the week of july 8-14, 2023
zombies, rock bands, victorian psychedelic sleepovers
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the artistic caucus at howlround
This week, my report on the Artistic Caucus — a joint collaboration between Baltimore Center Stage, Long Wharf Theater, Repertory Theater of St. Louis, and Woolly Mammoth to disrupt traditional artistic development models — was published by Howlround:
I’ve been working with these four theatres over the last 18 months to document the development, execution, and learnings of this project. It was a real dream gig for me, as I deeply care about the questions in play here: How can organizations dismantle oppressive systems to foreground access and inclusion? How do theatres resist gatekeeping and expand their networks of influence, cultivating and sustaining mutually beneficial relationships with freelance artists? How can artistic staffs carve out space for deep thinking and long-range planning while combatting capacity drain and day-to-day emergencies? And in a time of unrelenting crisis and uncertainty, can the American theatre reject the scarcity model and embrace abundance and interconnection?
Some public thanks: I’m so grateful to the artistic staff members (Annalisa Dias, Sonia Fernandez, Kate Moore Heaney, Becks Redman, and Cheyenne Barboza), artistic directors (Maria Manuela Goyanes, Jacob G. Padrón, Hana S. Sharif, and Stephanie Ybarra), and the Caucus artists (Marie Cisco, Nailah Harper-Malveaux, Adil Mansoor, and Regina Victor) for their transparency, brilliance, and camaraderie. Alison Qu and my editor Ashley Malafronte at Howlround were fantastic collaborators; Yaşam Özlem Gülseven designed the charts and timelines of my infographic-loving dreams. My dear friend (and magnificent writer) Sarah Cooke deserves a Pulitzer for editing the first two very messy drafts of this 5,000-word behemoth.
productions
Danny Tejera’s Toros starts performances on July 18th at Second Stage Uptown. Gaye Taylor Upchurch directs the new work about “three international late-20-somethings (and one dying golden retriever) hanging out in a garage in Madrid, getting drunk, arguing about music, and figuring out what version of reality to believe in.”
Lauren Yee’s Cambodian Rock Band runs July 19 - August 27 at DC’s Arena Stage. The “psychedelic theatrical extravaganza shining a light on the country’s vibrant 1970s rock scene and how an entire generation of musicians was purged by the Khmer Rouge” is directed by Chay Yew.
The world premiere of Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay’s The Kung Fu Zombies Saga: Shaman Warrior & Cannibals starts performances July 20th at Theater Mu in Minneapolis. Lily Tung Crystal directs the “epic saga full of fierce women, martial arts, hip hop, Lao culture, and—of course—zombies.”
Agatha Christie's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd premieres July 21st at The Alley Theatre in Houston. Mark Shanahan directs his own adaptation of Christie’s 1926 detective novel, the third to feature her famous character Hercule Poirot.
summer festivals
Contemporary American Theatre Festival is now running through July 30th in Shepherdstown, WV. This year’s five world premieres are Lynn Rosen’s The Overview Effect (directed by Courtney Sale), Chisa Hutchinson’s Redeemed (directed by marcus d. harvey), José Rivera’s Your Name Means Dream (also directed by Rivera), Dael Orlandersmith’s Spiritus/Virgil’s Dance (directed by Neel Keller), and Jeffrey Lieber’s Fever Dreams (of Animals on the Verge of Extinction) (directed by Susan V. Booth).
Kamilah Bush’s Nick and the Prizefighter will have a reading July 14th as part of Williamstown Theatre Festival’s Fridays@3 series. Kristolyn Lloyd directs the new work about a woman “fighting for control of her famous playwright father’s work and legacy as she prepares to face the world without him.”
New York Stage and Film starts its summer 2023 season. The first week includes a July 15th reading of Jason Kim’s This Way to the Fire (directed by Danny Sharron) and workshop of Lauren Yee and Heather Christian’s musical adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle's A Wrinkle in Time (directed by Lee Sunday Evans) running July 21-23.
workshops & readings
Mary Hamilton’s It’s Still F**king Tuesday runs July 20-22 at the Cape Cod Theatre Project in Falmouth, MA. The Long Day’s Journey Into Night-inspired dramedy about ghosts, motherhood, and addiction is directed by Aneesha Kudtarkar.
The IAMA Theatre Company’s Emerging Playwrights Lab Reading Series runs July 21 - 30 in Los Angeles. The six play line-up includes Peter Pasco’s El exorcismo de Georgie Garcia (directed by Sylvia Cervantes Blush); Thomas Daníel Valls’ HIJO, MADRE (directed by Margaux Susi); Jasmine Sharma’s PEACHY: a sorta Chekhovian traumedy (directed by Lavina Jadhwani); Mak Shealy’s Victorian Psychedelic Sleepover Play (directed by Emily Moler); Amanda L. Andrei’s Brancusi v. United States (directed by Nikki DiLoreto); and Xavier Clark’s ICONS (directed by H. Adam Harris).
The Huntington Playwrighting Fellows Summer Workshop readings will take place July 15-16 in Boston. The line-up of free public readings includes Masha Obolensky’s Interior of the Artist Without Her Sister (directed by Melia Bensussen), Melinda Lopez’s Power Trio (directed by Elena Araoz), and Catherine Epstein’s Oxbow (directed by Megan Sandberg-Zakian).
this week in our ongoing field-wide existential crisis
The Public Theater is laying off 19% of its staff. The cuts affect 50 employees and follow a round of layoffs in 2021. The NYC institution currently has 246 full-time employees.
Artistic Director Oskar Eustis — whose annual compensation was $888,676 per the theater’s most recent 990 — will be taking “a significant reduction in salary” but did not specify the amount.
The staff cuts were attributed to the current distressing economics of the theater industry. As Eustis told the NYT: “Our audience is down by about 30 percent, we have expenses up anywhere from 30 to 45 percent, and we have kept our donor base, but it’s static. Put that all together, and you get budget shortfalls — big budget shortfalls.” The Public’s budget next year will be approximately $50 million, down from $60 million pre-pandemic.
This announcement follows last month’s troubling news that the Public was placing its celebrated experimental theater festival Under the Radar on an “extended hiatus.” (UTR’s artistic director Mark Russell owns the intellectual property rights to the festival and is exploring options for its future.)
Yay IAMA Emerging Playwrights!