your show.

Before casting them in the role that they have written down on the audition form, go through this checklist to make sure you’re not practicing nepotism, which in the workplace, is illegal!

“When people think of theatre, it’s probably one of the most well-known symbols that comes to mind with many interpretations that go beyond just the comedy and tragedy, happy and sad meaning. The comedy and tragedy symbol dates back to Greek Mythology and has been the central representation of the creative arts for decades.”