the week of january 3-7, 2022
so i'm back up in the game
You’re reading Nothing for the Group, a newsletter where one dramaturg rounds up one week in theatre news, reviews, and takes. If you like this sort of thing:
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what paid subscribers got over the holidays
I wrote a year-in-review post for 2021, breaking down the highs and lows of our strange second pandemic year — the incremental progress, the usual clownery, who girlbossed too close to the sun, and the scammer of year.
me elsewhere
I talked with Rachel Lin for her podcast Upstage Left about the origin and evolution of this newsletter, how theatres can translate their values into policies, and the advice I’m giving right now to college students and baby dramaturgs who want to pursue theatre careers.
in-person theatre
Michael R. Jackson’s A Strange Loop is coming to Broadway this spring. The Pulitzer Prize-winning meta-musical is currently wrapping up a run at Woolly Mammoth in DC.
The US premiere of Natasha Gordon’s Nine Night starts performances January 13th at Round House Theatre. Directed by Timothy Douglas, the dramedy explores the ritual, loss, and generational divides during a traditional Jamaican Nine Night wake.
digital theatre
Martin Boross and Jonathan Payne’s Addressless starts online performances January 13th at Rattlestick. The interactive, “choose your own adventure” theatrical experience lets “audiences encounter firsthand the complex challenges of housing insecurity.”
cancellation line
Omicron is delaying, postponing, and cancelling productions around the world. I’m not going to do a full round-up of individual shows affected by this latest surge because 1) it’s bleak! and 2) it’s impossible to stay current.
January’s triumvirate of experimental theatre festivals: Under the Radar, Prototype, and Exponential — have all canceled their in-person performances due to the Omicron surge. The festivals cited “risks to performers and audiences, as well as visa problems and supply chain delays. Theresa Buchheister, the artistic director of the Exponential Festival, cited the cost — in both time and money — of testing performers every day…[UTR AD Mark] Russell mentioned the high positivity rate among the Public’s staff.” Exponential will present some of its planned programming in a digital format.
The Vault Festival in London is also canceled. The festival was scheduled to begin January 25th with over 600 productions of theatre, comedy, immersive experiences, cabaret, live performance, and late-night events.
Lincoln Center Theater has permanently closed the Directors Lab. It’s another gutting loss to the infrastructure of early career opportunities.
2022 season updates
Cal Shakes announces 2022 season. Projects include the world premieres of the bilingual Romeo y Juliet (adapted by Karen Zacarías and directed by KJ Sanchez) and Lear, a modern verse translation by Marcus Gardley and co-directed by Eric Ting and Dawn Monique Williams.
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.)
Costume Shop Manager, American Stage: $30,000-$35,000
Living Wage for St. Petersburg, FL: $36,1213Assistant, TBD Theatricals: $35,000 - $45,000
Living Wage for NYC: $51,323
Development Associate, Lifeline Theatre (full-time exempt): $32,000
Living Wage for Chicago: $38,605
