In a thread arising from a post about whether or not arts organizations should ask artists for donations; I commented that, for an arts service organization, the artist may be the only person with whom the ASO can develop the necessary relationship. Travis Bedard responded with an observation that “ASOs...
There are times I wish I was a social scientist. Nothing answers a question as definitely, for me, as evidence-based reasoning. Unfortunately, when it comes to curtain speeches and their ability to actually convince audience members to silence their cell phones, we largely seem to be working from received wisdom...
In the past twelve months, I have been a candidate in several searches for a new artistic director, and in three cases, I have been one of the last two or three standing. These experiences – these cover letters, interviews, meetings, discussions and also the crushing disappointments of that...
Looks like everyone’s wrestling this week, whether it’s playwrights & critics, casts & audiences, critics & artistic directors, journalists & editors… We’ve also been thinking, arguing and questioning what we do and why we do it. We even get a little political, but only a little. And there’s no intermission....
At least twice a rehearsal, a potential audience member wanders in and asks what we’re doing. They ask what play this is, if they can watch us rehearse, when we’re performing, whether we need more performers, and if we ever hold open mic nights. These are people from the neighborhood...
Mashable proclaims that QR codes are poised to hit the mainstream. So what’s a theater to do? First, what are QR codes? QR = Quick Response. They are square bar codes packed with more dense information than the traditional bar code you recognize, and are most often linked to a...
Want to see us live and direct from the first annual Chicago Fringe Festival? Streaming via the #newplay channel from Arena Stage, we go live at 10:30 am CT, 11:30 am ET, Saturday, September 4th, 2010. Kris Vire, theatre editor at Time Out Chicago, is the moderator. The panel includes...
What are we looking at this week at 2amt? The Chicago Fringe Festival is on, kidz. Philanthropy may be for the old, but surprisingly, so is social media. Rocco Landesman visited the Twin Cities. Anne Bogart connects science and performance. And somebody sprang the Mousetrap… We might be a little...
At the recent Chicago Theater (anti-)Conference hosted by Theater Wit, I received a lot of questions about events. I’ve got some pretty strong feelings about them. I’ve planned about a zillion and I gotta say, I rarely love the process. But, I like going to events. I enjoy knocking back...