Andrew Child - Page 4

Before the shutdown, the final piece I reviewed for Broadway World was Boston Ballet’s rEVOLUTION which included Glass Pieces, a hypnotic embrace of the geometrics of a theatre space by Phillip Glass and Jerome Robbins.

I was finally fortunate to chat with two members of different Boston arts boards about the way they engage with their roles. Cheryl D Singleton has been a stalwart member of Boston’s theatre community as an actor, director, improviser, and board member since moving here in 1986.

In 1891, years before Sigmund Freud would revolutionize the way the human mind is perceived and the significance of symbolism, childhood and sexuality on a person’s psyche, German playwright Frank Wedekind challenged the taboos around the sexual tension of young people with a play that would challenge censorship in the theatre for nearly a century.

After registering for a performance by Zoom Theatre, you get an automated email which explains that you will be able to be heard by the actors and other audience members during this virtual performance.

When performance spaces were shuttered, many companies shuttered their imaginations in solidarity with the rows of seats, choosing to hibernate until they could return to live, in-person events and allowing both to collect dust in the meantime.

In a 2002 public report on the spread of HIV through commercial sex, the World Health Organization defined sex workers as “(sic) people who receive money or goods in exchange for sexual services, and who consciously define those activities as income generating even if they do not consider sex work as their occupation.”

The first time composer/ lyricist Elizabeth Addison saw Jeremy O. Harris’ Slave Play on Broadway, she felt self-conscious. The piece takes an unflinching swipe at racial tensions in ways that famously ignited passions of theatre goers of all races.

As organizations convene to release comprehensive anti-racism plans, put out public relations fires as past transgressions come back into focus, and tighten their deadly clutch around maintaining a season subscription model, op eds and interviews circulate as leaders are asked, “what’s next?”

Point: For many theatres, a pandemic has meant that they need to find new ways to create and present productions. While that is certainly easier said than done, at this juncture, recurring themes, practices, and platforms have arisen.

A native New Yorker, Dr. Donatella Galella admits to a past as a theatre snob. a?oeI was like, a??Does it even exist outside of New York City?a??.a??

Amidst our recent heatwave, Dr. Heather Nathans, a theatre professor, practitioner, and writer raised by two historians, felt a particular physical connection to the stuffiness eighteenth century Bostonians would have undoubtedly experienced in theatres during the summer.

In March, Charlotte M Canninga??s historical commentary on American theatre during the 1918 flu epidemic made the rounds on social media as newly-furloughed industry professionals struggled to find solid footing amidst a global wave of trepidation.

Following their 2017 documentary theatre project exploring the impact of the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing, Finish Line, Boston Theatre Company has commissioned a new piece of documentary theatre about the varied experiences of the LGBTQ+ community, The Gay Agenda.

With director Vahdat Yeganeh and a team of artists streaming in live from around the globe, Boston Experimental Theatre has perfectly divined that piece of performance art that neither begrudgingly embraces its virtual form nor coyly alludes to its obvious limits, but rather exists in a way that could never wholly be replicated in another medium.

TC Squared's Volume Up series of virtual one act plays is posed to convince audiences they are up for the task of taking their programs to the digital realm for the time being. After logging in to their YouTube stream, one is met with a smooth, animated countdown set to a quiescent techno beat by Kadahj Bennett.

Summer L. Williams, associate artistic director and co-founder of Company One Theatre is, among other goals, using this time as a chance to reset. She ponders, a?oeHow do I take advantage of this chance to reimagine the way I think or work? I am finding things that I thought were internal pressures that are actually external pressures.a??

AATAB is not a theatre company. They were originally founded in 2018 as a social collective connected by a Facebook group. In response to Boston's need to embrace local Asian American artists she explains she would rather see established organizations do the work to welcome and elevate members of the community than see an individual company formed.

When Kate Snodgrass was asked by the Huntington Theatre's director of new work, Charles Haugland, to contribute to a series of short audio plays called Dream Boston, she jumped at this new opportunity. a?oeI have always been fascinated by radioa??, she grins at me via Zoom.

In Women Behind the Curtain, Michael Lin weaves a narrative about a French spy, Renee, on a mission in Cold War Moscow. When a suspiciously-invested secretary, Aleksandra, joins her in her covert travels, the two are set on an action-packed journey through mistrusted informants, double agents, and scenarios that raise questions

a?oeThis project wouldn't neatly fit into any of the niches I'm really familiar with in Boston theatre. Black actors are still discussing permission. How is permission granted? Who gives out the permission? I realized there is really no permission needed throughout this process.a??