This week there were EIGHTEEN articles on the Greenpage I thought might be worth your time, and FWIW the kids did decent picks this week too. Here are a couple in a similar vein, but (although I rarely say this) you might just want to check out the site this week...
What Can Theatre Do? A Post-Election Colloquy
AMERICAN THEATRE: "Because things are the way they are, things will not stay the way they are," Brecht once wrote. We asked a wide cross section of the nation's playwrights and artistic directors—those who write plays and those who program them—how they are planning or intending to respond to the election of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency as theatre artists and leaders, and what they think theatre can do to shape and direct the national conversation.
What Can Theatre Do? A Post-Election Colloquy, Part 2
AMERICAN THEATRE: We received so many substantive responses to our field-wide query of playwrights and artistic directors about their response to the recent election that we made this a two-part effort. The questions we asked them all were: What are you hoping or intending to do in response to the election? And what can theatre do to shape or direct the national conversation?
In wake of the election, Chicago's theater leaders ponder: What now?
Chicago Tribune: What will the role of theater be in the age of Donald Trump? Following the election earlier this month, free hugs were offered, potlucks were held and doors were opened at Chicago theaters. A few companies gave out free tickets to weekend performances. And all the shows have continued to go on.
The Tribune asked a number of theater artistic directors what the responsibilities of creative communities will be in a nation that will soon be headed by a man who created a Twitter storm demanding an apology from the performers in the Broadway production of "Hamilton" after a curtain speech directed to Vice President-elect Mike Pence. All interviews have been edited and condensed.
Washington is in line for a huge shipment of political theater
The Washington Post: In its guise as a company town, Washington is the nation’s hub for lawmaking, rulemaking and policymaking. Now, Arena Stage is mounting a major effort to make plays about all those things that Washington has been making.
Arena’s artistic director, Molly Smith, announced Tuesday that the organization will devote a considerable chunk of its energies over the next 10 years to commissioning and, in many cases, producing new works that focus on the ideas and people shaping American policy and politics.
Art is not an escape — it’s our most powerful weapon against apathy
Salon.com: The opening passage in Zadie Smith’s brilliant new novel, “Swing Time,” deals with two mysteries. First, the protagonist is wrestling with despair and distress from some public defeat and humiliation, unknown to the reader. Acting as an invitation, the assumption is that should the reader continue reading, eventually the details of whatever scandal has harmed her reputation will emerge. The second mystery is one of beauty, and forever insolvable. It is mystery of the power of art.
