the week of october 1 - 7, 2022
i saw the sign (in sidney brustein's window)
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Graphic Design: Elizabeth Haley Morton | Editorial Support: Rebecca Adelsheim
icymi: bills, bills, bills
The fifth installment of Bills, Bills, Bills dropped on Wednesday. This month’s money diary from a theater administrator in the Midwest features hefty credit card debt, cozy domesticity, and the age-old desire for an enormous Baja Blast:
If you want to read previous diaries in the series, they’re archived on the About page, but I’ll also make it easy for you:
July: Two East Coast designers (and parents) in tech out of town
September: An agent’s assistant in NYC
in-person theatre
Ifa Bayeza’s The Till Trilogy is now playing through November 20th at Mosaic Theatre Company. Talvin Wilks directs the three plays in rotating rep — The Ballad of Emmett Till, Benevolence, and the world premiere That Summer in Sumner — that “reflect on the life, death, and legacy of Emmett Till, whose murder in 1955 remains one of the most pivotal moments in American history.”
The world premiere of Inda Craig-Galván’s The Great Jheri Curl Debate closes this weekend at East West Players in Los Angeles. Scarlett Kim directs the new play about a Black cosmetologist working at a Korean-owned Black beauty supply store who “finds herself grappling with the invention of the Jheri curl and a new business partnership.”
The Breaking the Binary Theatre Festival runs October 10 -16 at Theatre Row. The inaugural festival features seven works by trans, non-binary, and two-spirit artists: Ty Defoe’s Trans World (direction by Dominique Rider and dramaturgy by co-curator Josephine Kearns), Liliana Padilla’s Twitch (direction by Jack Ferver, dramaturgy by Desiree Mitton), Roger Q. Mason's Hide and Hide (direction by é boylan, dramaturgy by Gaven Trinidad), Ruth Tang's Work Hard Have Fun Make History (direction by Kedian, dramaturgy by Lewis Fender), Aziza Barnes’ Nana (direction by Rad Pereira, dramaturgy by Al Parker), and Mara Vélez Meléndez's Thelma and Louise and The Time Machine (direction by Sivan Battat, dramaturgy by Aydan Shahdadpuri). I obviously love their public commitment to paying all participating artists a living wage. If an independent festival can prioritize fair pay in its first year of existence, other theatres have no excuse.
The world premiere of Rebecca Gilman’s Swing State starts previews tonight at the Goodman. Roberts Falls directs the “contemporary portrait of America's heartland in a time when it feels like everyone's way of life is in danger of disappearing.”
Christina Anderson’s the ripple, the wave that carried me home runs October 8-30 in a co-pro from Portland Center Stage and Artists Repertory Theatre. The “moving exploration of a family's response to injustice and a daughter's reckoning with her political inheritance” is directed by Daniel J. Bryant.
Mfoniso Udofia’s Her Portmanteau starts performances October 11th at George Street Playhouse. Laiona Michelle directs the drama about a Nigerian immigrant and her daughters “confronting complex familial legacies that span time, geography, language and culture”, which is part of Udofia’s nine-play Ufot Cycle.
Jeff Augustin’s Where the Mountain Meets the Sea starts previews October 11th at Manhattan Theatre Club. The “timely story of a son’s quest to connect with his father, with lyrical story-telling and live folk songs from The Bengsons” is directed by Joshua Kahan Brody.
The US premiere of Rachel De-lahay’s Routes runs October 12 - November 20 at Remy Bumppo in Chicago. Mikael Burke directs the “shattering, urgent new play that looks through the eyes of immigrants, refugees, and children in conflict with the law as they fight to get home through an impossibly complex system designed to keep them out.”
The world premiere of Kate Tarker’s Montag starts previews October 12th at Soho Rep. The “domestic thriller, sleep deprivation comedy, and rebellion celebration under threat of annihilation” is directed by Dustin Wills and features original music by Daniel Schlosberg.
Mia Chung’s Catch as Catch Can runs October 14 - November 20 at Playwrights Horizons. Daniel Aukin directs the “cyclone of a play, [where] three actors perform across race, gender, and generation — a family drama that doubles as a theatrical tour de force.”
manifesting works
me four months ago:
BAM yesterday afternoon:
playwright news
Mary Kathryn Nagle is the first American Crossroads Resident Playwright at Kansas City Rep. The new residency “supports playwrights, composers, and musicians in cultivating stories that originate from Kansas City and the region.”
Zharia O’Neal is the inaugural William S. Yellow Robe Playwright. The new residency from Sound Theatre includes a $10,000 stipend, travel and housing reimbursement, and in-house support in developing a new play. O’Neal will work on Roost, “a comedy about Black women’s experience and relationship with reality television, media representation, respectability politics, and hotep-ery.”
InterAct Theatre Company is now accepting applications for The Philly Cycle, a series of commissioned works to be written about and with underrepresented Philadelphia communities. Selected playwrights receive a $15,000 commission, extensive developmental support, and a guaranteed production.
this week in unconscionable racism
Last week, NPR’s Morning Edition reported on Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s artistic director Nataki Garrett’s re-visioning of the storied destination theatre — despite financial challenges, wildfires, and racist critical opposition to her programming more diverse works. But the resistance has escalated beyond local op-eds: Garrett has received death threats and now travels with a security team.
In response, The Dramatists Guild, TCG, and the Shakespeare Theatre Association released a statement this week “condemning in every possible way the unconscionable harassment and death threats” received by Garrett.
The three organizations offered four ways that theatremakers can support Nataki Garrett:
OSF Website:
Leave a comment expressing support for Nataki on OSF's website: https://www.osfashland.org/contact-us
OSF Social Media:
Post a statement of support for Nataki and tag OSF's social media channels.
OSF Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/osfashland
OSF Twitter: https://twitter.com/osfashlandAshland.news:
Write to the Ashland.news editor Bert Etling at betling@ashland.news.
One of the most vocal opponents of Nataki's programming is Ashland.news columnist Herbert Rothschild, who is urging his readers to "keep talking about this subject — among yourselves and with OSF management as well as in this publication. The stakes for Ashland are high. I’d bet on Shakespeare."
The Oregonian:
Write a letter to The Oregonian, the largest paper in Oregon: letters@oregonian.com
Tweet a statement in support of Nataki and tag The Oregonian: https://twitter.com/Oregonian
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.)
Interim Costume Shop Manager/Props Coordinator at Imagination Stage: $41,000-$49,000
Living Wage for Montgomery County, MD: $53,074
Revenue (2021): $5.2 million / Net Income: $1.66 million
Executive Compensation: $101,093 (Executive Director) / $87,693 (Founding Artistic Director)
