the week of august 24-28, 2020
the stories people tell themselves in order to do what they want
Welcome to Nothing for the Group, the newsletter where one dramaturg rounds up one week in theatre news, reviews, and takes.
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this week’s DO LESS Award: Maltz Jupiter Theatre
The Maltz Jupiter Theatre in Orlando, FL announced that they will be moving forward with the second phase of their $30 million dollar renovation, which was originally scheduled to begin in April 2021. Buried in the press release is the detail that 80% of the theatre’s staff is currently furloughed.
Is this infuriating on face value? Of course, but here’s the thing: large-scale renovation projects are funded by years-in-the-making capital campaigns. Those funds are restricted and can’t be repurposed to cover general operating costs, like staff salaries.
That said: theatres can pause or postpone campaigns and building projects. Instead, Maltz Jupiter Theatre accelerated the timeline, thanks to some last-minute fundraising from high-level donors:
The fast-tracked plan would not have been possible without a $5 million top-off grant from philanthropists and founding board members Milton and Tamar Maltz, who stepped in to offer the remaining funds required to complete the work this season, in addition to the $5 million matching challenge grant through The Milton and Tamar Maltz Family Foundation previously granted to the project. Many donors also added to their contributions when they learned the project would be starting sooner than expected.
The board chair also chimed in, justifying the fast-tracked construction plan:
Completing the expansion now and focusing on being fully operational by the start of the 2021/22 season was a risk worth taking, said Maltz Jupiter Theatre Board Chairman W. Scott Seeley.
“The losses to our organization and industry have been catastrophic," he said. "We can't pretend that this has not been very difficult uncharted territory for the Maltz Jupiter Theatre. But while we may be hitting 'pause' on our performances this season, we are determined to keep looking toward the future and focusing on transforming our Theatre into the best regional theater in the nation that will be ready for guests as soon as it's safe to reopen again."
I don’t know if platitudes about “looking toward the future” are helpful when 80% of your staff is currently furloughed and trying to pay their bills on Florida unemployment benefits, which max out at $275 a week. What kind of future exists for those employees living in day-to-day uncertainty?
This short-sighted press release is a classic example of the stories people tell themselves in order to do what they want. The Maltz Jupiter Theatre didn’t have to make a splashy announcement right now, but they made the conscious decision to release a lengthy statement with a lot of obviously crafted yet flimsy justifications for their actions. When they eventually open their “Broadway-scale stage and production facilities”, I wonder what kind of local workforce will exist to actually run it.
anti-racism announcements
In response to We See You W.A.T. demands, Woolly Mammoth and Ars Nova both released public accountability statements. I encourage you to read the full releases, but here are some excerpts:
Woolly Mammoth commits to at least 50% representation from Black, Indigenous, and People of Color on all creative teams; a dedicated budget lines for equity, diversity, inclusion and anti-racism work for full-time, part-time and seasonal employees; the elimination of 10 out of 12 rehearsals; and is currently experimenting with affinity spaces and racial caucusing at the Board level.
Ars Nova committed to commissioning and developing a majority of BIPOC artists, tripling the budget line for anti-racism work and publishing their FY21 organizational budget (I haven’t seen this kind of financial transparency yet and I think it rules), and compensating artists for donor events.
reopening watch: 2021 season updates
Chicago Shakespeare Theatre announced their 2020-21 season, with virtual programming starting up in September and in-person performances slated to begin in early 2021. The season includes streamed productions of Wise Children’s Romantics Anonymous and Peter Pan—A Musical Adventure. Live performances include a pair of solo shows from Tim Crouch dubbed I, Shakespeare; Jeanine Tesori and Tazewell Thompson’s Blue in collaboration with Lyric Opera of Chicago; the world premiere of Joe Kinosian and Kellen Blair’s musical It Came from Outer Space; Measure for Measure and Twelfth Night in repertory; and As You Like It.
Milwaukee Repertory Theatre announced that it will move its 2020-21 season programming to the 2021-22 calendar year. The company’s 2020-21 Reset Season will feature five socially distant productions. The line-up includes Tom Mula’s Jacob & Marley’s Christmas Carol, Ella Fitzgerald: First Lady of Song, Dick Enberg’s McGuire, Dael Orlandersmith and Antonio Edwards Suarez’s Antonio’s Song/I Was Dreaming of a Son, and Christina Ham’s Nina Simone: Four Women.
Congo Square Theatre announced their 2020-21 season. The line-up includes a new sketch comedy webseries Hit ‘Em on the Blackside, a digital version of its annual Festival on the Square, and a live production that will “speak to the current moment and facilitate healing for the Black community” in late spring or summer 2021.
North Carolina’s Burning Coal Theatre Company announced their 2020-21 season. A mix of virtual and socially distant theatre, the season includes Tatty Hennessy’s A Hundred Words for Snow, Dael Orlandersmith’s Forever and Until the Flood in repertory, and the musical Evita.
Single Carrot Theatre has announced its 2020-21 season, featuring a walking audio play and a production that plays directly to audience members’ cell phones. The season includes two works devised by the Single Carrot ensemble and Kate Cortesi’s Is Edward Snowden Single?
my favorite season? awards
The Tony Awards will take place online this fall, honoring eighteen shows from the abbreviated 2019-2020 season. Here is my one take on this: with less eligible shows and musical numbers, there is no excuse not to air acceptance speeches for designers and librettists. Do it, you cowards.
The 2020 Helen Hayes Awards will also be moving online, in a four-week celebration culminating in a virtual community event. It was also announced that the organization will be transitioning to gender-inclusive performance awards.
the great american AD shuffle
Aaron Roman Weiner is the new artistic director of the LAByrinth Theatre Company. Weiner, who started as an intern at LAB 19 years ago, succeeds John Ortiz, who will now chair the company's board.
assorted good news
Audible announced its latest Emerging Playwrights Fund class of promising playwrights. Audible increased the size of its third cohort by 50 percent to provide additional opportunities to artists, especially those who lost employment, first productions, or showcases due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The class includes Will Arbery, Vichet Chum, Philip Dawkins, Noah Diaz, Mathilde Dratwa, Amy Evans, Afsaneh Gray, Diana Grisanti, Jessica Huang, Paul Kruse, Yilong Liuå, Christina Quintana, Michael Shayan, Amanda Wilkin, and Alexandra Wood.
The Public Theater granted $1,000 relief checks to over 300 freelance artists. The initiative provides support to the freelancers who have recently worked on fully staged productions, concerts at Joe's Pub, or participated in one of the Off-Broadway company’s artist working groups.
things I read this week and found compelling
Belarus playwright Andrei Kureichik on the anti-government protests in Belarus, and the history and future of state theatre
Billie Krishawn on the creation of the SoSu Series, a space to highlight the work of Black, Indigenous women (cis and trans), and nonbinary people of color working in the DC theatre community
This thread by Jenna Clark Embrey, which someone should commission into a full article stat:
That’s all for this week! My endless gratitude to Rebecca Adelsheim for her quick copy editing skills. Special thanks to my friend and former colleague Sarah Cooke for her fundraising insights and for fact-checking my thinking on capital campaigns. (Sarah also writes a gorgeous weekly newsletter about food, culture, and power called Deliciously Intense, Surprisingly Balanced and you should totally subscribe.)