“You will be hard-pressed to find anyone who works in theatre who hasn’t heard the words ‘theatre is gay’ at some point during their career. Despite the fact that there are, as we all know, plenty of straight actors involved in theatre and the arts, this stereotype seems to persist relentlessly. Particularly for young people, the image of theatre and performance is often one of campiness and lacking masculinity. But why? Where does this come from? Why is theatre seen to be so queer?”

“Despite some silver linings brought about by the newly adapted theatre industry, we’re still lacking the synchronicity of our collective human heartbeat that occurs at the theater and feeling its absence.”

Wait, is she talking about THAT Grease? The sequel we never speak of? The one we hate but secretly love when it’s on the movie channel? Why yes, yes I am, because if you’ve never wanted to recreate that scene in the bowling alley, you haven’t lived! Here are some fool-proof ways you can score tonight and live out your secret Grease 2 fantasies.

We do shows like Kiss Me Kate, Bye, Bye Birdie, and Carousel not to show how we should be, but how we shouldn’t. I didn’t realize it at the time, but performing Kiss Me Kate in high school was extremely educational. Not just because we were doing a piece of theatrical history, but because it was teaching us young artists how we shouldn’t act in society.

“I’m here to talk about modes of creativity that are outside the “norm” of artistry and aren’t things we would normally consider creative. Nothing about the times we’re in are normal, so it stands to reason that creativity can hide in the activities we do in these abnormal times.”

“We have to learn to be okay with other people not loving the thing we love as much as we love it. Accepting each other as individuals is one of the core principles in the theatre. This should extend to every aspect of life in the theatre.”

“I have adored work created by problematic artists, and I have also had abusers create work that was consumed by others while completely ignoring who they were as a person.”

“Jacks (or jills)-of-all-trades may be viewed as “masters of none”, but I would argue that their versatility is exactly what makes them so valuable. They are just as much a part of the theatre scene as anyone else, and we not only need to recognize their existence but also to welcome their unique approach.”

“What is too sacred to be touched? At what point do we draw a line, if at all, when it comes to classic works of theatre? And, most of all, what are we hoping to gain by changing or not changing them?”

“The film cast Red Riding Hood and Jack way too young, and it impacts the effects of their storylines and the overall message of the story.”

So what is it about a murder mystery that keeps audiences going back for more in its many art forms? From page to screen, from stage to dinner parties and beyond. As creative and broad minded audience members we will all embrace something different about the thrill of the murder mystery but I believe there is one thing that combines all of these-the formula. That is, the foundations-the magic ingredients if you will. Not secret ingredients but a recipe followed by all good crime writers that makes for a sure-fire hit.

“Tom Hanks playing a character with a low test score and innocent mannerisms is not the same as a nondisabled actor playing a character that is distinguished by a disability in a storyline all about that disability.”