🚨 Industry Pro Newsletter: Justice Ginsburg as Patron of the Arts, Going Digital in Person, and the Fight for Funding Continues

September 28, 2020 -

Like many of you, I spent a lot of time over the past week reading remembrance articles about Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Without venturing into the political, I was deeply struck by how important the arts - particularly the performing arts - were to her throughout her life and time on the Supreme Court. As Peter Marks of the Washington Post put it, "She was the most faithful patron of the performing arts in the upper echelons of officialdom I have ever known." (You can read his full memorial of RBG here)

As a staple of the Washington, DC theatre scene, she developed relationships throughout the town with administrators, performers, and fellow patrons, truly understanding the power of the arts to reach across the aisle, and the unique ability of the arts to bring people from all walks of life together in a room. As we all continue through this seemingly never-ending intermission, the stories of Justice Ginsburg and her relationship with institutions throughout the DC area are an important reminder of what it is we're all fighting so hard to ensure continues during and after this pandemic. (Check out NBC Washington's reporting on Justice Ginsburg's relationship with Arena Stage)

Not only was she a devoted patron, but in her early days she dreamed of taking to the stage as an opera singer. Deadline took a look at the way the world of Opera has been remembering her, and you can even take a look at a video from her appearance in Daughters of the Regiment at the Kennedy Center.

One hopes she isn't the last pillar of Washington power to have such a deep love of the performing arts.

Filmed Plays and Musicals Live on Your Stage

Broadway Booking Office NYC and BY Experience have teamed up to provide touring venues the opportunity to bring live capture and filmed performances to their stages in a way that allows for socially distanced live audiences to begin getting comfortable coming back into your lobbies and seats while adhering to guidance from the scientific community and local governments. The events are designed to offer venues a chance to restart their patron relationships in a way that carries a low financial risk.

Broadway in Chicago and the Future of Chicago Theatres

As winter looms, the Chicago theatre scene grapples with moving forward - with some companies pivoting hard to digital, and others planning a return to live performance by the end of the year.

The Met Cancels their 2020-2021 Season

In a sign of continued uncertainty, the Met took steps this week to find some stability: announcing plans to cancel in-person events through next fall, and continuing with digital programming until that time.

TedX Broadway Goes Digital This November

The popular event will still take place this year, just in a new digital format. Currently, the event is scheduled for November 17th at 1pm Eastern.

As Stages Reopen in Sydney, a look at the Various Safety Protocols - And Their Enforcement

With all venues practicing social distancing, some requiring masks, others only suggesting - the return to the stage in Sydney is awash in different ways to keep audiences and performers safe - from Limelight Magazine, a look at the different procedures and how audiences are responding.

How Arena Stage is "Doing the Work"

In a time of broad upheaval in the world, a conversation with Reginald Douglas and David Muse in DC Metro Theatre Arts dives into how they are doing the work to bring racial equity to the fore of the work being done by the historically white Arena Stage.

Artist Relief Fund Reaches $20 million

The Fund opened for applications at the beginning of April, and since that time has filled about 100 unrestricted grant requests per week at an average amount of $5,000 to artists impacted by the pandemic. Through continued work and partnerships with other foundations, and has presently announced that they will continue to provide grants through December.

The Fight is On For Government Assistance in Australia

With many Australian theatres competing for a piece of a very small part of the government rescue money pie, many Australian companies are feeling that they are being held to a significantly higher standard for help than other industries in the country - including the requirement of depleting assets to an unsustainably low level before qualifying for assistance.

Are You Streaming Content?

Then we want it on our Streaming Calendar! The BroadwayWorld Streaming Calendar is the most in depth, comprehensive, and most-used streaming calendar on the web. It is the go-to resource for theatre audiences looking for a theatrical experience in their own living room. The best part? Listings are completely free of charge (with paid boosting options available). Add your streaming content today!

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