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...
In the background: A rainy night in New York City in late spring. In the foreground: a live stream broadcast of Thais Flaitt’s Portuguese translation of my play The Way of Water from Cia de M.A.T.I.L.D.E University in Sao Paolo, Brasil. Four professional actors are seated on folding chairs at...
A lot has been said about the Guthrie’s season announcement, and probably a lot more will be. I want to focus on one part of it. But first, I want to say that while I don’t disagree with most of the criticism the Guthrie has worked hard over the last...
I get it. Taxes are a necessary part of civic life. But what some of our civic officials don’t seem to always get is that taxes don’t always guarantee the revenue they’re hoping to make. Where is all this coming from? Well, as of Friday afternoon an urgent call went...
There is a lot of conversation within the #2amt community about new models for making art, never being dark, and working collaboratively. Progress Lab in Vancouver is a prime example of all of these things done well. Progress Lab 1422 is home to four of Vancouver’s most interesting companies –...
I’ve been thinking more and more about my responsibility as an artist. And just typing that feels a little weird—the idea that artists have responsibilities other than to their art. But our work does more than just sit there in our heads. It wanders out of our skulls and into...
So you’re at the Humana Festival of New American Plays and you’ve got a few minutes. You’ve seen the art, you’ve looked at the gifts, you’ve had a bourbon. Maybe you’re in the mood to play a game. Maybe you’re looking for something to engage audiences at your own theatre...
Full Disclosure: I worked at Actors Theatre of Louisville for over 7 years. I am currently a board member with Le Petomane Theater Ensemble. Over the years I have held internships at Arena Stage, New World Theater, Trinity Repertory Company and Amherst College Theater & Dance Department. This article in...
It’s March 27th again. A day stamped by UNESCO as World Theatre Day 50 years ago in that way that organizations will… slapping a name on a day as though that could make it special. It can’t of course. And every year there is a susurration of tuts and tsks...