Streaming Plays, Entertaining Podcasts, And Fun Theater Challenges For Kids: At Home With Washington Theater

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There are plenty of virtual events and online classes currently on offer from shuttered theaters. At 8pm on May 3, Flying V Theatre will be streaming their award-winning musical You, or Whatever I Can Get, "a deeply personal and hysterically funny look at the insecurities and anxieties of relationships and dating in your early 30s," FREE on their Facebook page with specially recorded behind-the-scenes creator commentary from the writing team.

One podcast to check out is playwright Patrick Flynn's Original Cast, about original cast albums and the people who love them. He's posting new "Distantly Social" episodes every day in which he speaks with theater professionals (like Michael Innocenti and Tracy Lynn Olivera) "about what they're seeing and how they're doing." For anyone looking to take a more highbrow break from bingeing on Netflix's "Too Hot to Handle," We Happy Few Productions is streaming their 2019 adaptation of classic pirate tale Treasure Island. The video is available until May 6 for a suggested donation of $5 and is suitable for all ages.

Also streaming right now is Happenstance Theater's Helen Hayes Award-winning Moxie: A Happenstance Vaudeville, a theatrical collage "inspired by the Great Age of Vaudeville, infused with the joys and struggles of its performers' lives." This video is $10 for a one-week streaming period. And for anyone desperate to drag their bored kids off Animal Crossing, Round House Theatre is posting FREE weekly age-appropriate Theatre Education Challenges via their Facebook page. Check in for new content on Mondays for K-3, Wednesdays for 4-6, and Fridays for teens. Each challenge promises to keep kids busy, "with the same methods of creating theatre that are taught at Round House-acting, movement, design, and playmaking."

For a full list of amazing offerings, check out At Home with Washington Theater, our list of theaters and organizations that are hosting virtual events, from streaming past performances to virtual classes and workshops. We'll be updating it as more events are scheduled.

Check out our #VirtualBucketBrigade playlist on YouTube now!

So many talented theater artists have joined our #VirtualBucketBrigade, making videos to support the Taking Care COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund. We didn't want you to miss them, so we've added them all to one easy-to-view YouTube playlist. There, you can check out the huge range of contributions, including musical theater standards, custom choreography, poetry readings, rap performances, group numbers, make-up tutorials, and more. It's so fun to see how creative our theater community is and we thank everyone involved!

William "Bill" Logan Hopkins, 1934-2020.

It is with great sadness that we share the news of the death of William Logan Hopkins (85), beloved friend and a life-long lover of the arts. Bill, a long-time resident of Arlington, Virginia, died from cancer on April 22. He was retired, having worked at the Bureau of Naval Personnel. Bill was a gallery owner and an enthusiastic supporter of DC-area theaters. He was one of the original Helen Hayes Award judges and continued to play a role as a member of the Helen Hayes Host Committee. After the death of his partner of 51 years, Richard B. Anderson (1934-2014), Bill established the Anderson Hopkins Award for Excellence in the Theatre Arts, which is given to individuals whose work on and off stage has advanced the theater arts in the Washington Metropolitan area. A memorial celebration will be planned when the restrictions of the current crisis are lifted.

Taking Care-COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund Update.

We're moving toward our new goal of $330,000 for the Taking Care-COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund, which gives direct financial relief to theater professionals who face financial hardship from closings, postponed productions, organizational furloughs, layoffs, and other lost wages. We're currently over 80% of the way to that new fundraising target, with donations coming in daily from theater supporters all over the DC area. We've received 360 applications for the Fund, with more coming in every week, and so far we've been able to fulfill hundreds of grant requests from theater makers in need. But we still need your help.

We know that the path to re-opening our doors safely is not short-term and, unfortunately, we anticipate more need from theater professionals and we'll be here for them. Please, share the fundraising link below with your friends and family network and let them know that every dollar raised through this fundraiser will be allocated to direct relief to theater professionals in need at this time. theatreWashington is here for the long haul.

Please Donate Here: https://theatrewashington.democracyengine.com/theatrewashington

How To Apply For Taking Care Emergency Funding.

If you are a theater professional currently residing in and who has actively worked in the Washington metropolitan area within the past two years, you are eligible to apply for emergency relief.

Application Deadlines Have Been Extended.
We will continue to fund applications as we continue to fundraise. For applications received through April 28, we will award the next round of grants on a rolling basis. After April 28, we will set up a new round of deadlines for applications.

Apply Here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TakingCaretheatreWashington

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