Sammi Cannold and Rebecca Aparicio Launch THE COMEBACK PROJECT

Theater directors Sammi Cannold (Evita, New York City Center) and Rebecca Aparicio (Jack and the Beanstalk, A.R.T.), in partnership with The Broadway Podcast Network, are launching The Comeback Project, a conversation series to help theatermakers restart in the wake of the pandemic. On March 4th, 5:00 pm (EST), it will commence with a panel conversation featuring international theatermakers from countries in which theaters have partially or fully reopened during the pandemic. Find it at BPN.FM/TheComebackProject

Moderated by Cannold, participants include industry leaders who have been on the frontlines of reopening in their respective countries Michael Cassel (Hamilton, Harry Potter, Australia), Ginny Kim (Cats, Hadestown, South Korea), Haruka A. Nakagawa (Phantom of the Opera, Japan), Alistair Smith (The Stage, UK), and Ariel Stolier (Paseo la Plaza, Argentina). They will illustrate the journeys their respective theater communities have been on in the past year and their future trajectories. The hope is that facilitating a sharing of best practices and strategies will help ensure success for those looking to follow suit. It is also an examination of theater communities who have made strides in reopening and how they have handled challenges and set-backs that have arisen on that path.

By bringing together experts from within the industry and equally, from beyond the industry, The Comeback Project hopes to provide resources and strategies for arts-workers from all corners of the theatrical world planning their return to in-person work. These thought-provoking conversations aim to respond to the challenges the theater community is facing in real time and future conversation topics will include: Returning to the Rehearsal Room (featuring those who've done it), Lessons from Sports and Television, Making Outdoor Theater, and more.

On the subject of the first conversation, co-creator Sammi Cannold said: "I was fortunate to get to spend a portion of 2020 working in South Korea and got to witness how theatermakers across the globe succeeded at safely keeping their industry alive during the pandemic and against all odds. Obviously, this is not a one-size-fits all equation and the public health situation in America has obviously been much worse than in almost all of these other countries, so it's natural that we're coming back later. Nevertheless,it struck me that we can learn so much about reopening theaters from our international colleagues who've already done it."

Co-creator Rebecca Aparicio adds: "We've assembled a panel of theater-makers who've been in the trenches in their respective countries - representing productions like the Australian premier of Hamilton, the South Korean tour of Cats and upcoming production of Hadestown, and more. We'll also hear from journalist Alistair Smith, who's been chronicling the West End's journey throughout the pandemic from a bird's eye view."

Interested viewers can sign up for the first conversation on March 4th at 5PM EST here.

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