I have long had an interest in arts groups using transitioning commercial and retail spaces to alleviate space crunch. On hearing that Matt Cosper and his Charlotte-based ensemble XOXO are taking part in such a venture I asked him to write a little about the process and after it was...
Let’s see if I have this straight. Women write about bias–unconscious or not–in an industry, they set up a group to support fellow women in said industry, men immediately comment on social media about how this isn’t really a problem, maybe these women are biased, because it damn well isn’t...
Peter Marks (Washington Post) hosted a conversation with DC area artistic directors about representation of women and people of color on our stages. Participants: Paul Tetreault, Molly Smith, Eric Schaeffer, @ryanrilette, and Patta Tsikurishvili. (Details: http://goo.gl/d)
…Then ish got real.
Heroes. They’re not just for comic books anymore. With the rise of more serious, “realistic” portrayals of comic book heroes has come a trend of real people making themselves into superheroes. This is not a joke, and it’s not the movie Kick-Ass, based on the comic book of the same...
Every time someone asks me to explain what I do I get flummoxed. Though I could probably avoid the word, I feel obligated to inform them that I am a dramaturg. The desire for avoidance and obligation are somewhat related. I know that mentioning the word “dramaturg” will lead to...
As a developing company creating and producing work off-center from standard theatrical fare in the Washington area, dog & pony dc (d&pdc) has found the Capital Fringe Festival a vital developmental partner. Producing shows through and in conjunction with Cap Fringe enabled our 4 ½ year old company to experiment...
The ease of publishing in this post-Millennial moment means that a lot of half and semi-baked ideas get pushed into the universe, and the lack of friction to respond combined with the relative lack of consequence of narrowcasting your opinions means that a lot of folks get to talk an...
One of my favorite things about summer in an arts organization is that you get a couple of precious weeks where, in between the planning and the subscription mailings, there’s a little fallow time where you can sometimes rise above the fray and say, HEY. What are other people doing...
I’m currently writing a play called The Secret of the Biological Clock, about a former girl detective who is turning 37 and wants to solve the mystery of what makes a family. I have spent the past two months flipping out about stage directions. Stage directions. The play itself is...
Somewhat by accident, I stumbled into a weekly twitter conversation about new play development (hashtag #newplay) despite the fact that I am not a playwright. What I am is a university professor who for six of the ten years I spent in academic administration led a large theatre/film school whose...