Monday night, here in Vancouver, we celebrated The 28th Annual Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Vancouver cultural landscape, The Jessies are our answer to Toronto’s Doras or Broadway’s Tony Awards. They honour theatre excellence over the past year. You can say what...
storefront theatre
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...
I am a ranter. No surprise I guess that a blogger likes ranting, it would seem to be a blogger’s stock in trade, and I have a reputation as something of a John the Baptist of the CAPS LOCK… but I more specifically mean in real life. I tend to...
I’m sure they’re clean. I’m sure you’re a good host. I’m sure they’re stocked with ample and appropriate paper products for your anticipated audience, and that the plumbing works. Is that it? A few weeks ago, I wrote how theater lobbies are often functional, neutral spaces—closer in design and function...
If Rocco Landesman claims that artists are entrepreneurs, I think it is important to look at other entrepreneurial models, outside the theater world, to see what they are saying about the work they do, and how their work connects to customers and community. On person I follow pretty closely is...
A Thai restaurant opens on your block. Or a taqueria, or a sports bar, or a coffeehouse with nightly live music. At some point, if the signs are in a language you understand and the place has windows and the price is right, you’re likely to check it out. Now:...
Not long ago, I finally went to Great Lake Pizza in Chicago. In 2009, GQ magazine declared that Great Lake makes the best pizza in the United States. Articles about the particulars of the pizza and of the restaurant’s proprietor soon followed. Sharply divided reviews also followed. I loved the pizza I...
We don’t normally pay attention to 2pm around here–or time at all, really, since it’s always 2am here–but this afternoon, you’d have been able to join in a chat at TheatreFace with our own 2am summit guru, Nick Keenan. Quite simply, if it weren’t for the ongoing conversations with Nick...
This week is all about the Devised Work convening hosted by the Arena Stage doing their level best to truly be a center for new American play development. They scooped up a raftload of folks not frightened off by DC’s recent uncharacteristic winter weather event and we will be discussing...