David J. Loehr’s recent post about warming up an audience with a trailer has put me in mind of another way to extend the theatrical experience that I’ve been thinking about for some time. A few years ago, the Intentional Theatre Group commissioned me to write a short play for...
The Minnesota Fringe Festival wrapped up this past weekend, so it’s a bit too soon to offer a really comprehensive postmortem. Instead, I’d like to offer some notes on the event. Firstly, the Minnesota Fringe Festival is big — really big, and it’s growing. It’s been about for 16 years,...
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...
At the American Shakespeare Center, we are getting ready to expand our social media footprint. Internally, this plan has met with a rich combination of excitement and concern. What happens when we let our ASC family loose on Twitter, YouTube, and blogs? How can we make sure that we are...
A conversation broke out during the hockey game that is Twitter last week around the topic of gender equity, or the lack thereof, in the theatre. This eventually led to an offshoot on the nature of inclusion as a whole. There is a gnarled thicket of issues blossoming fruitfully underneath...
Summertime means festivals, fringe and otherwise. In today’s podcast, we’ll hear from some of the playwrights who attended the JAW Festival at Portland Center Stage, including Rob Handel, managing director of 13P, and Jason Wells. Then we visit the Toronto Fringe Festival with playwright Alison Broverman. Finally, Rebecca Coleman talks...
“I think that artists are, in fact, small businessmen. They’re entrepreneurs.” Rocco Landesman in an interview with Bryan Reesman in Stage Directions August 2010 issue. I’m serious about the title of the piece. Look, I trained as an actor and a poet. (Yes. Honestly.) When I was in school I...
There have been a number of conversations sparking up this week about the inherent value of theatre, the arts in society. A particularly vocal area has been about value of the arts in education. These conversations have been going on over at the #2amt hashtag as well as various blogs...