The Midterm Elections are upon us, and theater artists are urging us to vote (see Hamilton remix in video below.) But they have been fighting for democracy in many ways, not least on stage. Paula Cizmar writes about Women+ On the Edge of Democracy, 36 short plays being performed in theaters throughout the nation that together form a “collective portrait of a nation in doubt and transformation.” In “While Powerful Institutions Play It Safe, Off-Broadway Gets Political,” published in The Hat, Tim Teeman provides an awe-inspiring list of such shows, and talks to Lynn Nottage, Heidi Schreck, Oskar Eustis and others about “democracy, authoritarianism, resistance—and what a play can actually accomplish.” Offstage, the National Queer Theater updates its lawsuit against the Trump administration, while others talk about their public protests or urge readers to think about the performing arts in a different way.
Also below are links to some of the stalwart theater bloggers
The Vote dance above at Grand Central Terminal is by Pilobolus
Don Shewey writes about his week in resistance: “The most satisfying way to manage living with the daily outrages perpetrated by a government run by corrupt, incompetent fascists is collective action. Rise and Resist conducts both ad hoc political demonstrations and regular weekly protests that have become part of my ongoing spiritual practice.”
In Inside Higher Ed, Charlotte M. Canning and Michael Sy Uy write that The Performing Arts Are the New Civics: The performing arts can complement civics education by cultivating the practices of participatory deliberation, empathy and public engagement.
In OnStage Blog, Chris Peterson writes about how “Trump’s New College Loan Rule Puts Theatre Degrees at Risk
Every Labor Day, Jan Simpson’in her Broadway & Me blog, has celebrated the labor of a different category of theater worker. These have included ushers, union leaders, stage managers, set designers, producers, drama teachers, composers, casting directors, actors and back office workers from the folks who clean the theaters and order the supplies to the ones who work in the box office or manage the marketing campaigns. This year, she saluted (and listed) a half dozen theater podcasters. In another post, she offers A Sampling of My Fall Preview Wish List (eight shows in all)
In Broadway Journal, Philip Boroff details “Hell’s Kitchen’s Broadway Buyout,” n unusual deal, in which “an intellectual-property investment company has acquired the rights to revenue from the Broadway production of the Alicia Keys musical Hell’s Kitchen, which closed in February at a loss.”
Call Me Adam interviews Nick Blaemire, a songwriter and actor who is currently in the cast of “A Few Good Men” on Broadway., though Adam focuses on the revival of Nick’s musical “Soon.” What is the hardest thing you’ve had to do in your career or life thus far? Wait. I am not a patient person, and I’ve had years without work. But every time I’ve thought about quitting or doing something else an amazing opportunity has arisen to pull me back in…
To celebrate his 19 years of writing what he calls his newsletter, producer Ken Davenport lists and links to his 19 most-popular posts (out of the more than 6,000 he’s put together)
#1: 100 QUOTES EVERY THEATER PRODUCER, PLAYWRIGHT, DIRECTOR, ACTOR, ETC. MUST READ. #4: TOP 100 THEATER BOOKS EVERY THEATERMAKER SHOULD READ; #14: 10 QUESTIONS FOR A BROADWAY PRO: A FEW NOTES FROM LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA (This was 2011. Before Hamilton. I knew he was something special.)
