Theater Creatives On The Needs Of The Industry

 

In a Sundance Institute survey, the Institute has released a new study that diagnoses the state of the theater industry and imagines its future, with input from more than 75 of the field's most influential artists, leaders, donors, and administrators, as Broadway returns to business and live performances resume across the country. 

“Emerging From the Cave: Reimagining Our Future in Theater and Live Performance,” released Wednesday and available on a dedicated website, gathers the thoughts, ideas, and proposed solutions from a diverse group of creatives, including Lynn Nottage, Michael R. 

Jackson, Suzan-Lori Parks, Robert O'Hara, Ty Defoe, and Shaina Taub; artistic directors Maria Goyanes, Jim Nicola, and Nataki Garrett; and artistic directors Maria Goyanes, Jim Jesse Cameron Alick, a veteran dramaturg at the Public Theater who was just named assistant creative director of Off Broadway's Vineyard Theater, led the research. 

The research, which began in January, was intended as an internal document to aid Sundance in exploring new versions of the organization's well-known theatrical development initiatives. 

On the latest edition of Stagecraft, Variety's theatrical podcast, Alick says, "But when I spoke with folks, we simply began talking about everything." 

“We began talking about the rise of Black Lives Matter, the theatrical industry in general, how we pay our artists, and who should be in charge.” 

Alick noticed that the same issues and themes emerged throughout his hour-long virtual one-on-one conversations with the study's 76 participants. 

Alick remarked, "It really made me think, well, we're on the same page." “It was a wonderful thing to have literally dozens of individuals talking to me about the same issue and giving up comparable answers to that problem.” Discussions centered on four topics in the study's results. 

One suggestion was to decentralize power hierarchies in the field in favor of shared or circular leadership systems, similar to those recently implemented at the Public Theater (where an artistic team weighs in on all creative choices) and the Wilma Theater in Philadelphia (led by a rotating group of artistic directors). 

Other hot topics were holistic artist support, which entails paying artists more and keeping them in paid jobs; and what's next for digital theater, which attendees felt is likely to stay around and develop as creatives and businesses experiment with live/digital hybrid models. 

“Field ideation,” or the activity of talking about large ideas, was recognized as the survey's fourth major topic by Alick. 

Alick said, “Theater and live performance require a place for thinking and conversation.” “We don't have the capacity to have a good discussion right now. 

Our discussions get heated. Leadership and individuals in institutions often clam up and clench their fists, indicating that they are very concerned. 

In the field, there's a lot of dread and uncertainty, and we need to find out how to communicate with each other.

According to Alick, the entire report was about 150 pages long. There's a video and a presentation on the study's results on EmergingFromTheCave.com, in addition to the gathered interviews. 

Sundance Institute CEO Keri Putnam stated, 

"We are starting a discussion that we hope artists, funders, and organizations will continue in order to stimulate new forms of support." 

“We recognize that some of these problems are beyond the scope of arts groups alone to address. In fact, we believe that many of the answers must come from sources other than institutions.”

COVID Expert On Broadway Discusses Returning To Theaters Safely.

It's the issue on everyone's mind on Broadway right now: 
How can we all — cast, staff, and spectators — return to theaters safely as the delta variant spreads just as plays are getting back up and running? 

There is no one solution to that issue, according to epidemiologist and economist Dr. Blythe Adamson; rather, there are many distinct responses that may be blended successfully for any particular production. 

On the latest edition of Variety's theatrical podcast "Stagecraft," Adamson says, "There isn't one method that everyone should be doing it." 

“It's the fact that we have a variety of tools that we can stack together.” 

Adamson has been a prominent voice on COVID guidelines for Broadway after serving on the White House COVID-19 task group and advising on a variety of large-scale, in-person events (including sports events). 

She's now working as a COVID consultant for "Pass Over," the first production to reopen after the closure (and the second after "Springsteen on Broadway"). 

Adamson was important in putting the safety procedures and safeguards in place for “Pass Over,” and she discussed some of the ideas she gained from her study and work in sports on the latest episode of “Stagecraft.” She, for example, is a big supporter of several times-per-week PCR testing. 

She also emphasized that everyone must be ready for change. 

She replied, "Your safety rules can't be strict." “You should have the ability and expectation that they will change over time as you gain more knowledge, as well as when the predominance in the community changes.” 

The production's dedicated COVID safety manager (a new job established post-lockdown and distinct from the state manager) oversees the "Pass Over" procedures, which go above and above the minimums needed by local laws and industry labor agreements. 

But, in Adamson's opinion, the additional care (and the associated expenses) are well worth it. 

She said, "We could do the very minimum and definitely have an epidemic in the cast." “What are the ramifications of doing the bare minimum? All of the income lost as a result of canceled concerts, and that's just the financial aspect. 

… At the end of the day, we really care about people's health. 

We want them to be in good health. 

We don't want individuals to be put in danger, become ill, or spread this to their family. 

There's also a human aspect to it.” “Protecting people has a high return on investment,” she said. 

Adamson also addressed the process of working out acceptable safety measures in the frequently unique settings of Broadway on the most recent episode of "Stagecraft." 

“I'd say things like, ‘Well, just open the dressing room windows,' and [a stage manager] would reply, ‘There are no dressing room windows!' They're all packed into a small, tiny area! There are no windows that can be opened!'  

Disney Theatrical's Global Relaunch

 

From “Aladdin” in Mexico City to “Frozen” in London to “The Lion King” in Tokyo — not to mention “Lion King” and “Aladdin” on Broadway — Disney Theatrical Productions is in the middle of launching nine new shows and reviving 14 others that were impacted by the epidemic. 

They're doing all of this in approximately seven months. To put it simply, that's a lot. 

The staff at Disney, on the other hand, saw a clear rationale in executing everything at once. 

On the latest edition of Stagecraft, Anne Quart, senior vice president of production and co-producer at Disney Theatrical, stated, "We could have stretched it out much farther, but we made the choice that at the core of what we do is people." “We need to go back to work with our performers, crew, musicians, and designers. 

The whole ecology must be lifted off the ground. 

There can't be one program that is more essential than the other. 

We must all work together to bring it up. 

We won't have an industry until we do this.” Quart and Thomas Schumacher, DTP's producer and president, spoke on Stagecraft to discuss how they manage scheduling, worldwide travel, remote work, and different foreign COVID-19 limitations to get these performances off the ground. 

Quart observed, "Everything has 500 stages that it didn't have before COVID." 

She went on to say, "Plus, each individual person inside the system has their own emotions." “How they feel about safety, about COVID, and how they feel in the place. 

You'll need to make space for it as well. 

So there are a lot of variables.” In addition, in the latest edition of Stagecraft, Following the reckoning that has taken place in the theater business and the entertainment industry at large over the past year, Quart and Schumacher addressed how Disney Theatrical is moving toward equality and racial justice. 

In terms of the company's equality and accessibility efforts, Schumacher stated, "We're deep into this discussion, and that implies a lifetime conversation." 

“When you look into this subject, you'll see that we weren't really following through on the commitment we made to ourselves, and it's been a wake-up call.” 

When it came to the theater industry, Schumacher acknowledged he didn't know what to anticipate in the near future, but he was extremely enthusiastic about the long-term possibilities. 

“How will the world be in a year's time? He said, "I honestly don't know." “However, I am sure that in the long run, this will be remembered as a period of transition. 

Some of it was really beneficial change that made us much better and more vibrant.” COVID Expert on Broadway Discusses Returning to Theaters Safely.