the week of july 25-29, 2022
the height of summer
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Graphic Design: Elizabeth Haley Morton | Editorial Support: Rebecca Adelsheim
in-person theatre
The world premiere of Francisca Da Silveira’s can i touch it? is now playing at Company One in Boston. Summer L. Williams directs the “hyper-local conversation-starter examining Black hair politics, the racial inequities faced by Black-owned businesses, and the tangled web of approaches necessary to create real social change.”
Superhero Clubhouse’s Mammelephant is now playing through August 6th at CC122. The world premiere musical epic exploring displacement and identity in the era of climate change is written by Lanxing Fu, composed by Trevor New, and directed by Nana Dakin.
The world premiere of Harrison David Rivers’ we are continuous runs August 2 - 14 at Williamstown Theatre Festival. Tyler Thomas directs the “exquisitely wrought WTF-commissioned play that explores how people can change and how love can evolve.”
The world premiere of Johnny G. Lloyd’s Patience starts performances August 3rd at Second Stage Uptown. The “sports-inspired fantasia/meditation on black excellence, next chapters, and playing a very long game alone” is directed by Zhailon Levingston.
Deborah Cowell and Katie Madison’s Sun Songs runs August 4-7 at New York Stage and Film. Cowell and Madison also direct and dramaturg the workshop of the “existential musical from the universe reminding us that we are all, ultimately, stardust.”
digital theatre
Black Trans Women at the Center runs online August 3-6 from Long Wharf Theater. Dane Figueroa Edidi directs and co-produces the digital festival featuring new short plays by Black trans women offering “distinct glimpses into the lived experiences of the Black trans community—creating an intersection of art and activism.” This year’s works include Bl3ssing Oshun Ra’s The Sojourn of Sasha Claude (co-directed by Mickaela Bradford), Davia Spain’s The Ultrasound (directed by Audria LB), Danielle Davis’ The T Word, and Andrea Jenkins’ Looking for Myeshia.
Bay Area Playwrights Festival will run in-person and online July 29 - August 7. The lineup includes five new works: Inda Craig-Galván’s A Jumping-Off Point, Elana Dykewomon’s How to Let Your Lover Die, Denmo Ibrahim’s An Arab Spring, Iraisa Ann Reilly’s Saturday Mourning Cartoons, and Sharifa Yasmin’s Close to Home.
The second season of Playwrights Horizons’ scripted fiction podcast Soundstage starts August 2nd. The first episode to drop is Sheila Callaghan’s Program B: Rapid Immersion (directed and designed by Alex Barron).
2022-23 season updates
Oklahoma Repertory Theatre announced its 2022-23 season. Projects include Dorothy James and Andy Manjuck’s wordless comic puppet show Bill’s 44th, Lauren Yee’s The Great Leap (directed by Jessica Holt), Emily Zemba’s Superstitions (directed by AD Kelly Kerwin), Tarell Alvin McCraney’s The Brothers Size, and Under the Radar: On the Road (presented in association with The Public).
Theatre for a New Audience announced its 2022-23 season. Projects include Clark Young and Derek Goldman’s Remember This: The Lesson of Jan Karski (directed by Goldman); Denis Johnson’s Des Moines (directed by Arin Arbus); Dakin Matthews’ adaptation of Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2 presented in rep with Richard II (directed by Eric Tucker); Lope de Vega’s Fuente Ovejuna (directed by Flordelino Lagundino); and Tennessee Williams’ Orpheus Descending (directed by Erica Schmidt).
the regional theatre game of thrones
Susan V. Booth is the new artistic director of Chicago’s Goodman Theatre. Booth has been the artistic director of the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta since 2001. She succeeds retiring AD Robert Falls, who has led the Goodman since 1986.
things I read this week
Regina Victor’s two-part essay — “The Fixer: Artistic Directors of Color and Pandemic Leadership” and “Resigning as Renewal: Visions for Artistic Leaders of Color” — which outlines the myriad pressures and systemic barriers artistic leaders of color faced during the pandemic and how to create supportive structures and possibilities for future leaders from marginalized communities. (ReScripted)
American Theatre and The Wallace Foundation’s reporting on three theatres of color — Detroit Repertory Theatre, Theater Mu in St. Paul, and LA’s East West Players — and how they’ve weathered and surmounted various institutional struggles.
David Garrick on the continued financial and economic damage of the pandemic on San Diego arts organizations (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Laura Sturza on how understudies kept DC theatres running during multiple COVID outbreaks this year (Washington City Paper)
theatrical production worker survey
Brídín Cotton and Natalie Robin are co-authoring a book about equitable labor in theatrical production, and a key component of the research is surveying designers, managers, and technical staff.
If you have worked in design, stage and production management, or technical positions for professional theatre in the United States: please complete this survey by July 31. (More information about the book, including a survey FAQ about how your data will be used is available here.)
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 and the most recently available 990 data. (You can read more about the methodology here.)
Content Assistant, Broadway Licensing: $35,000 - $40,000
Living Wage for NYC: $56,718
Thanks for bringing back virtual theater listings!