CLEVELAND PLAY HOUSE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR LAURA KEPLEY SHARES AN UPDATE ABOUT 2020-2021 THEATRICAL SEASON
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BECK CENTER ISSUES INFORMATION ABOUT SHOW TICKET REFUNDS, SPRING TUITION AND SUMMER CAMPS
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PLAYHOUSE SQUARE LAYS OFF/FURLOUGHS 193 EMPLOYEES
Playhouse Square President and CEO Gian Vernaci, stating that, “We must take the necessary measured to overcome the impact caused by the crisis so that Playhouse Square can return to a place of strength, continue our not-for-profit mission and welcome out audience back safely,” announced the laying off/furloughing of 193 employees.
HARVEY FIERSTEIN-LED HAIRSPRAY LIVE! WILL STREAM FOR FREE THIS WEEKEND
NBC's 2016 broadcast of Hairspray Live! will stream for free this weekend via the Shows Must Go On YouTube channel. It will stream for 48 hours beginning at 2pm ET on Friday, May 29.
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ACTORS’ EQUITY UNION SAYS ‘EPIDEMIC MUST BE UNDER CONTROL’ BEFORE LIVE THEATER RESUMES
According to Actors’ Equity there are four “core principals” for Theaters to open:
1. The epidemic must be under control, with effective testing, few new cases in the area and contact tracing.
2. Individuals who may be infectious can be readily identified and isolated, with frequent, regular and accurate testing with speedy results.
3. The way we audition, rehearse, perform and stage manage may need to change and the venues we work in may need to undergo changes in order to reduce the risk.
4. Efforts to control COVID-19 exposure must be collaborative, involving Equity members, employers, the union and all others involved in the production of theatre.
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PLAYGROUND FESTIVAL OF NEW WORKS ZOOMFEST
In response to the extended shelter-in-place orders and theater closures, this year’s PlayGround Festival of New Works and a special 25th Anniversary Celebration are going digital!
The five-week online PLAYGROUND ZOOM FEST (May 11-June 14) will feature 25 real-time live-streamed performances, including three fully-produced off-book premiere presentations: DISBELIEF by Garret Jon Groenveld (May 30 & May 31), a #MeToo telling of the Cassandra myth, directed by Tracy Ward; THE RENDERING CYCLE by Genevieve Jessee(June 6 & June 7), a theatrical journey through 400 years of the African Diaspora, directed by Margo Hall (original development by Lauren Spencer); and BEST OF PLAYGROUND 24 (June 13 & June 14), featuring 10-minute plays.
The festival will also include developmental staged readings of four new full-length plays by PlayGround alumni — TRANSLATIONS by Victoria Chong Der (May 25), SAPIENCE by Diana Burbano (May 29), BURST by Rachel Bublitz (June 1), and THE NESTING INSTINCT by Tom Bruett (June 5) — as well as short plays by this year’s top high school dramatists as part of the 12th annual Howard & Lenore Klein Foundation Young Playwrights Contest.
Tickets for the premiere presentations start at $15 (additional discounts and radical accessibility options are available) and all other readings and events are free of charge. For more information and to reserve tickets, visit https://playground-sf.org/zoomfest.
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WATCH HIGHLIGHTS FROM WEEK 2 OF AT-HOME #LIVINGROOMTHEATRE
As stay-at-home safety measure continue, creativity is the cure to cabin fever. Playbill and Concord Theatricals teamed up to provide fodder for everyone to keep their dramatic juices flowing.
With scripts from Concord Theatricals’ vast catalog, we served up eight scenes you could perform from shows like A Chorus Line, Annie Get Your Gun, Eurydice, Native Gardens, Our Town, Ken Ludwig’s Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Sound of Music, and The Wizard of Oz.
Rehearsed and recorded over Zoom, decorated with “scenic design” of backgrounds, donned in homemade costumes, take a look at the performances below. If you feel inspired, click here for the scene scripts. It’s time for the show!
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STARS IN THE HOUSE, THE DAILY LIVE STREAMED CONCERT SERIES
Tony winner Laura Benanti (Gypsy, She Loves Me, My Fair Lady) again guest hosts Stars in the House, the daily live streamed concert series created by Playbill correspondent and SiriusXM Broadway host Seth Rudetsky , May 25 at 2 PM.
New shows air daily at 2 PM and 8 PM ET, featuring performances by stars of stage and screen, in conversation and song with Rudetsky and Wesley. Click here to watch previous episodes.
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BRITISH POLITICAL DRAMA THIS HOUSE WILL STREAM FOR FREE
The NT Live re-broadcast of James Graham’s British political drama This House will stream for free May 28 at 2 PM ET. Watch the performance above or on the National Theatre’s YouTube; the video is available until June 4 at noon ET.
This House is an insight into the workings of politics by Tony-nominated playwright Graham. The show debuted in 2012, receiving two sold-out runs at the National Theatre before transferring to the West End.
The National Theatre at Home series will also present Coriolanus with Tom Hiddleston on June 4.
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