the week of january 10-14, 2022
baby it's covid outside
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Identity Design: Elizabeth Haley Morton || Editorial Support: Rebecca Adelsheim
in-person theatre
Your regular reminder that it’s the Wild West out there thanks to Omicron and theatres are delaying previews/canceling performances/moving to virtual with minimal warning so dates/platforms are obviously subject to change.
Dave Harris’ Tambo & Bones starts previews at Playwrights Horizons on January 19th. The world premiere “rags-to-riches hip-hop journey” about the titular duo trying to escape a minstrel show is directed by Taylor Reynolds.
Clare Barron’s Shhhh at the Atlantic starts previews January 14th. The world premiere commission — written and directed by Barron, who is also in the cast — is “a study in kink, trauma, pleasure, and revenge.”
Intimate Apparel: The Opera begins January 13th at Lincoln Center, resuming performances after it originally shuttered during previews in March 2020. The adaptation of Lynn Nottage’s turn-of-the-century drama features music by Ricky Ian Gordon and is directed by Bartlett Sher.
Victor Almanzar’s autobiographical solo show Through the Fire plays January 20 - February 5 at 59E59. The LAByrinth Theater Company developmental production, directed by Elizabeth Canavan, is “a story of survival and self-forgiveness driven by Victor’s original hip-hop music.”
Danny Tejera’s Madrid-set Tojos will have a one-night-only reading on January 18th at Second Stage. Directed by David Mendizábal, the play is part of the Judith Champion New Voices Reading Series.
Dipika Guha’s Yoga Play starts performances at Syracuse Stage on January 19th. The wellness industry-set comedy, directed by Melissa Crespo, will be also be available to stream starting January 31st.
Taylor Mac’s The Hang runs January 20 - February 20 at HERE Arts Center. Directed by Niegel Smith, the “centuries-long communal consideration, full of jazz, dance, debates, and queer romps” reimagines Socrates’ last hours on earth.
digital theatre
Mahesh Dattani’s audio play A Little Drape of Heaven is now available through February 15th. The commission from the site-based, interactive creators This Is Not A Theatre Company encourages you to “go to your closet, find a piece of clothing to hold close to your heart, and press play.”
Roundabout Theatre Company’s Underground Reading Series is going virtual this year. (It’s still invitation only.) The readings will take place January 18 - 21 featuring new works by Liz Appel, Noah Diaz, Daria Miyeko Marinelli and York Walker.
Over at Vulture, Helen Shaw wrote an indispensable round-up of what you can see online in the wake of the January festival cancellations.
commissions & residencies
Ars Nova announced new commissions and residencies. The artists and groups receiving residencies include Legacy: a Black Queer Production Collective, River L. Ramirez, Machel Ross, Jonathan Cohall; the trio of Makasha Copeland, Chase Doggett, and Gabrielle Silva; Sam Kebede; Preston Martin; Emily Olcott; Sabrina Wang; Guadalís Del Carmen; David Mendizábal; Joél Peréz & Emma Ramo; Laura Galindo; Michelle J. Rodriguez; and Jillian Walker. Keelay Gipson, Garrett David Kim, Johnny G. Lloyd, May Treuhaft-Ali, Else Went, and Bailey Williams are the newest members of Ars Nova’s Play Group. Manik Choksi and Khiyon Hursey joined the company’s roster of commissioned artists.
Theater J in DC announced the Expanding the Canon initiative. The program will commission “seven extraordinary racially and ethnically diverse Jewish writers to create new full-length plays that thematically and visually center diverse Jewish narratives.” Each writer will receive $10,000, plus a $5,000 developmental budget for readings, workshops, research, and travel.
New York Theatre Workshop announces its new Companies-in-Residence. Safe Harbors NYC, Dominican Artists Collective and JAG Productions join the program, alongside current Company-in-Residence Noor Theatre. The companies receive “artistic and institutional support, access to free rehearsal and performance space, supplies, office space, and connections to NYTW’s theatrical community at large.”
the regional theatre game of thrones
Brandon Carter is the new artistic director of American Shakespeare Center. Carter, a resident actor at the beleaguered Virginia playhouse, is the first person of color to lead the organization in its 34-year history. Carter is part of a new multi-department management structure described as a “co-equal group [providing] leadership and oversight over ASC’s operations, programming, production, and engagement.”
Che’Rae Adams is the new artistic director of PlayPenn. Adams was most recently producing artistic director of the L.A. Writers Center. She succeeds founding artistic director Paul Meshejian, who resigned in July 2020 after multiple allegations of racist and sexist practices.
that’s not a living wage
Here are this week’s featured underpaid job listings, paired with the living wage for a 40-hour work week for one adult with no children in that area. (You can read more about the methodology here.)
Marketing Assistant, Mayo Performing Arts Center: $35,000 - $38,000
Living Wage for Morris County, NJ: $47,203
