Ars Nova News

Company of Angels will welcome three new hires who are passionate about furthering CoA's mission to create a theater of Los Angeles that is deeply connected to communities who are under-represented on Los Angeles stages.

The Dramatists Guild of America will welcome two new members to its Council, Ty Defoe and Rona Siddiqui. The Guild is governed by a board of directors (Council) elected from its membership. These writers, in various stages of their theatrical careers, meet monthly to decide policy for the Guild. 

Ucross has announced the establishment of a new partnership with Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. An annual fellowship will award four weeks of Ucross residency time to accomplished artists and/or scholars in the field of music.

Ars Nova has announced its third slate of 2021 programming including Untitled Mockumentary Project directed by nicHi douglas as part the new Ars Nova Vision Residency program. Presented in four episodes, Untitled Mockumentary Project follows four phenomenal Black Trans Womxn coming together to create a hit show.

'The Vanishing Half' centers on identical twin sisters who run away from their small, southern Black community at age 16. As adults, it’s not just the shape of their daily lives that is different, it’s everything: their families, their communities, the essence of who they are.

Roundabout Theatre Company has announced current Roundabout Directors Group member Sivan Battat as the 2021-2022 Directing Fellow. The Roundabout Directing Fellowship was launched in 2017 to create a long-term, meaningful relationship between Roundabout and a young director.

Theatre Now New York, a non-profit artists service organization and theatre company dedicated to supporting musical theatre writers, has established a new National Musical Writers Group which will bring together lyricists and composers from across the nation.

Theatre Now New York has established a new National Musical Writers Group which will bring together lyricists and composers from across the nation. The inaugural group members include: Jason Aguirre and Adam J. Rineer (Philadelphia); Mark Evan Chimsky (Portland, ME) and Zev Burrows (New York City); Ann E. Eskridge and Alton James (Detroit) & more.

Last June, hundreds of BIPOC theatre makers came together in signing 'We See You, White American Theater'- a letter addressing racism in the industry and demanding change. Now, seven months after its release, the organization has published an Accountability Report, highlighting actions taken by institutions across the country in response to the movement.

Keen Company announced the World Premiere of a newly commissioned audio play by acclaimed playwright Pearl Cleage: Digging in the Dark takes listeners to a moonless night on a wooded estate outside Atlanta, where a woman awaits her scheming brother’s arrival.

New York Stage and Film has committed $100,000 to their new NEXUS Initiative that brings together 20 multihyphenate artists to explore the question “where does story exist at the intersection of stage and film?” Each participant receives $5,000 and will take part in a series of conversations focused on new and expanded forms of storytelling.

ACO’s Composer to Composer series features major American composers in conversation with each other about their work and leading a creative life. The intergenerational discussions begin by exploring a single orchestral piece, with one composer interviewing the other.

Dorset Theatre Festival has announced the launch of its new Commissioning and Fellowship Program, welcoming returning director Jade King Carroll as Resident Artist, who will design and oversee this program in collaboration with Artistic Director Dina Janis. Carroll will also work with Janis in producing the Festival’s new StageFree Audio Plays.

Tin Pan Alley 2 will feature a panel of emerging writers on Friday, February 12th, 2021 at 7:30pm ET. The February 2021 edition will be celebrating 'love' with new works by the writers Eli Cohen, G. Victoria Campbell, and Erin J. Reifler & Spencer Robelen, and hosted by Durra Leung and Sam Rosenblatt.

SMJ and Sarah Flaim have released their first demo, 'Ghosts' from their new musical, AT THE BARRE; expecting its first virtual performance in April/May produced by The Sappho Project. 'Ghosts' is an exploration of grief through poignant lyrics and haunting harmonies.

The intimate participatory performance, which explores separation, connection, and the power of listening, will play The John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin from February 11-24, 2021, followed by an engagement at the Bates Dance Festival in Lewiston, Maine from February 25-March 14, 2021.

Lincoln Center Theater’s LCT SPOTLIGHT SERIES, a free program of digital events, featuring LCT artists in performance, conversation and more, will continue on Thursday, February 11 at 7pm with the second episode of “Lileana Blain-Cruz In Conversation: On Directing.”

'Slave Play' playwright Jeremy O. Harris appeared on 'The Daily Show With Trevor Noah' last night to talk about his Tony Award-nominated play, the ways he's trying to keep theatre alive, and what he's been up to in the pandemic.

Portland Center Stage has commissioned four new plays from celebrated writers Brittany K. Allen, Christina Anderson, Christopher Chen, and Portland-based Anya Pearson. The commissions are part of the PCS Remix: Commissions program, which was launched to lift up some of the most exciting voices in American theater while stages are dark.

Wil Petre, a NYC-based cocktail guru and a performer best known for his off-Broadway work (including Third Rail Projects' The Grand Paradise) invites the audience to join SOCIAL ALCHEMIX (LIVE!) – an intoxicating hybrid of intimate online game night, storytelling, and aligned serendipity held on Zoom.