While scrolling through the glorious world of Facebook, I stumbled upon a new comedy short film which is produced by BBC Three and Rebel Park Productions. This short film featured Catherine Tate, Gemma Arterton, Anthony Welsh, Felicity Jones, Gemma Chan, Emelia Clark , Wunmi Mosaku, Stacy Martin, Katie Leung, Lena Headly, Tom Hiddleston, Florence Pugh and directed/written by Jessica Swale.

This film features actresses auditioning for a new role, and being coxed by the audition panel to be more sexy, more smiley, more white, wear make-up and basically radiate sex appeal for a part which doesn't need that. Watch the film below this article.

The sense of adrenaline floods you in an instant, with bodies flying past you as they check just one last time that everything is in the right place. The crew tightens all of the ropes lined up against the wall without a second glance towards the actors while the racks and racks of costumes are triple checked by the changers as they try to remember the order of each scene.

For everyone who is deeply involved in the theatre community – whether you’re an actor, a playwright, a director, a technician, a designer, etc. – I’m sure there’s been at least one time when you’ve questioned whether you were good enough, when you worried that you might not have a bright future in the arts, or when you wondered if maybe you should just give it all up. It’s something that even the best of us have always experienced, and if you haven’t already, there’s a chance you will, at one point or another.

Personally, I’ve had these feelings on many past occasions,  during my high school and college years. Frequently, I doubted to myself whether I had what it takes to make it to where I want to be in 5 or 10 years, and whether or not I should even bother to keep going. I still know some people today, who seem to be going through this phase of uncertainty right now, and I’m sure others who are reading this might be, as well.

Never one to shy away from causing a stir, New York Times Chief Theatre Critic, Ben Brantly, has crossed a line with many due to his review of Head Over Heels which opened at the Hudson Theatre last night. 

Last year, Chicago Sun-Times theatre critic, Hedy Weiss, was rightfully criticized for her review of Mamma Mia where when mentioning the costume design, she said the following: 

"Theresa Ham’s character-defining costumes make the most of the many “real women” figures on stage, just as the gold and silver spandex outfits outline the perfect bodies of the terrific chorus dancers"

Obviously, the fact that Weiss made a point to emphasize "real women" figures as opposed to the "perfect bodies" of the dancer, was met with harsh backlash and accusations of body shaming. 

For those who don't know, understudies and standbys are the individuals who know the roles of other actors in the event that that actor cannot make the performance. While there are some notable differences between the two titles, their mission is to seamlessly step in to the character’s shoes so that the show may go on at the caliber it would have should the originally cast individual be the one on stage. They must quickly establish chemistry with their scene partners, and this task alone is no easy feat.

These individuals are rock stars and deserve more credit than the disgust they are often met with upon their tiny flyer at the front of the playbill. Whether it's Ohio State University alumnus Sifiso Mazibuko (a standby at Hamilton: An American Musical in London), or a high school understudy for Rizzo in Grease, these people have to know their scripts, learn countless vocal parts, and master quick changes, so it’s a privilege to have their energy on stage for your performance.

Okay, let me start this by saying that you, whoever may be reading this, may very well be offended by the words I'm about to say. I do, however, think it is fair to say that anyone who preaches open-mindedness in art will agree with me. Warnings and cautions aside, let me get right into this. 

True open-mindedness means hearing or seeing something you may completely disagree with but rather than immediately rejecting or objecting the ideas, you are perceptive to them. You may consider them, engage in fair conversation about them, maybe even compare them to your current set of beliefs. It's a great concept when utilized accurately, especially in the setting of a piece of art.

Over the past couple of weeks, more and more information has been coming out about the alleged treatment of Chicago cast member Jeffrey Loeffelholz which, according to people close to him, caused him to commit suicide last month. 

As more details are released and other former cast members are coming forward with their own experiences of bullying at the hands of Chicago leadership, the anger towards the producers and creative team is only getting more heated. 

Now, with the addition of a reported legal battle between lawyers, some are saying enough is enough and are encouraging a boycott of the show. 

Behold. This is West Side Story in Germany last February. I swear. 

The show was produced by the theatre, Staatstheater Kassel. Not only did they cast Caucasian actors in many of the Puerto Rican roles, but according to press materials they also flew in a dialect coach to teach them Puerto Rican accents. 

Last month, I saw the movie release of the musical Bandstand. Thank God for cinema releases (seriously industry people keep them coming!) because this show resonated with me in a way few have and in ways I wasn’t expecting.

At first glance this looks like another post-World War II story; boys returning home from war, picking up where they left off, finding love, etc. That’s not this show at all. It’s a real, gritty, perfectly imperfect look at what happens when men and women have seen and dealt with horrific circumstances, and how each individual deals with those demons. This is the first time I’ve seen a show that so accurately portrays the horrors of war and what it must truly have been like for the majority of soldiers returning. This is the first time a show with such a seemingly unrelated topic resonated so much with my life.

No matter where we are in our career or our artistry, there is always something we can learn about theatre.  This article will explore a relatively new concept in the education world, the MOOC.

First, what the actual heck is a MOOC? A MOOC is a Massive Open Online Course. The title is pretty self-descriptive, but I will attempt to elaborate and make a little more sense of it.  A MOOC is an online course with unlimited participation and open access offered over the internet. 

This past Sunday I had the amazing pleasure of seeing Skintight. It's the new Off-Broadway play written by Joshua Harmon (Bad Jews, Significant Other). It follows Jodi Issac a middle-aged woman whose marriage falls apart after her now ex-husband leaves her for a younger woman. Left to pick up the pieces she visits her father for a weekend only to find her father is in a relationship with a much younger man who may or may not have secrets of his own.