U.S. by State

Patricia Davis reviews 1st Stage's production of Stephen Temperley’s Souvenir: a Fantasia on the Life of Florence Foster Jenkins.

I have been making apple scones / For a friend who died / Doug, my neighbor, whose last name / I don’t know

People kept telling me, "There are no small parts, only small actors" and "small roles can steal the show." And the more I heard it the more I convinced myself I was doing something wrong.

Theater is always a place for community. Often, a festival can provide a rigorous forum to investigate issues surrounding community. What is the need for stories? What is collective storytelling? How do we appreciate the role that performance plays in our ever-changing, cultural landscape? How is the moment created and for whom? How do we define a cultural landscape that includes forms, images, and ideas? Do ideas and images succumb to the whims of the moment or do they persist over time?

Jonathan Mandell looks at New Brooklyn Theatre's production of The Death of Bessie Smith, and the ways theatre sparks political change.

Holly L. Derr writes about how various playwrights have gotten hired from non-TV writing, and the diversity initatives drawing in new talent.

Perseverance Theatre has a long history of creating new work. A great deal of that new work embodies one of Perseverance’s core values: regional voice. In 35 years, Perseverance Theatre has premiered close to 70 new works. Two of the challenges of creating this work are the distance and isolation of being located in Alaska. These also serve as great opportunities to be unique in perspective and specific in terms of the type of work we do. This article is part of a series of four articles on Creative Placemaking publishing in conjunction with the 2014 ArtPlace America Grantee Summit. The Summit will livestream Mon, March 3 to Wed, March 5 on HowlRound.TV. In Twitter, use #ArtPlace to participate in the conversation. View the full series, schedule, and archive here: http://bit.ly/artplace2014.

The Great Chicago Fire Festival is a new signature event for the City of Chicago. It is a citywide spectacle, co-produced by Redmoon Theater and the City of Chicago. It will be Mayor Emanuel’s first major cultural initiative and is wedded to his federally funded effort to convert the Chicago River into a hub of downtown recreation. What Mardi Gras is to New Orleans and the Running of the Bulls is to Pamplona, that’s what The Great Chicago Fire Festival will become to the Windy City. This article is part of a series of four articles on Creative Placemaking publishing in conjunction with the 2014 ArtPlace America Grantee Summit. The Summit will livestream Mon, March 3 to Wed, March 5 on HowlRound.TV. In Twitter, use #ArtPlace to participate in the conversation. View the full series, the schedule, and archive here: http://bit.ly/artplace2014.

Dani Snyder-Young looks at the world premiere of Joel Drake Johnson’s Rasheeda Speaking, and reflects on seeing a play about race, with a mostly white audience. 

Alice Stanley Jr. reviews Orange Theatre’s experimental production of Federico García Lorca’s Blood Wedding, which incorporated contemporary multimedia technology in its warehouse set.

P. Carl interviews Director Lear deBessonet on her influences, inspirations, and current work.

When we do a talk back after our public performances of a Shakespearean play, there's a particular question that frequently comes up. This one question does a fair job of identifying the mission of EclecticPond Theatre Company (ETC). It's also the reason I signed on with the company shortly after it was formed in 2010. Invariably, this question comes from a well-meaning adult, and it always manages to surprise me that it has been asked again. “Do you really think that students can actually relate to anything in this play?”

Allison Vanouse looks at student theatre — which is infrequently reviewed — choosing to critique Conspiracy (an adaptation of the 2001 HBO film), from the Harvard Radcliffe Dramatic Club.

In this installation, sound designer and playwright Tom Horan interviews Artistic Director Bryan Fonseca about the history and current status of the Phoenix Theatre.

We often discuss originality at Q Artistry, an Indianapolis based new works theater organization. We debate it and comb over it with dirty, bloody brushes or pluck at it with a solitary virgin pick. And we always come up with different answers. From talking bowling pins to singing bunnies, we've presented ideas in theater form that were brand new or re-imagined. We've set Edgar Allan Poe to theatrical music in "Cabaret Poe" and turned the villain from the oldest poem known to man into an experience for audiences in "Grendel".

Bertie Ferdman recounts productions from the 2014 UTR and COIL Festivals.