Of the 323 creative leadership positions in the 2017-2018 season, only 17% were held by women. This statistic is staggering considering that Broadway is the epicenter of American theatre and that women comprise 66% of Broadway audiences overall. It’s time to change the stage and prioritize a level playing field.
Read MoreThe expectation to dedicate 20+, 30+, even 40 hours a week and be offered a daily or weekly stipend to ‘offset the cost of housing and living expenses; is simply absurd. Institutions “providing opportunities” like such are only doing harm to those that can’t afford to work for you.
Read MoreWe don’t question the eight-show-a-week model, or the demands of score, or the press events the actors are expected to attend. We blame the actor. The show must go on. If it doesn’t, that actor is either lazy or they have bad technique. It’s a lose-lose situation.
Read MoreIn Their Footsteps is a celebration of real women in a messy and complicated war. The women in this play all served willingly, did the work, and then “went back into the shadows” when the war was over, with little or no recognition.
Read MoreEvery arts organization needs to craft policies and procedures that state a zero-tolerance policy for abusive, bullying, and similar conduct by any employee or volunteer. That goes for the board, too. Board members, in particular, must train themselves to understand the law. They need to know what local, state and federal laws have to say about harassment and abuse. They need to make this training a regular and ongoing part of board orientation and development.
Read MoreTrust me when I say I lost count of how many actors have told me in confidence that they had once danced or done live videos on the Internet or had sex for money. Trust me when I tell you how relieved they were to come out about it to someone who understood not only the risks of revealing their past but also the circumstances around their choice to do that work…
Read More…this is teacher as puppeteer: pulling the strings of the student’s psyche, pushing them to the limit of feeling, then reeling the student back in with tired acting class tropes familiar to any actor who has endured an irresponsibly manipulative teacher…
Read MoreMy community has been traumatized, and yet has dealt with the wounds of history, and the present. A Small Oak Tree Runs Red was birthed from my trauma. Even though the play focuses on an actual event that took place 100 years ago, I found it devastatingly beautiful and tragic to discover how I could so easily place my own fears, emotions and anger into the mouths of those victims.
Read MoreI had always written off my own solo show ideas as thinly veiled attempts at stringing characters together into a what would be a good showcase, not a good show.
Read MoreBlog dedicated to show reviews of Broadway and nationwide Community Theater. Blog also discusses theatre water cooler topics and stories from personal theatre experience.
