Broadway Backwards 2021 Show To Stream Online In March
Broadway Backwards will take a hopeful, musical look toward post-pandemic life in an online show with a lineup of Broadway’s best on 30th March.
Tag: Broadway
Beth Lane: Interview With A Multifaceted Performer & Artist
Beth Lane is an Actor, Performance Director, Teaching Artist, and Writer. She is strongly aimed at honest acting work using the Method and Linklater acting techniques and Laban techniques for onstage, television and film projects.
Mixing Shows: A Little Bit of Magic
I miss mixing shows. That thought has snuck up on me every week or so for the past several months. It’s always a tiny bit surprising because I knew I liked my job, but I’d never stopped to take stock of exactly how happy it made me. I know I’m not alone in that; all of us want to get back to our usual, wonderfully irregular lives. One of my favorite things about mixing is that there is always something to do. When I started in theatre, I dabbled in a few other jobs, but as an actor, I got bored sitting backstage for the scenes I wasn’t in and I’d end up helping the crew with set changes. As a sound designer, I found myself, despite a valiant effort to pay attention, inevitably spaced out in my seat when there weren’t problems to actively solve.
Accessibility At The Smith Center Series: Part Four
In part three of our series with The Smith Center, we looked at the process for putting shows together and how this works on the day. In part four, we are reflecting on the impact of sensory friendly shows and looking to the future of accessibility with Melanie Jupp.
It Is What It Is: Trusting the Journey
Theatre has always been a huge part of my life. When I was a child, a family function wasn’t complete without a performance, carefully planned and directed by me, starring all of my siblings and cousins. My grandfather built scenery out of particle board and 2x4s that I used in my basement playhouse, complete with a clothesline […]
Ottavio Gesmundo: Interview With A Multifaceted Performer
Ottavio Gesmundo is a choreographer, stunt coordinator and multifaceted performer with extensive theatre credits that include Broadway, television, cabaret and circus. Ottavio has worked with musicians including Britney Spears, has appeared on The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien, and he is also the co-author of the award-winning travelogue and circus memoir, The Grand Gypsy.
Accessibility At The Smith Center Series: Part Three
In part two of our series with The Smith Center, we looked at engaging with sensory friendly companies. In part three we are finding out the process for putting shows together and how this works on the day with Melanie Jupp.
Melanie Jupp is the Associate Director of Education and Outreach at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts and has served as project lead for The Smith Center’s sensory friendly programming, which is accomplished through the collaborative work of numerous individuals and departments of The Smith Center. Sensory friendly programming is one step presenting venues can take toward prioritising inclusion in their organisations.
Who Tells Your Story: What I Learned Working As An Usher At Hamilton
2016: the year of Trump vs. Clinton, Brexit, and Hamilton. I was a graduate student in London, pursuing a Master’s at RADA and I was obsessed with Hamilton. I listened to the cast recording on repeat and I longed for the day when I would be back in New York attending a performance. Little did I know a year later I’d be working as an Usher at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, home of Hamilton.
No Pongas Todos tus Huevos en la misma Canasta
2020 ha sido un recorrido demente en una montaña rusa, un poco más turbulento para la industria del entretenimiento y las artes. En mi caso, contar con dos carreras me ha ayudado a navegar la pandemia. Me gradué hace poco como maestro en artes escénicas y como comunicador social en mi ciudad natal, Bogotá (Colombia). Me tomó siete años sacar adelante los dos diplomas y hasta el sol de hoy sé, de todo corazón, que es la mejor decisión que he tomado.
Accessibility At The Smith Center Series: Part Two
In part one we introduced what accessibility and sensory friendly shows broadly entail and discussed some of the financial elements involved with putting on performances at The Smith Center. In part two, we are joined by Melanie Jupp once again, and taking a look at the topic of engaging with sensory friendly companies.
Lisa Carling: Interview With TDF Director Of Accessibility Programs
Lisa Carling is the Director of Accessibility Programs at TDF, and helps design and implement services that make theatre performances more accessible to people with disabilities on Broadway, Off Broadway and nationwide. She runs a department that provides autism-friendly, open captioned, audio described and sign language interpreted performances, as well as seating for theatregoers with mobility disabilities. The department assists regional theatres across the country in starting their own captioning and sensory-friendly programming, and provides grants through a partnership with New York State Council on the Arts to state cultural organisation for captioning events that are open to the public.
Don’t Put All Your Eggs in the Same Basket
2020 has been a wild rollercoaster ride, a turbulent one for the Arts industry specially. In my case, a double major has helped me navigate through the pandemic. I recently graduated from a Performing Arts BFA and a Communications BFA in my hometown, Bogotá (Colombia). It took me seven years to get the two diplomas and to this day I know by heart that it was the best decision I’ve ever taken.
Do As I Say, Not As You See Me Do
Do as I say, not as you see me do, is the way ignorant people raise their children. They actually think they can do and be a different person from what they want their children to be. The wise, know if you want good children or a better generation (descendants), you need to be a shepherd, not a slave master. The older generation criticizes the millennials all day long and the only question I have is, “who raised them?”
Kevin Massey: Broadway Star & Empowering The Artist Founder
Kevin Massey is an American musical theatre actor who has performed extensively on Broadway for almost 20 years. He also has many opera credits to his name, and is married to Kara Lindsay, a fellow actress. Most recently, Kevin is the founder and owner of Empowering the Artist. Empowering the Artist is a new site […]
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Broadway Should Go Green
Broadway just announced another date for reopening its doors, May 2021. You may ask why are they are the only business that has yet to reopen? It is very simple.
Accessibility At The Smith Center Series: Part One
Between April 2018 and March 2020, The Smith Center presented two sensory friendly performances of touring Broadway productions, as well as four sensory friendly performances from national and international touring companies and artists. To find out more about Accessibility at The Smith Center, we spoke with Melanie Jupp, who gave us an insight and introduction to sensory friendly shows and the financial elements involved with putting on a performance.
Cahoots NI: Interview With An Innovative Children’s Theatre Company
Cahoots NI is a Belfast based theatre company producing boldly innovative work for children and their families. Their distinctive style combines magic and illusion, physical theatre and original music. Cahoots NI tours to ever-growing audiences at home and across the world and their work is acclaimed in Ireland, the UK, Asia, America and has been enjoyed in theatres, schools and healthcare settings since 2001. With a new online show launching in October, we spoke with Cahoots Creative Engagement Manager, Emma Wilson, and founding member and Artistic Director, Paul McEneaney to find out more.
James “Fitz” FitzSimmons Interview: The Boys In The Band On Netflix
James “Fitz” FitzSimmons has been an Equity Stage Manger for over 32 years, working on 24 Broadway shows and countless Off-Broadway and regional productions. He has taught theatre and has also worked as a producer, artistic director and director. Fitz kindly talks to TheatreArtLife about his time as the Production Stage Manager on the Broadway run of The Boys In The Band, the show’s move to Netflix, and the impact of Covid-19.
Broadway’s Influence in the Music World
Being an influencer makes lots of money these days. Brands are rushing to pay social media influencers to market their products or services. But good old Broadway has been an influencer for a long time. Specifically, an influencer to the music world. There are so many songs people sing on the regular and don’t even know they originated from Broadway musicals. Unfortunately, there is no time to mention everyone, because this article would be longer than you would want it. I thought about making a top 10 or top 15, but I realized I would have many comments of “you missed one.” So, instead I will mention a few, and if I missed one or seven you can add them in the comments.
Diana – A New Musical: Netflix Release BEFORE Broadway Debut
Inspiration hits a creative mind, an idea grows, a team gathers, and auditions are held. Periods of creating, workshopping, and rehearsing turn the initial spark into a show. Last but not least, cast and crew share the production they’ve spent months or years on with a live audience. Inspiration, creation, repetition, opening night. That is one well-known recipe in the industry. However, the ingredients list got longer for Diana – a true musical story: pro-shot recording and online streaming, PRIOR to the Broadway opening night. When it comes to living theatre, which comes first in this transitioning world: live audiences or streaming?
How Many Producers Does It Take to Make A Broadway Musical?
For the past ten years on average, there were 26 producer names above the title on the Tony Award for Best New Musical. Some of the names were for a group or business entity with more than one person. This deluge of producer names became infamous in 2006 with Spring Awakening and an article mocking the lead producers for their “849 producers” (there were actually 27 producers.) With dozens of people holding titles that imply leadership positions, who is in charge? What are they doing? And does it really take 26 people?
Broadway Live at Home
Come on along and listen to, the Lullaby of Broadway… They say the neon lights are bright on Broadway…Give my regards to Broadway, remember me to Herald Square. There are many songs written about and on the topic of Broadway. One of America’s oldest past times, Broadway, who has had many ups and downs in the past, is facing I believe the “downest” it has ever experienced. The 2020 pandemic shut the lights out for the longest in America history.
Andrew Lloyd Webber Continues Efforts To Reopen Theatres
Andrew Lloyd Webber is continuing to work towards the reopening of theatres by partaking in scientific efforts alongside the government.
Making Broadway Accessible to Audiences with Digital Capture
Many creative artists are innovating with different ways to share live theater experiences in the digital space. For this discussion, I chose to focus on Broadway shows because of the higher ticket prices and narrow geography. Broadway is a luxury brand recognized around the world. The Broadway League has worked long and hard to ensure that if you ask someone, “what is Broadway?” they can tell you that it is the pinnacle of live entertainment – even if they have never seen a Broadway show. Luxury brands come with luxury price tags, but even people who can afford the average $125 ticket for a musical can’t always get to the show. The Broadway League has also worked long and hard to provide access to audiences with seats at lower prices with TKTS, student rush, and other initiatives, but the more popular the show, the longer the wait for discounted tickets.
