This past weekend at the Chicago Theatre anti-Conference (#ctac, if you feel like swimming up the Twitter stream), erstwhile arts-administrators-turned-funders Christy Uchida, Boeing Chicago’s Community Investor, and Paul Botts, from the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelly Foundation, gave conference attendees the gift of some hard-won insights through a discussion entitled, “If...
Before we get to the post, a joke. The joke. Man goes on vacation, leaves his cat with his parents. A week later, he comes home, goes to pick up the cat. And his dad says, “Sorry, son, the cat’s dead.” “Jesus, Dad, you couldn’t have broken it to me...
Speak softly and carry a big stick. — Theodore Roosevelt Before we begin, if you haven’t already, read a cautionary tale about comments by the artistic director of Edmonton’s Teatro La Quindicina and then his explanation of those comments. I can wait. Are you back? Okay. There’s a difference between...
While we’re putting together some audio treats from my adventure at the Hollywood Fringe, here are some visual tidbits–photos from the first couple of days of the first annual festival.
After the first sustained pause in the conversation between (sober) theatremakers the party question of choice is “what is your dream project?” It’s a fun topic and generally it means you don’t have to talk for a minute which limits your probability of saying something stupid. It works best for...
After the gusher of cynicism and bitterness surrounding this years Tony Award telecast I suggested on Twitter that instead of whining about movie stars and dime store trinkets representing our business that A.) They were in a different business and B.) Whining that They are getting it wrong doesn’t help,...
The space and conventions around a live performance determine whether it is fundamentally inclusive or exclusive. When an arts organization or producer decides to charge $100 for a ticket, and another decides to put on a show for free, either performance can be “legitimate” and draw a large crowd, if...
O the ill-lit, often lonely corners of the Internet where theater-company blogs reside! O the carefully eked-out production notes and interviews and dramaturgy, still photos and videos and audio conversations—sometimes engaging, sometimes profound, sometimes beautiful—that end for eternity with Comments (0)! Unless a relative, friend, or fellow company member sees it, in...
