Industry Theatre Newsroom Page 73

The 2021 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize has been awarded to U.S. playwright Erika Dickerson-Despenza for her play about the Flint, Michigan water crisis, cullud wattah. Awarded annually since 1977, The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize is the largest and oldest international prize honoring Women+ playwrights.

The U.S. Small Business Administration has released new details about the Shuttered Venue Operators Grants (SVOG).

Master Teacher Richard Lawson will be joined by casting director Marci Liroff on Saturday, April 10th as part of The Richard Lawson Studios Self Tape Master Class series. Twenty actors will be given the opportunity to have their self-tape auditions assessed and redirected by Mr. Lawson and Ms. Liroff. Classes take place Saturday mornings at 10 AM PST via Zoom.

Theater Resources Unlimited will present a Writer-Producer Virtual Speed Date: The Art of the Pitch, on Sunday, April 25, 2021. The popular event is now reformatted for Zoom, with more tech and less noise: each writer will be in an individual breakout room with each of the eleven producers.

With off-Broadway performances resuming at some venues in New York, mid-May openings in the UK, and performances already underway in Australia and some parts of Asia, things are steadily returning to a sense of normal in the performing arts industry.

Vinessa Shaw (3:10 to Yuma, Hocus Pocus, Eyes Wide Shut, Ray Donovan) will lead a masterclass for the students of The International Acting Studio (TIAS) in Belgrade, Serbia on Monday, April 5th.

According to a new survey released today by ArtsBridge,two-thirds of high school students and parents (62%) are concerned that the student won't have an ideal college experience. However, when looking back at the 2020-2021 academic year, despite a “non-traditional” college experience, most college freshmen (82%) say they would do it over again.

Accent Dance NYC, an education and performance initiative that champions learning and communication through dance, is excited to announce the appointment of its new Chief Operating Officer, Monica Deane.

One year ago, on April 1, 2020, Stage Directors and Choreographers Society issued its first Remote Work Contract to support SDC Members who were—in the earliest days of industry shutdown—pivoting to virtual rehearsal rooms and stages.

New box office data from the 12 months since March 16, 2020 when performing arts organizations shut down show the catastrophic impact of the pandemic in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and the Republic of Ireland.

The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales recently chatted with Andrew Barth Feldman! Feldman discusses being the Science Consultant on the forthcoming Avatar: the Musical, set to open soon at the Mark Hellinger Theatre, being taught at Yale under James Cameron, his not-so-secret relationship with director/choreographer Zoey Taylor, and more!

Actors’ Equity Association has announced a webinar for workers to learn more about the COVID-19 vaccines on Wednesday, April 7, 12 p.m. ET. The webinar, in partnership with the Adult Vaccine Access Coalition, is open to members, non-members and anyone working in the arts. 

The 2019 Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Fairview” by Jackie Sibblies Drury has been acquired for licensing by Broadway Licensing for their DPS division. The Acting Edition, the only script approved for licensing, of “Fairview” is also now available.

Cleveland Musical Theatre rebrands as New City Music Theatre and will move to New York City. New City Music Theatre (NCMT) responds to the artistic needs of a contemporary world.

WME has signed Derek DelGaudio. DelGaudio is best known for his one-man Off-Broadway show, In & Of Itself, which ran for 72 weeks with over 560 performances, grossing around $7 million.

The National Asian Artists Project (NAAP) has released a statement regarding the recent events against the Asian community.

With off-Broadway performances resuming at some venues in New York, mid-May openings in the UK, and performances already underway in Australia and some parts of Asia, things are steadily returning to a sense of normal in the performing arts industry.

Tony Award-Winning Producer Adam Epstein and BroadwayWorld's Ben Rimalower will appear on On the Rocks Radio Show Tuesday, March 30th at 7pmPST/10pmEST with host TV/radio personality Alexander Rodriguez to chat theatre during COVID, careers, and more.

Episode 39 of 4Wall Sunday Roundtable will welcome lighting supervisors from the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Ballet, The Public Theater, and Penn & Teller.  Join them to hear what it’s like working for a storied and established institution, as well as how they started in the business, why they love what they do and more.

Los Angeles agent Anthony Boyer has been named a partner in the Theatrical Division at DDO Artists Agency.

The COVID Theatre Think Tank announced today that on Thursday April 1st at 2pm ET, they will host a national town hall for the theatre industry to address the current state of the virus, what lies ahead, and what it means for the reopening of theatre across the country.

New York Independent Venue Association (NYIVA) has launched an effort on behalf of independent music and comedy venues and promoters for targeted assistance in New York State's final enacted State Budget.

After a 21 year tenure, Randy Buck has announced that he will be stepping down from his role as CEO. Buck sites health issues as the reason for his departure.

To help provide resources for performing artists during this unprecedented time, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts has launched Tech Kits for Performing Artists, a new program lending out essential technology to  enable artists in need to document and share their works online.

The shift to digital tools brought on by the pandemic, and the continuation of trends that had begun before the pandemic make this an ideal time to also shift your show program into the digital realm. With Stage Mag available from BroadwayWorld, the tools are now also available to make this a simple, cost-effective switch for you and your team.