Angels in America: Part One, Millennium Approaches has begun performances at the Repertory Theater of Saint Louis, as the start of the company’s first season under new Artistic Director Hana Sharif. While the play is now nearly 30 years old, seeing it again reminded me of its continued resonance and its power to explore those deeply American themes that, in the end, make it timeless. This essay is a less a review and more a reflection rediscovering why the play today very much still maters.
At a time when words matter more than ever before, Baltimore Center Stage recently announced that a key staff member would be promoted to a new title: Director of Learning and Social Accountability. In unpacking the potential meaning behind that title, I explore the evolution of the language we use to talk about how we impact communities and how we talk about our goals to create representative communities within our organization - as well as explore some recent data about representation in the arts across disciplines.
Simple ideas can unfold to carry profound meaning - meaning that may apply far beyond where you started from. Three books I have come to love work from that very premise: Invitation to the Party, Love is the Killer App, and The Power of Habit. They are all engaging reads - learn more about the simple ideas at the heart of each of them and why I’d you add them to your reading (or re-reading) list!
These days, we are surrounded by so much data it can be overwhelming. Often, we find ourselves collecting data thinking that it may be useful, but if we never turn it into something actionable, what was the point? If you’re swimming in data, take a deep breath, step back, and consider these three measures as a new starting point to understand and grow your audience.
When arts organizations work within communities on specific projects, there is always a risk of swooping in when it’s convenient for the organization and swooping out once the project has come to an end. This idea of “helicoptering” is harmful for both your organization and the communities you hope to serve, as it essentializes a community into being no more than part of a specific transaction (worse, a transaction you have defined rather than one they have). Once this has happened, are there ways to repair the relationship? And are there structures you can create to help prevent the situation from happening again?
The national tour of Come From Away plays at the Fox Theater in St. Louis through May 25. It’s a story and a staging that reminds us of the power of community to be transformed into something better in a time of crisis and a reflection of how our diverse personal narratives coalesce into something with true communal meaning when they come together. And, while it often tugs at the heartstrings, it is also consistently joyous evening - one well worth seeing.
The national tour of the recent West End / Broadway revival of Miss Saigon is playing at the Fox Theater in St. Louis April 23 - May 5. In a review for Limelight, I reflect on how this revival holds a powerful mirror both up to its own complicated history and up to the toxic danger of the American Dream. Read the review here or on the Limelight website (featuring a lot more production photos and the copy gently massaged from MLA / Chicago style to AP style).
