Last week I came to a conclusion: the best way to increase the entertainment value of a mediocre play, like Timon of Athens, is to give it to a repertory theater company. They’ll mix it in with three or four others, including a couple of better ones, and they’ll give the same small group of […]
Archives for March 2014
Synetic’s next season ranges from Island of Dr. Moreau to Beauty and the Beast.
Synetic Theater Company has announced their 2014/15 season of original productions.
Win tickets to see Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me at West End Cinema
ELAINE STRITCH: SHOOT ME is opening Friday, March 14 at the West End Cinema, 2301 M Street NW, Washington, DC. Update: Our passes are taken, but we encourage you to see this documentary about one of Broadway’s brightest stars.
Hair at Keegan – Exclusive rehearsal photos
I was lucky enough to sit in on the first few hours of tech for Keegan Theatre’s upcoming production of Hair. For any show, the first day of tech is a giant leap: The work lights are turned off, the stage lights are turned on. The cast gets a first taste of what it is […]
Making a theatrical trailer: a talk about Everyman’s The Dresser
For DC area theatres, using movie-style trailers to promote upcoming productions is a fairly recent phenomenon. A few years ago, these promo videos consisted of still images with music underscoring. Not anymore. If we were handing out awards for most effective theatrical trailer, mine would go to Everyman Theatre for The Dresser which was released […]
Barbara Cook’s Spotlight: Brian d’Arcy James
In every trip I make to a cabaret performance, I pay particular attention to the personal connection the performer wants to make with his or her audience. It’s the classic actor question: Ok, you’ve been given a stage, and an audience full of people here to watch you do whatever you want…and, go!
Chimes at Midnight with Stacy Keach, Week 1
Longtime stage and screen star Stacy Keach is no stranger to the Shakespeare Theatre Company, having appeared at STC (and won three Helen Hayes awards) as Richard III, Macbeth, and King Lear. He has never before, however, had a blog. Currently in town to play the massive role of Sir John Falstaff in Henry IV, […]
Stevey Yockey and Michael Dove discuss Pluto
Forum Theatre in Silver Spring is currently running a production of Steven Yockey’s Pluto, directed by Forum’s artistic director Michael Dove. Pluto is a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere, which received productions at Actors Express in Atlanta and Know Theatre in Cincinnati before opening at Forum, and is also currently running at the […]
Playwrights producing – The Welders find their grail with Allyson Currin play
“Already I feel like this is the coolest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” says Allyson Currin, local playwright. The Welders, the D.C-based, playwright-run collective previously profiled by DCTS here, is kicking off their innovative project – in which the five founding writers will take turns as artistic director of the company, staging one […]
Rep Stage announces its upcoming season
Two acclaimed new plays, The Whale, one of the most talked about plays to emerge from the Humana Festival and Sunset Baby, winner of this year’s Kennedy Prize for Drama will receive their area debuts as part of the Rep Stage 2014/2015 season.
Water by the Spoonful
Addiction binds and tears apart the characters in Quiara Alegria Hudes’ potent and poetic play Water by the Spoonful, currently casting a pensive spell over Studio Theatre.
Six plays in progress shared by Playwrights’ Arena at Arena Stage
In July of 2010, Arena Stage announced a revolutionary idea: five promising young playwrights would receive a regular salary from the company, including health insurance, and access to company resources so that they could work on their art without the distraction of the wolf at the door. Three and a half years later, the jury […]