The Flip Side: A Sense of Community
One of the things I love most about the theatre is the sense of community—locally, nationally, globally— between artists. There is a shared sensibility of inclusion and freedom of expression, support between artists, and an understanding that the theatre is a safe space to create and to be who you are. Last week, on June 12, a gunman opened fire in an Orlando gay club, killing 49 people, injuring 53, and forever affecting the lives of countless family members, friends, and sympathetic strangers.
The theatre community, forever empathizing with and fighting for the rights of those who are vulnerable, who are victims, has responded—without surprise—admirably:
- The Tony Awards created a grey ribbon to show their support for those affected
- Lin-Manuel Miranda, accepting his award for Best Score at the Tony’s last Sunday, put things very eloquently: love is love is love is love is love
- The Rochester Civic Theatre in Minnesota held an evening of music and spoken word to help provide comfort and seek understanding
- Theatres in the Orlando area are banding together to protect the victims’ funerals from protesters
In other news…
- As part of its 60th birthday celebrating, the Royal Court Theatre in London is releasing 60 short films, interviews with celebrated theatre actors, directors and playwrights, including this one of Alan Rickman
- The Profiles Theatre in Chicago has closed its doors after the publication of a 12,000-word document detailing years of abuse
- The Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia offered their first “sensory-friendly” performance for children on the autism spectrum
- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the decade’s best new play (yeah Hamilton, I said it) has opted out of using live owls in their performances after one escaped during an early preview
- Lin-Manuel Miranda has announced his replacement for when he steps down as Hamilton on July 9: Javier Munoz, his alternate since Hamilton’s off-Broadway days. Munoz spoke with Variety about the blessing/curse of filling Miranda’s very large shoes
Hannah Antaki
Hannah works in casting, the only profession that allows her to truthfully use work as an excuse to stay home and watch TV. A dropout of both preschool and law school, she loves Montreal bagels, Harry Potter, and conversations about diversity. Her diet starts tomorrow.
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