Saturday, December 21, 2024
Over a weekend and one bonus day, 103 theater professionals from Broadway, the USA, and worldwide assembled virtually for the most well-attended Theater Makers Summit in the event’s history. Participants from NYC, across the USA, and globally were eagerly hoping to glean some spark of light in a very dark year for the theater industry. The Summit was hosted on the app and web service Whova, which enabled more direct interaction than possible with an in-person event. The community chat rooms, comments, and direct messaging were all abuzz with energetic chatter and networking attempts throughout the Summit. Another benefit provided by the
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“Good Talk” With Robin Eve and Donnie Vapor – Strong Island Television – Sundays 8pm
Picture : Robin Eve, Donnie Vapor Photo By: Being Americas largest suburb, Long Island allows for an unending litany of opportunities in music, acting, writing, producing and anything you want to do in the world of entertainment. If it exists, its possible on Long Island. Even being 20 miles from the worlds most important city in the world, Long Island still manages to set itself apart from the mainstream of it all and still be relevant
A Renaissance Man During The Renaissance Of Comedy: Ferris Butler
Ferris is Pictured with Celeste Jennings at The Comic Strip In NYC Ferris Butler hails from the mean streets of Brooklyn and is regarded as the George Washington of modern day cable sketch comedy in America. He is an artist that asserts his main influences were Monty Python and Ernie Kovacs. While enrolled in NYU film school during the turbulent 1960’s, Ferris Butler took the course “Fundamentals Of Filmmaking” by instructor Martin Scorsese. Then acting major, Billy Crystal, was in Ferris’ “Television Production” class at NYU. During that class Ferris
The Last Day Of Broadway: Martin McDonagh’s Riveting Dramedy “Hangmen”
While the world falls apart I sip my highly caffeinated coffee and write that piece about Hangmen the new Broadway play. Cavorting at The John Golden theatre on 47th St. and 8th Avenue Hangmen is Martin McDonagh's latest Broadway effort since his Oscar Nominated film "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri". "Maybe it'll be my last opportunity to write about a Broadway production?!!" I yelled to myself in my brain (what's left of it). Though it's very unlikely that the apocolypse is coming and will ensnare Broadway, being the last to write about any one thing seems to hold some gravity
“The Game of Life” Ushers in Rubin Museum of Art’s Brainwave 2020 on Impermanence
The Rubin Museum of Art has a knack for making their exhibitions of both ancient and contemporary art from the Himalayan region -- and the philosophies and practices that inspired and informed the work -- relevant through compelling interactive engagement that makes the creations and concepts spring to life in ways that are entertaining, thought-provoking and sometimes profound. I should know because I was first lured into the former tenement building-turned-Barney’s store that was transformed into a museum to host the collection of art collectors and entrepreneurs Donald and Shelley Rubin -- who bought their first Tibetan thangka painting with
Catalina Florina Florescu brings “Moss” to SEX!
Catalina Florina Florescu Catalina Florina Florescu is a Romanian born academic, playwright, teacher, curator, wordsmith, dreamer, seeker... She holds a PhD in Comparative Theater and Medical Humanities conferred by Purdue University. Currently, she teaches courses in theater, literature, cinema, and writing at Pace University in NYC. She is also the New Play Development Curator and Dramaturg at Jersey City Theater Center. A multi winning theatre practitioner, Florescu has published a number of books that has established her as a powerful voice in the community. Her short play, Moss was selected as one of the 15 new works chosen for The Players Theatre Short Play
Alexandra Silber heads Back to The West End, BroadwayCon 2020 and a love of theatre
Alexandra Silber Brings It To BroadwayCon Audrey and Audrey II Hand Puppet Ursula, Ariel and Eric Jesus and D.B. Frick (Left to Right) My hearts attachment to the process of theater started at age 6 when my mother first brought me to see “The Tap Dance Kid”. I was awoken that day by theater and haven’t slept since. I love nothing more then seeing like minded people brought together. Nobody does that quite like the producers of BroadwayCon which hit New York City once again this past weekend from Friday January 24th to Sunday the 27th at the Midtown Hilton in New York City.
Kendall Cornell – Clowns Ex Machina (women in dangerously, dangerously bad moods)
Kendall Cornell is the creator and director of THE BAD’UNS: CLOWN ACTS OF CONTAGION currently running at La Mama downstairs Theater. She leads the all female clown troupe - Clowns Ex Machina in a piece that " takes a darkly comic look at transgression, the corruption of dreams, and women in dangerously, dangerously bad moods." I found it utterly transformative. You can read my review here I asked Kendall a few questions about her journey to becoming a clown, her inspiration for her work and other nonsense... Can you remember the moment when you knew you were destined to be a clown/performer/dancer? Vividly! I went to be
Lara Spencer Won’t Read This and I Don’t Care
My first reaction to Good Morning America anchor Lara Spencer's insensitive remarks about young Prince George taking ballet lessons was primal outrage. Ballet is one of my "things" - despite the entitlement and snobbery I still encounter because, well, someone from a suburban working class home doesn't belong. That she and her GMA audience think ballet is laughable is something else. Mocking a six-year-old's participation in an activity combining physical fitness and aesthetics or anything else is alarming. Is it okay for girls to rightly emulate the world champion U.S. Women's Soccer team but boys can't aspire performing The Nutcracker Prince?
A STRANGE LOOP Raises the Bar for Queer Black Representation and Sets a New Standard for Musicals Today
I first encountered A Strange Loop in 2015 at the Musical Theatre Factory when it was still located in a gay porn video warehouse above (the original) Drama Bookstore just around the corner of Port Authority. It was a mixed bag evening with various composers and lyricists trying out their works on performers, both eager to be heard amongst an audience of supportive peers instead of cruel critics. The song, which is the second-to-last 13 o’clock number for A Strange Loop now called “The Memory Song,” featured lyrics sung in rapid speed with mournful wailing by Larry Owens (the unconventional