Industry Theatre Newsroom Page 41

Robert Peterpaul, in association with the Broadway Podcast Network, is thrilled to welcome Casting Director Karlee Fomalont (I Care A Lot, Netflix's The Get Down) to the hit podcast The Art of Kindness with Robert Peterpaul. Fomalont offers invaluable advice for actors, discusses kindness in the entertainment industry, plays a surprise game with The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel star Rachel Brosnahan and much more. The interview is now available!

Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation (SDCF) have announced that director and multi-disciplinary artist Kendra Ware has been selected as the 2022 Lloyd Richards New Futures Resident Artist at Actors Theatre of Louisville in Louisville, KY, where she will work with Executive Artistic Director Robert Barry Fleming.

Applications for The Cody Renard Richard Scholarship Program are now open. The program seeks to uplift and support the next generation of Black, Asian, Latinx, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) theatre-makers working behind the scenes.

The American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA) has named critic and journalist Brittani Samuel to receive the inaugural Edward Medina Prize for Excellence in Cultural Criticism at its November 2022 conference in New York. 

The Apollo Apprenticeship provides college students with pre-professional experience in the arts and entertainment industries. Apprentices receive training and mentoring as they work with Apollo staff to design, implement, and manage projects and/or events.

The Center at West Park (CWP), a not-for-profit community performing arts center, has secured $3.5 million in pledges to help save the historic West Park Presbyterian Church, a designated New York City landmark and, according to the Landmarks Preservation Commission, “one of the most important buildings on the Upper West Side.”

Krysta Rodriguez recently joined The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales. Krysta opens up about her healing journey, why she decided to go public about it, her blog, ChemoCouture and how it became her form of activism, and personal growth as her number one life motivation. Listen here!

International licensing agency Broadway DNA has opened worldwide licensing for the new play Unmarried Man, which recently had its world premiere in NYC. The ninety-minute satire is now available to schools and theaters in the U.S. and abroad.

Wendy C. Goldberg, the first female artistic director of the National Playwrights Conference at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, has stepped down.

The Rose Room, a backroom speakeasy style nightclub complete with a vast and diverse array of performance artists is quickly becoming a New York go-to gathering area for those who call themselves bohemian and queer, recently made New York indie theatre mainstay Jay Michaels its general manager.

For many working in the entertainment industry, it can often feel like we’re living in a different economy than everyone else - the hours maintained have long been different from the rest of the working world, the day to day tasks, the workplace cultures. This week, different stories about how broader economic trends are showing up in the arts.

Tony Award-winning director Anna Shapiro (August: Osage County), Oscar-nominated producer Leelai Demoz (On Tip-Toe), Tony Award-nominated actor/writer Ian Barford (Linda Vista) and entrepreneur Brad Keywell (Groupon, WNDR Museum) have teamed up to create multimedia venture Highwire Media, an artist-first production company that is developing and producing projects across film, theater, and television.

The 1949 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Music awarded to Nanette Fabray in “Love Life,” sold Thursday night for $8,319 at Nate D. Sanders Auctions.

The Entertainment Community Fund will be the lead seller of a select number of tickets to the upcoming 25th anniversary celebration of The Lion King on Broadway. Now, audiences will have the opportunity to be part of the celebration as this musical theater phenomenon marks its 25 years on Broadway at this special anniversary performance.

A dependable haven for artists in isolation, Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) is now into its second year of non-stop weekly Community Gatherings this Friday, having offered to date over 100 conversations and unlimited camaraderie since April 17, 2020.

New York Stage and Film announced today that Artistic Director Chris Burney will be leaving at the end of his contract in December 2022 to pursue new, professional opportunities in education and commercial theatre. Liz Carlson, who has been part of NYSAF for more than 15 years, most recently serving as Artistic Producer, will become the Interim Artistic Director effective immediately.

The Stage Managers' Association has announced he launch of a new philanthropic foundation. The Stage Managers’ Association Foundation (SMAF) supports and promotes the craft and art of stage management by providing funds for education and training, scholarships, and public events that enhance and develop stage management skills and advocacy.

On Monday night, The Horton Foote Prize held their first in person ceremony since 2018 honoring Christina Anderson, the 2022 winner. Pulitzer Prize winning playwrights and Ms. Anderson's former teachers and mentors, Paula Vogel and Lynn Nottage, presented Christina with $50,000 and a limited edition of Keith Carter’s iconic photograph of Horton Foote.

The Theatre Leadership Project (TTLP), founded during the pandemic to create lasting change in American theatre by installing BIPOC leadership in the industry, held its first in-person affair on Monday at Brooklyn Chop House in Times Square.

​​​​​​​ Stellar and Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) announced a partnership to ensure that OSF's groundbreaking O! Digital Stage will be powered in part by Stellar's industry leading platform, bringing unparalleled theatrical experiences to audiences around the globe.  

Julie Benko is an amazing actress, singer, writer, musician, director, and philanthropist based in NYC. She holds a BFA in Drama and an MFA in Acting from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. She currently plays as Fanny Brice in the Broadway show, 'Funny Girl', and released her brand new album, 'Hand in Hand' last August.

Broadway DNA will present a private industry reading of SMJ's SWAY at Open Jar Studios in Midtown Manhattan November 17 at 2 and 7 PM.

On November 2, 2022, The New York Landmarks Conservancy will host its 29th Living Landmarks Celebration at The Plaza.  This year's honorees are Rev. Dr. Calvin Butts III, Andreas C. Dracopoulos, Marlene Hess, Earl Monroe, Charlotte Moore and Ciarán O'Reilly, Faith Ringgold, and Oscar Tang. 

The Dramatists Guild of America is presenting season four of The Dramatists Guild Presents: TALKBACK. The Guild celebrates writers from a diverse array of backgrounds and how they’ve built meaningful careers within a constantly evolving industry. The first episode of the season debuts today with Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. Listen here!

AEA featured prominently in industry news last week - voicing support for a casino project in Times Square, as the subject of a defamation suit from producer Garth Drabinsky, and their efforts to organize the dancers at Star Garden. All as the industry continues to work towards a new normal, while facing tremendous challenges on all fronts.