The Playgoer: What Makes a Season? (Regional Theatre Edition)

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Thursday, April 19, 2007

What Makes a Season? (Regional Theatre Edition)

Backstage has a good read today: a survey of the coming season at 7 of the biggie LORT theatre companies across the country: Arena, Goodman, Guthrie, Wilma, Alley, ACT, Oregon Shakes. Including soundbytes from their Artistic Directors. (And advice from their casting directors. This is "Backstage," remember.)

Is it just me, or do you also come away from this tour feeling the national repertory seems somewhat...limited?

Also some prime A.D.-BS.

Molly Smith on why she has to program a musical every season: "because that's the seminal American art form." Well, it's a seminal art form. But isn't it also because your Washington, DC old coot subscribers demand it?

Alley's Gregory Boyd explains how a brand new play by an unknown writer ends up in the smaller second space: "because it's a play that has a kind of dense language to it, so you want the audience to be closer." Not because yould never fill your 824-seat mainstage with it? (Or lose some of those mainstage subscribers?)

In other news... James Houghton is now "artistic advisor" at the Guthrie, too??? Between still running Signature and about to take over Juilliard, doesn't the man have enough jobs? (And do I sense some Guthrie-grooming in the works...?)

CORRECTION: As a commenter here has pointed out, Houghton already is running Juilliard. And has been with Guthrie for a long time. Just can't keep up with that man!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Mr. Houghton has actually been an artistic advisor to the Guthrie since 1998 and has been the head of the drama division at Juilliard for almost a full year now. Busy man.