Industry Pro Newsletter: Tax Credits in Maryland, A Unionization Effort in DC

The Tony Awards are on Sunday, and that feels really normal. Anyone who has walked through Times Square in the past week or so would also attest that the crush of tourists is also starting to feel normal. Box Offices across the country are starting to normalize, though I don't know anyone wants to go so far as to call them normal quite yet. However, there continues to be an undercurrent of change throughout the industry - the vast majority of it for the better in terms of trying to create better conditions for artists and other workers in the creative industries. That change doesn't come without strife, and that is the other thing that is becoming a part of the new normal - unionization efforts, Do Not Work orders, and social media campaigns to put pressure on producers and institutions to make changes to the very business model of theatre.

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Industry Trends

Maryland Offers New Tax Credits to Attract Broadway and National Tour Launches

Up to $5 million in tax credits are available for productions that choose to make Maryland the launching point for either Broadway Bound Productions or National Tours. Not only will this program help keep local artists working during the summer months when the industry is typically less active, the Hippodrome Foundation will utilize the grants to expose area youth to possible careers in the arts. Click here to read more...

Bringing Back Broadway: Situation's Stephanie Sciandra Smith

Over 11 years with the company, Stephanie Sciandra Smith has risen from a client services intern to overseeing the creative strategies for clients in the arts and entertainment verticals. In this interview, she explores how that creative content strategy shifted during the pandemic, and how the way in which marketers should connect with their audiences is different now. Click here to read more...

Shakespeare Theatre Company Stagehands File For Union Recognition

While the full time members of Shakespeare Theatre's production team were in talks with Local 22 of IATSE before the pandemic, incidents during and emerging from the pandemic solidified the unionization push. Click here to read more...

Broadway/New York

Meta and A Strange Loop Partner on New AR Experience

The #showyourskills experience is a new augmented reality (AR) effect available on Facebook and Instagram. The effect takes users on stage and into the spotlight where they go through a virtual audition process. Click here to read more...

BroadwayCon Lineup Announced

The event, taking place from July 8-10, will be the first in-person addition in two years. The event is an opportunity for the biggest Broadway fans to engage with shows and stars on a deeper level - with panels, performances, and more. Click here to read more...

AFM Local 802 Issues Do Not Work Order for Distinguished Concerts International New York

DCINY is a for-profit company that holds most of their concerts at Carnegie Hall. The musicians union has been fighting over a contract with DCINY for two years. A protest will be held outside of Carnegie Hall on Monday, June 6 starting at 6pm. Click here to read more...

Regional

In its 85th Season, The Lost Colony Makes Major Updates

The evolution of the production under director Jeff Whiting has been a long and difficult process to tell the story in a new way with a deeper understanding and respect of Indigenous culture - including using exclusively Indigenous performers to portray the Indigenous characters on stage. The evolution goes beyond the script, as this season will also feature major technical upgrades, including three-dimensional projections. The show was originally created under the Works Progress Administration. Click here to read more...

Chicago's House Theatre to Close After this Summer

Following the conclusion of their current production, the 21-year old company will cease operations. Citing financial difficulties in their attempted recovery from the pandemic, the Board of Directors voted to take this step in order to ensure the current productions received the full support they were due, but that looking forward the company was in an unsustainable position. Click here to read more...

Live in America Brings Together 300 Artists for Place Based Performance

With a radical commitment to performances grounded in place, and funding from the Waltons, the Live in America festival, currently ongoing at Alice Walton's Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, envisions a next step in the evolution of the regional theatre. Click here to read more...

Latino Artists in Chicago Gather to say: "Quienes Somos-¡Aqui Estamos!"

Saying "Who We Are - We Are Here!" the artists represented 22 different cultural organizations from across the Chicagoland area, and brought them together with representatives from many of the largest foundations in the area. The primary goal was to discuss ways for these organizations to stop having to work twice as hard as predominantly white institutions to receive access to the same funding. Click here to read more...

International

Open Air Theatre Responds to Insensitive Comments from Critic

Issuing a warning to other critics, the Open Air Theatre at Regent's Park issued a warning after one critic used insensitive language in their review of the company's current production of Legally Blonde, stating that they wouldn't be inviting critics who do the same to future productions. Click here to read more...

Paige Cochran Sits Down With Amy Hodge

The Olivier Nominated Director discusses Henry VIII at Shakespeare's Globe, as well as adapting Shakespeare, and telling stories of women lost to history. Click here to read more...

Missed our last few newsletters?

May 31 - Is a Subscription Model the Correct Model for an Arts Organization?

As we hit the unofficial start of summer, overall the trends are looking up for Broadway and the broader theatre industry. That isn't to say there aren't ongoing challenges: ever-shifting health and safety protocols, continued reports of toxic work environments that need to be sorted, and a major shift in how audiences are buying tickets. But after two years of continued threats of shutdown, it is beginning to feel like the industry is safely back on its feet and in a stronger position than before to tackle many of these issues moving forward. Click here to read more...

May 23 - Mask Mandate Extensions, Are Tourist's Returning?

As awards season continues forward, there is a strong sense of normalcy within the industry - however, the announcement last week from both the Broadway League and at least one regional arts organization that mask mandates will continue into the summer is a strong reminder that we aren't yet back to normal. Tourism in New York is still below pre-pandemic numbers, and while many shows felt a boost in the post Tony nomination period in their box office numbers, there are other shows that are reliant on that tourist box office that are hoping to survive into summer when those numbers are expected to rebound even further. Click here to read more...

May 16 - Box Office Realities Show Recovery Slow Across the Country

From Broadway to Milwaukee, Los Angeles and beyond - the box office realities facing many companies on what should have been their biggest productions of the year are stark. While governmental support over the past few years has helped companies stay afloat, with rising costs and additional pandemic related support no longer an option, the realities are starting to settle in. Audiences remain slow to return to many shows, with the casual audience member less likely to catch multiple shows per week. While recent BroadwayWorld survey data indicates that the dedicated theatre fan is still not only seeing multiple shows per week, but they are planning ahead and buying tickets in a 2-3 month window ahead of time, with everyone rushing back to the stage getting the show in front of a dedicated audience can prove to be a challenge. Click here to read more...

BroadwayWorld Resources

BroadwayWorld Stage Mag - A Fully Interactive Show Program

The digital solution to your show program needs - want to see what's possible? Check out the Stage Mag's for off-Broadway's Blindness and for Next on Stage Season 3! Then start building your own at stagemag.broadwayworld.com.

Add Your Show to our Regional Events Calendar

As audiences get set to return to in-person performances, and as your company works to market your own return to the stage, make sure you've got your upcoming shows in our regional events calendars. Listings are free of charge, with boosting options available. Get your show listed now!

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