Careers

Seth Lepore talks about gaining the skills to self-produce and theatre artists as entrepreneurs.

Emerging playwright Maggie Sulc evaluates the advice she’s been given and the options for how to finance her playwriting path, and realizes hers may be one no one else has walked yet.

Lia Romeo explains the advantages of being a playwright working in literary management, and how her job has improved her writing and other important skills.

In the first post of his series, Seth Lepore looks at crowdfunding, how to keep it relevant, who is actually donating, and the kind of immediacy it provides.

Larissa FastHorse explores the issues she deals with as a Native playwright, from finding an agent to what happens when she has to un-Native American a character.

Todd London's latest addition to his column, A Lover’s Guide to American Playwrights, is about his own personal resident playwright—Karen Hartman—and the “wilderness of mid-career.”

Seth Rozin says let large theatres do what they do best—be large—and encourage playwrights to cultivate relationships with mid-size and small theatres.

P. Carl interviews Ari Roth about his recent firing from Theater J and the power of theatre in politcs. 

Are Equity tours of a higher quality than non-union productions? Very possibly. There’s a larger talent pool to work with and performers tend to be more experienced. That said, whether or not a tour is a union production has never been shown to have a demonstrable effect on ticket sales that I’ve been able to uncover.

Lou Harry offers insight on balancing the careers of a playwright and arts journalist. 

1.) Never wait for permission to practice your art. You cannot wait to get a job to be an artist. 2.) Study your art. Never stop studying. 3.) Find a spiritual practice that works for you.

Truthfully, as a Los Angeles-based theater artist working almost entirely under the 99-seat agreement, at a certain point I just gave up on earning my Equity card, and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC) wasn’t popping up on my radar. While I may not currently carry a union card in my wallet, I do take great pride in how I am following in my grandfather’s footsteps. We both pursued our passion to craft and share stories, and simultaneously held careers working in the arts to pay the bills.

The kind of open, honest, rough-and-tumble way that we often approach our art-making seems to be inhibited, or even actively stifled, when it comes to addressing larger issues in the way we work and the ways we are part of the fabric of the country. Much of the time, it seems like we’re all living in a spirit of fear, instantly defensive whenever anyone questions the current status quo. And this despite the fact that, at least in principle, everyone seems to agree the status quo is far from ideal.

There is so much that we, the new Latina/o playwrights, can learn from those who came before us. And if we as a cultural community are to keep working at diversifying the American stage, we need to be looking behind us as often as looking ahead. Mentorship is about paying it forward.

Miranda Wright doesn’t want to be pegged – not yet. The theatrical environment that she’s creating is both local and global—theater for a world that is simultaneously more connected and isolated, more expansive, more community-oriented, more lonely. More than anything, she’s concerned with the present moment.

Evan Caccioppoli interviews IRT’s Artistic Director Kori Rushton.

Making the decision to acquire an education is more often than not an easy one. To do most any job in America, one must acquire a bachelor's degree. For those who wish to pursue a career in the theater, this is no different: one must undertake a program of education or work-related training. If you have decided to pursue a career in the theater, and are in the process of gathering meaningful information to help determine which programs you ought to give serious consideration, this blog series is for you.

“Paying your dues”—it’s a pervasive refrain, and one that clearly lives deeply within us; it has gotten under our skin and through our veins. I can’t help but think that it’s a lie. The concept of “paying dues” implies a sort of social contract that’s simply no longer present, if it ever was.

My maturation as a young theater practitioner has nothing to do with finding and knowing the answers. I don’t know them. Trust me. It has everything to do with facing the pivotal question: of which American theater do I want to be a part? The answer is that I will only, and can only, be a part of the theater that evolves through the specific and indispensable relationship with its community.

Jonathan Mandell writes about the life of prolific costume designer Carrie Robbins, and her new ambitions as adaptor and playwright.