Tag Archive | United States
Theatre Review: “The Debate” brings the heat, but lacks coherence
There was no telling what Monday night’s performance of The Debate would behold; even days later, processing exactly what this piece means for its audience of more than 84 million, I find it hard to reduce to any key phrase or unifying idea. Perhaps that was what resonated the most profoundly: there is no unity, or […]
Gloria’s Cause: An Examination of Present America in Light of the Past
Dayna Hanson‘s piece Gloria’s Cause is first and foremost a collage. It is not entirely dance theater, not exactly a musical, and it is definitely not a straight play. It kind of takes place during the Revolutionary war and it also kind of takes place now. In my first encounter with it on Ontheboards.tv, I did […]
One Does Not Simply F*** with the Dramatists Guild: Champions for the Little Guys
If you haven’t yet heard about the heated conflict brewing between the Dramatists Guild of America and the South Williamsport Junior Senior High School of Pennsylvania, please, drop whatever you’re doing (including reading this blog post), and read THIS. THE ESSENCE OF THE PROBLEM: A high school cancels a production of Spamalot due to fear […]
The Art of Listening During the Revolution
We live in a world filled with disaster, strife, injustice, hate, and greed. I decided to pursue a career in the arts because I want to illuminate the other side of the coin; the side that glistens with hope, love, miracles, kindness, and novelty. I have conceded that one cannot exist without the other. The moments […]
The Power of Art in a Naiton
There once was a city called Medellin tucked away in the mountains of northwest Colombia. It was once home to the cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar, and with the cartels came crime and violence. In 1991, it was the murder capital of the world. The Colombian government intervened to help alleviate this horrific state, but not […]
A Solution (maybe) for Non-Profits: A Sense of Place
A sense of place—this is an idea Carlos Uriona of Double Edge Theatre talked about recently in a Tedx Talk. I think this is particularly important for artists. In his talk, Carlos tells of his journey from Argentina all the way to Ashfield, MA, USA to Double Edge Theatre. Carlos was an artist and theatre […]
Ready or not, tech has come
For most of us here at BU, this weekend is the start of tech. I personally love tech. I really do enjoy the rehearsal process but there is just something about tech that I enjoy. However, with tech there often comes no sleep, more stress, and a time to have everything finished. An issue that […]
Let’s Hold Hands and Sing Kumbaya
I just read an intriguing article by Ira Gamerman on HowlRound. The article was more or less about ageism in regards to new play development. As a potential playwright myself, I found the article exciting but also really scary. I often find myself freaking out about what the fuck I am going to do after […]
New York, I Love You, But You’re Bringing Me Down
It’s been said time and time again, over and over, like a broken record. New York is over. New York is dead—you know, because Hip Hop is dead and Punk is dead and Times Square has been fully Disney-fied since a thorough clean-up effort began in 1980. New York is no longer the cultural capital […]
A laughing matter: the funnier side of theatre
As I read through the New York Times this morning there was an article that caught my eye. This Guy’s No Puppy Hugger talks about comedian Bill Burr. I originally had no plans to comment or discuss the article; I was merely reading it because I was curious. I find standup comedians fascinating and the […]
Taking Root
This semester, I’m taking a class on French culture. This week in class, my professor asked us what we thought some defining factors of American culture are. Answers from my classmates were: the American dream, freedom and equality for all, instant gratification, independence of the individual, and a mix of different cultures. As I’ve learned […]
Who knew make-believe could be so useful?!
Every so often I get asked how I found my way into the world of theatre; and every time I questions what they mean by “world of theatre”. When I three I used to dress up in tutus, cowboy hats and fairy wings–does that count? Or how about when I was in kindergarten and my […]
Arts and the Shutdown
When I encountered the article “Taking Stock of the Shutdown’s Continued Impact on the Arts” a yesterday on the ArtsJournal website it felt kind of felt weird to see the article there as only the evening before the government had reached a deal to end the shutdown. However I was still curious. I’ve seen and […]
Sitting Down with ART Dramaturg for “All The Way,” Leslie Gehring: Part 2
The second half of my interview with Leslie Gehring. We talk more about her process, the validity of big names to draw audiences to regional theaters, and ways to keep the audience immersed in the world of the play before and after they take their seats. [Ed. Note: Missed Part One? Check it out HERE.] […]
Checking My Privilege Does Not Mean Silence
This past summer I did an internship for social change in Hartford CT with the Hartbeat Ensemble. It was one of the most educational experiences I have ever had because for the first time, probably ever, I was one of the only white people in the room. Growing up in a very rural town in […]
Theatre of the People who are Fucking Angry
In between my five hours of Shakespeare class on Wednesday, I sat at a local market eating my usual sandwich with a friend, Sarah. Close by, a wall-mounted television showed a news anchor cataloging research about current and future effects of the government shutdown. Sarah and I listened for a bit, eating our lunches in […]
With LBJ
All the Way at the American Reparatory Theater is a play that sits in the middle of an entire series of plays based on American history. These plays take a note out of Shakespeare’s book to tell a story through the history of a nation. Though this series is not yet complete, the thesis behind it […]
TRUTH
Synonyms: ACCURACY. AUTHENTICITY. CERTAINTY. FACT. LEGITIMACY. And what is it exactly? Mike Daisey often takes a moment to acknowledge those of us “listening through the ghostly means of the internet.” He calls those of us listening to his words through headphones or computer speakers “ghosts” time and again. He’s laying out a relatively new phenomenon […]
Can You Hear Me Now?
I first read through the article, Call for Student Submissions for the School Days Series by Thea Rodgers honestly by accident. I went to click on the article that was just above this one and ended up hitting the wrong link; I started to read anyway. I’m glad I did. This article seemed to hit home in […]
My Queer Obsession
In his 1989 Introduction to FOB, David Henry Hwang details his journey to “define his place in America” as a minority, centering on his identity as an Asian-American artist. Hwang specifies two stages of his exploration that he has since moved beyond: the assimilation phase, where he tried to “out-white the whites” in order to gain […]
Drama Lit Blog 2.0: BU School of Theatre 