the week of march 14 - 18, 2022

the hardy boys & the mystery of why walnut street cannot get it together

Mar 18, 2022

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in-person theatre

The world premiere of R. Eric Thomas’ The Folks at Home is now playing at Baltimore Center Stage. The contemporary riff on the beloved 1970s family sitcoms is directed by Stevie Walker-Webb.
John. J. Caswell Jr.’s Man Cave is now playing at Page 73 through April 2nd, and will be available to stream starting March 21st. Taylor Reynolds directs the world premiere horror satire about “four women converting [a wealthy Republican congressman’s] luxurious basement man cave into their own spiritual war room and protective sanctuary from the violence of men, both real and supernatural.”
Benjamin Benne’s Alma is now playing at Center Theatre Group. The world premiere about a Mexican immigrant mother and her first-generation American daughter is directed by Juliette Carrillo.
Ibsen’s The Lady from the Sea is now playing at the Court Theatre, and will stream on-demand beginning March 21st. Shana Cooper directs Richard Nelson’s new translation of the drama that “dissects issues of duty, marriage, and agency with raw emotion and disarming resonance.”
Punchdrunk’s latest immersive work The Burnt City starts performances March 22nd. The “future noir” retelling of the fall of Troy, performed in an old London arms factory and co-directed by Felix Barrett and Maxine Doyle, is the company’s most expensive and ambitious undertaking to date.
Dael Orlandersmith’s New Age runs March 22 - May 1 at Milwaukee Rep. Jade King Carroll directs the world premiere that “follows four women at different junctures in life as they contend with their sexuality, insecurities and legacies.”
Mona Pirnot’s Private runs March 23 - April 17 at Mosaic Theater Company. Knud Adams directs the not-so-distant future drama about a young married couple under employer-mandated surveillance.
María Irene Fornés’ Fefu and Her Friends starts performances March 24th at ACT in San Francisco. Pam Mackinnon directs the “unconventional tale of eight women gathering at a New England country home in 1935”, and will “utilize the multi-storied, multi-roomed Strand Theater as non-traditional theater space [breaking up audiences] into four groups that independently tour Fefu’s home.”
Frances Limoncelli’s adaptation of Rachel Ingalls’ Mrs. Caliban runs March 23 - April 17 at Book-It Rep in Seattle. The social satire and “stinging blend of fantasy and domestic politics” is directed by Kelly Kitchens. (Side note: I love how Book-It includes language about why they programmed the piece and examples of similar media — The Shape of Water and Her Body and Other Parties are particularly inspired comparisons.)
Preston Choi’s Drive-In at the End of the World will have a staged reading on March 25th at Sideshow Theatre Company. The apocalyptic and irreverent play — set at a small town drive-in rocked by the arrival of the Mothman — is directed by Marti Lyons and dramaturged by Regina Victor.

digital theatre

The 2022 Colorado New Play Summit readings are streaming on-demand through March 19th. The featured plays are Kareem Fahmy’s American Fast, Leonard Madrid’s Cebollas, Kirsten Potter’s Rubicon, and Kimber Lee’s saturday.
Cinco Paul and Bekah Brunstetter’s new musical A.D. 16 at Olney Theatre Center streams on-demand through March 20th. Stephen Brackett directs the “biblically inspired musical centered on a teenage Mary Magdalene, who has got her eye on the carpenter's son next door—named Jesus, of course.”
WaxFactory + Rachel Jendrzejewski’s immersive work-in-progress Traces streams March 22nd as part of the Playwrights’ Center In The Lab Series. In this experimental work, audiences receive audio devices and are prompted to follow a performer through real public locations, recording and uploading their actions to a website where they can peruse and compare notes with the journeys of others.
The Builders Association’s newest virtual performance I Agree to the Terms runs March 25 - April 3. Available as part of NYU Skirball’s season, the 30-minute interactive online event is being created with a community of Amazon “microworkers” who train the algorithms that shape our online experience.
Dipika Guha’s Passing is now streaming as part of Paula Vogel’s Bard at the Gate series at the McCarter. Nicole A. Watson directs the “poetic and impressionistic confrontation with the history of colonialism.” (The reading features Kelley Curran, who is currently making the most out of her very underwritten scheming maid role on The Gilded Age. That show is the most baffling mix of lush visuals and low-stakes, who-cares plotlines but I am obviously watching every episode because this newsletter supports theatre actors making TV money and I will seize any opportunity to look at Morgan Spector for fifty-five minutes.)
The Drama League’s Worldwide Readings Project for Ukraine streams March 19. The effort to bring attention and support to the people of Ukraine features two new plays written by Ukrainian playwrights: Olga Braga’s Return to Sender and Oleksandr Viter’s Labyrinth. (The very busy Kelley Curran is also cast in these readings.)

2022-23 season updates

Williamstown Theatre Festival announced its 2022 season. The line-up includes Daniel Fish’s reimagining of The Most Happy Fella, Anna Ouyang Moench's Man of God (directed by Maggie Burrows), and the world premiere of Harrison David Rivers’ we are continuous (directed by Tyler Thomas).
Clubbed Thumb announced its Summerworks line-up. The festival will feature Trish Harnetiaux’s California (directed by Will Davis), Gab Reisman’s Spindle Shuttle Needle (directed by Tamilla Woodward), and Angela Hanks’ Bodies They Ritual (directed by Knud Adams).
City Theatre Company announced its 2022-23 season. The Pittsburgh theatre will present Lynn Nottage’s Clyde’s, Anna Ziegler’s The Wanderers, Heidi Schreck’s What the Constitution Means to Me, Karen Zacarías’ Native Gardens, and Kareem Fahmy’s American Fast.
Theater J announced its 2022-23 line-up. The DC company’s season includes Hannah Moscovitch, Ben Caplan, and Christian Barry’s Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story (directed by Barry); Lynn Nottage’s Intimate Apparel (directed by Paige Hernandez); Seth Rozin’s Two Jews Walk Into a War… (directed by Adam Immerwahr); Emily Mann’s Gloria: A Life (directed by Holly Twyford); and Stephen Laughton’s One Jewish Boy (directed by Johanna Gruenhut).
Asolo Rep announced its 2022-23 season. The Sarasota theatre will present Cabaret (directed by Josh Rhodes), Man of La Mancha (directed by Peter Rothstein), Ken Ludwig’s The Three Musketeers (directed by Peter Amster), Lauren Gunderson’s Silent Sky (directed by Seema Sueko), Douglas Lyons’ Chicken & Biscuits (directed by Bianca LaVerne Jones), and Katie Forgette’s Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help (directed by Celine Rosenthal).

the regional theatre game of thrones

Kaaron Briscoe is the new associate artistic director of LCT3. The playwright, actor, and director will work with artistic director Evan Cabnet on programming and developing new work for the Claire Tow Theater.
Anika Chapin and Ethan Heard are the newest senior artistic team members at Signature Theatre in Virginia. Heard will be the new associate artistic director and Chapin will serve as director of artistic development.

accountability update: walnut street theatre

It’s been a minute since we’ve checked in on Walnut Street and I regret to inform you that everyone’s favorite infamously litigious Philadelphia theatre is still a hot mess. As you may recall, last year Walnut Street served a local actress with a cease-and-desist after she publicly questioned the company’s commitment to creating a safe working environment for marginalized artists. (I also ran the math on artistic director Bernard Havard’s wildly inflated salary, which ultimately inspired me to start That’s Not a Living Wage.)

The incident led to protests and testimonials about the organization’s long, problematic history including: “Havard barging into women’s dressing rooms after a cursory knock, colorism, tokenism, massive wage disparity, size discrimination, oppressive working conditions, and no mainstage directors of color.”

Last week, Broad Street Review’s Wendy Rosenfield spoke to several anonymous sources about the Walnut Street’s recent EDI training in October 2021, which sounds like it was a nightmare:

[The facilitator] said, ‘Unconscious bias isn’t real; some biases are just natural preferences. … She actively misgendered people, never asked for pronouns, made assumptions, and got defensive when someone pointed it out. For a DEI professional to be doing that was very weird.

The sources also described a conversation on Walnut Street’s status as a predominantly white institution:

[The facilitator] asking managing director Mark Sylvester directly, “Is this a predominantly white institution?” The source said his response, “Well, it’s not a quick answer. There are a lot of moving parts,” elicited groans. Someone spoke up, answering that yes, the quick answer is that it is a white institution. [The facilitator] jumped in, declaring that there are more types of diversity than racial diversity.

One of the sources also recounted an apprentice lunch where Havard attempted to explain why the 20-member Walnut Street Theatre board was entirely white until 2020. (There is now one Black board member.)

“The first thing out of his mouth was explaining why there are no Black people on the board. He said he tried but they don’t want to be on the board, so he stopped trying. I was stunned and wondered why that was what he chose to open with.”

This is a case study in white fragility, comically incompetent management, and the flaws of the EDI industrial complex. Every one of the cringe-inducing incidents Rosenfield recounts — including a white male actor claiming he’s never “encountered issues like discrimination” at the theatre (of course you haven’t, man!) — read like scenes from a mockumentary sitcom about a non-profit theatre. Walnut Street proudly clings to its status as “America’s oldest theatre”, but that doesn’t mean its policies, practices, and values should be similarly ancient.

things I read this week besides jen silverman’s the island dwellers, the A+ short story collection I’ve been slowly devouring over the last few weeks

The San Francisco Chronicle’s Lily Janiak on the continued prevalence of unpaid internships, despite nearly two years of widespread advocacy around labor practices and humane working conditions. (As someone who also benefited from unpaid internships but wants a better system for the next generation of theatre workers, I appreciated Lily’s personal reflections alongside her excellent reporting on the issue.)
3Views co-editor Sarah Rose Leonard’s gorgeous, time-bending reflection on making theatre during an impossible time to work in theatre.
This American Theatre interview with Kelly Kerwin, the new artistic director of Oklahoma City Rep, on planning her first season alongside a greater organizational reboot, her vision for presenting both local and international work in Oklahoma, and why dramaturgs make excellent producers.

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.)

Marketing Assistant, Broadway Licensing: $38,500
Living Wage for NYC: $56,718
Receptionist, Music Theater International: $38,000-$40,000
Living Wage for NYC: $56,718
Management Associate, Studio Theatre: $42,620+
Living Wage for DC: $52,549
Expenses (2020): $5.3 million / Executive Compensation: $185,000 (Artistic Director)

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