And we haven’t even started to feel the impact of the loss of KCACTF. (Yes, the festival continues, but KC was the one who funded all the internships and fellowships.) I would not have had the career I’ve had without that program and I know that that’s true for many others as well.
Thank you for this whole thread! These losses are so real, and the lost apprenticeship programs and training grounds haven’t gotten the same obits and post-mortems that the new play development centers have.
I ask all of our current theater leaders to consider: instead of or in addition to that building project, create real paths into the profession for people getting started and coming up. Double dog dare you to find ways in your season to give starting artists real responsibility and authority.
This is the AI critique I’ve been waiting to read, and WHEW open.substack.com/pub/abiawomo...
“We have artists who are dealing with their families disappearing.” I spoke to theatre artists in Minneapolis, who tell me about having to cancel shows, doing events underground to avoid ICE, and performing at protests. Inspiring stuff here
In solidarity with our Twin Cities colleagues, we’re sharing “Rise and Respond” donation links to MN arts organizations. Courtesy of Eleanor Savage and the Jerome Foundation.
Macbeth: SHIT
Democratizing the arts looks like universal income, low-barrier grants for both emerging and working artists, well-funded municipal arts & recreation programs, vibrant third spaces, and a well-funded public school system with progressive curriculum.
Not a free pass for corporate-owned slop engines.
it's not just that Mamdani is charming af (he is), it's that he is normalizing the idea that children are full members of society that we all share a collective responsibility for
NEW: I was one of 3 reporters granted access to the convening of 600+ clergy in Minneapolis this week.
It was a striking show of solidarity with MN clergy resisting ICE, but heralded something else: the emergence of a vast, faith-based network trained to resist ICE. religionnews.com/2026/01/23/i...
“When I speak about making our city more affordable, my vision is not limited to the homes that we live in or the child care that we’re making universal — it’s also a vision where we make it possible for working people to afford lives of joy, of art, of rest, of expression.”
raffi: regime change in America
they've got Raffi calling for regime change. something has shifted.
"This promise of an AI future, is really just a collective anxiety that wealthy people have about how well they're gonna be able to control us in the future."
- @tressiemcphd.bsky.social with an absolute mic drop moment about AI bullshit.
Incredible words.
Listen to all of it!
A grey and red transit bus on the road in a city. The bus’ destination sign reads “NO? ?? ???????”
My response to anything over the next two weeks
If you are a dramaturg, save this post. I guarantee an actor will ask you about this one day (if they haven't already).
You will be visited by three spirits
Sometimes the meeting could have been an email. But often, the thread of emails could have been a 10 minute meeting.
Another? Again? Seriously? Siiiiiigh
Yesterday morning over breakfast, my 2.5 year old told me that she wanted to go to her grandparents house; "they have better books," she said.
Truly the most brutal takedown I've experienced in a long, long time (maybe ever).
that feeling of being ten and sinking your teeth into a Grownup Book full of words you imperfectly understand, staying up too late reading under the covers with your flashlight, is one of the defining joys of nerd childhood. let reading be a little dangerous!
Just because your play isn't selected for a particular opportunity doesn't mean that there isn't now somebody advocating for it/for you to get an opportunity that isn't even on your radar. No matter the outcome of a selection process, someone has read your work; that's never a bad thing. #newplays
New play submissions are due to the O'Neill on September 18th and to Great Plains Theatre Commons on October 15. So it's time for my annual reminder: many of the folks reading and adjudicating for these kinds of festivals also work at/for other theaters around the country...
Endlessly glad to have moved out of the south and back to New England.
Here we go. #tonightsbill #newplays
Yeah, I feel like this is the year that we’re seeing people in leadership positions be like “ooh, living up to our values is actually hard work, what if we just…didn’t?”
Andrew. The gasp I gasped when I clocked the omission. I'm speechless. And I'm sorry.
Thank you!
If you are a playwright looking for a brief respite from the horrors, check out 🌿 The Green Mountain Playwright Retreat, a brand new retreat/festival that I've been advising. Join us in gorgeous Plainfield, VT for workshops, community, nature, & lots of time to write!
#newplays #newplay #playwriting
"Make a good, human thing and people will bend over backwards to support you"
The parade was cancelled due to weather right before it was set to begin. Bernie was already lined up, so he marched anyway. I love Vermont.
