The 2020 Helen Hayes Awards, recognizing excellence on Washington-area stages for 2019, begins tonight with the first of seven nights of streamed presentations, capped off with a video celebration on September 25, 2020. All are free; the public is invited to register to view. Tonight’s award recipients will be noted here and announced on theatreWashington’s […]
Archives for August 2020
Theatre artists cross the line to end the silence and speak out for The SoSu Series
“I froze, not knowing what to do, instantly realizing … that he had all the power to hire me, and if I said no, I risked having any kind of role at one of the largest theatres in the country. And maybe farther than that; how could he damage my reputation?” – Confession Statement* On […]
Review: American Shakespeare Center twists Twelfth Night, Shakespeare’s already complex comedy
We think of Shakespeare as a romantic. He was anything but. As portrayed in the canon, love is an affliction, which clouds the reason and destroys discrimination and judgment. If we take a cold look at his great romance, Romeo and Juliet, we see it for what it is. Juliet is a 13-year-old girl who […]
The 2020 Helen Hayes Awards adapt, innovate and make history
How to hold an awards ceremony that has always been as much about bringing the community of theatre makers and theatre supporters together as it was about the awards themselves, during a pandemic? While other awards have settled for abbreviated online shows, The Helen Hayes Awards, now in its 36th year of recognizing excellence on […]
Black Art in a Time of Uprising. The responsibilities of Black theater artists
The ongoing state executions of Black people, exemplified most recently and brazenly by the public lynching of George Floyd (with no repercussions to date for those perpetrating the brutality) has been the catalyst for diverse actions seeking change. Some actions seek to create an atmosphere in which such events would not be considered normal, acceptable […]
Romantics Anonymous, once headed to DC, to be livestreamed from Bristol Old Vic
Shakespeare Theatre Company announced today that the Wise Children production of Emma Rice’s Romantics Anonymous will be streamed live from Bristol Old Vic for five performances, September 22 – 26. The arrival of Rice’s chamber musical about love between two shy French chocolatiers, had been eagerly anticipated here. Fresh off its run at Bristol Old […]
Shutdown-induced space comedy, Rebecca and Bekka in Space, returns for Season 2
Rebecca and Becca in Space, the space comedy created during the coronavirus stay-at-home orders by Rebecca Wahls and Rebecca Ballinger, returns for Season 2 with a special launch party tonight at 5pm. In Season 1, it’s 2033. Rebecca (Wahls), alone on Space Station Beta and Becca (Ballinger), aboard her space ship, connect through a telecast […]
The Black Artists Coalition announced to bring fair and equitable practices to DC-area theatres
The Black Artist Coalition (BAC), a collective of DC-area performers, designers, administrators and arts supporters, announced its purpose and plans today. The BAC was formed in response to the increasing awareness of both macro- and microaggressions that have more often than not tainted Black artists’ experience in the performing arts industry for centuries, the organization […]
Othello, live performance review at American Shakespeare Center
To frame a story about the triumph of lies over truth, jealousy over love, anger over generosity of spirit and – let’s put it plainly – the insidious reach of racism over all decent impulses, even self-preservation, the American Shakespeare Center begins its live performance of Othello with a pledging of troth. In an imagined […]
Creative Cauldron keeps performers working with live and virtual concerts
A few area theatre companies are beginning to offer live performances. One of them is Creative Cauldron in Falls Church, VA which is presenting its summer cabaret season for at-home viewing and live from Creative Cauldron’s new outdoor setting. The virtual viewings will be Thursdays starting at 8pm. Silver Spring singer/songwriter Chris Urquiaga kicks off […]
DC horror stage producer turns to Edgar Allan Poe radio dramas, “visual landscapes for your ears”
DC fans of theatrical horror, the often grisly Grand Guignol-style, will remember Molotov Theatre Group and its co-founder, actor/director Alex Zavistovich, who got them hooked. Molotov’s 2014 production of Nightfall with Edgar Allan Poe by Eric Coble proved to be its most successful. While producing Molotov stage plays in DC, Zavistovich was also one of […]
Theater J offers classes to help audience members embrace changes coming to area theatres
Changes which might come about in theaters once the plague is over may affect ways in which audiences see and experience the art. To prepare patrons for these changes, Theater J will be offering the series “How to Become a Raised-Consciousness Audience Member” for four Thursdays, beginning August 13. Rachel Grossman, a DC director, collaborative […]
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