Industry Pro Newsletter: Seattle Rep Layoffs, Pittsburg Fire, and Tony Awards Highlights June 17, 2024 This week, we are connecting the excitement of award season with the realities facing theaters. We'll catch you up on the Tony Awards' memorable moments, including a complete winners list and behind-the-scenes photos. Exclusive essays from producers Jeffrey Richards and Rachel Sussman offer personal insights into their Tony-nominated productions. Industry Pro Newsletter: Public Theater Crew Joins IATSE & NYC Congestion Pricing Postponed June 10, 2024 Starting tonight with a special preview episode, 'The Broadway Cast' with Ben Cameron is coming to BroadwayWorld. Also, we report on the indefinite postponement of NYC's congestion pricing plan. Stories include the Cultural Solidarity Fund's COVID relief efforts, Public Theater crew members joining IATSE. Industry Pro Newsletter: Ticketmaster Security Breach June 3, 2024 This week we celebrate Baltimore's CJay Philip for her upcoming Tony Award in theater education and LaChanze's launch of a new multimedia production company. On a concerning note, Ticketmaster has experienced a major security breach. Finally, we examine the pressing need for unity in the arts community amidst ongoing discord and funding debates. Industry Pro Newsletter: Pay What You Can Ticketing, Broadway Season Grosses May 28, 2024 As we hit the final stretch ahead of the Tony Awards, this week we’re including the first in a series of guest essays from the producers of the Best Production nominees, with this installment from Tommy producers Stephen Gabriel and Ira Pittelman. Industry Pro Newsletter: Dance Companies Partner with Developers, Disneyland Performers Join AEA May 20, 2024 In California, a victory for AEA in their recent union election at Disneyland means the character and parade performers at the resort will be joining the actors union, while in Minnesota, the Guthrie faces further financial challenges after a reported $3.8 million shortfall during the 2023 fiscal year. Industry Pro Newsletter: Blocker to Audible, Ezra Ezzard New Managing Director at Crossroads Theatre May 13, 2024 In California, the continued momentum of the labor movement from last year continues on as dates are now set for the union election at Disneyland Resort in California. Job shuffles continue in key leadership positions, and Mark Morris Dance Group shows that dancers are athletes as part of a new show on ESPN+. Industry Pro Newsletter: Awards Season in Full Swing, Inflation Challenges Australian Arts Groups May 6, 2024 As awards season gets fully underway with the Tony Award Nominations announced last week, and the Lortel Awards last night, the industry gets ready to celebrate the incredible work on the New York stage this past season - a season crowded with celebrities, big revivals, and exciting new shows. Industry Pro Newsletter: Gen Z is 'Broadway Curious', New Zealanders Continue Strong Arts Engagement April 29, 2024 Reports from both New Zealand and the United States show that not only is participation in the arts not waning, there is a large population that holds an interest in engaging with the arts. The question emerges of how best to reach these audiences with the right information and prices that can turn them from being curious to regular attendees. Industry Pro Newsletter: Disneyland Parade and Character Performers Seek Union Protections April 22, 2024 Charleston Stage has a new Managing Director, and Dallas Theater Center has a new interim Artistic Director. Along with these movements of the regional leadership carousel, Seattle Opera has introduced a new Artistic Ambassador, a role designed to help bridge the gap between the stage and the community, and foster new audiences. Industry Pro Newsletter: Concord Theatricals' Catalog Now On Stage Mag April 15, 2024 As news of additional cuts comes from more councils in the UK, in the US, a new piece of legislation looks to support the still struggling live entertainment industry as it emerges into the new normal. As evidence of the need for such action, we’ve got stories about layoffs at a New Jersey NPR station, as well as another urgent fundraising plea. Industry Pro Newsletter: New Study Looks to the Preparedness of Arts Orgs to Face Future Challenges April 8, 2024 In a sign of an industry on the rebound, Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles is getting ready to announce a return of programming at the Mark Taper Forum, where production was paused last year while the organization went through a budget crunch. Additionally, following the casting of a Black actress in the role of Juliet, an upcoming West End production of Romeo and Juliet from the Jamie Lloyd Company started dealing with racist backlash online - we’ll show you how the company responded. Industry Pro Newsletter: Grants and Government Spending Impact on Arts Budgets April 1, 2024 This week, stories abound about the impact funding can have on the arts - from the UK, an editorial about how the collapse of funding for the creative industry was predictable. In the US, we have stories of large gifts making a huge impact - no-cost rentals at 59E59 - as well as changes to the way Florida is apportioning their arts budget. Industry Pro Newsletter: Subscription Study in Pittsburgh March 25, 2024 The storm of openings has begun on Broadway, as we prepare for what will be an even busier April leading into the conclusion of the 2023-2024 Broadway season. Amidst that storm, great work continues off-Broadway, as Cara Joy David reminds us when she pays a visit to Dead Outlaw. Industry Pro Newsletter: Public Declines to Recognize Union March 18, 2024 As the unionization wave continues to move through theatrical workers across the country, two developments last week highlighted the movement: the Public Theatre declined to voluntarily recognize the unionization effort of their workers, and workers at the Goodman Theatre sought their own union affiliation. Industry Pro Newsletter: In the UK, First Time Theatregoers Half of Ticket Buyers March 11, 2024 After what has felt like weeks of covering cuts in funding to UK Arts budgets, some great news on two fronts from across the pond - a recent study of 2023 ticket buyers in the UK found that more than half of them were first time theatregoers. Industry Pro Newsletter: Do 'Influencers' Bring in An Audience? March 4, 2024 As theatre marketers continue to try and find new ways to market their shows - and in a very crowded Broadway season new ways to break through the noise - there is a strong trend to chase the next shiny thing. One of those elements of marketing that is newer to the marketplace is the use of influencers. Industry Pro Newsletter: North Carolina Theater Files for Chapter 11, Second Stage Gives Up the Kiser February 26, 2024 The restructuring of the industry continues - in North Carolina, Raleigh has lost one of its major institutions (for the time being) as North Carolina Theater suspends their 2024 season and files for bankruptcy. The labor movement continues to notch wins in New York, as the Atlantic Theater workers have voted to join IATSE. Industry Pro Newsletter: Who Benefits from the NYS Tax Cut for Broadway? February 20, 2024 Another theatre has announced their closure, with Cutting Ball in San Francisco becoming the latest to look at their financial situation and decide that there was no viable path forward. We’ll have more coverage here and in our marketing update about the things that are working for theatres that have found a way to thrive in the new normal. Industry Pro Newsletter: AEA Members Authorize Strike, Boston Theaters Fight for Survival February 12, 2024 AEA members voted to authorize a strike against the Broadway League of the development agreement - while this doesn’t mean the union will call a strike, it does give them another bargaining chip in their ongoing negotiations with the League. Regionally, we have a lot of stories of announced retirements and new leaders stepping into roles. Industry Pro Newsletter: Roundabout Unveils the Todd Haimes, The Struggle of Toronto's Theatre Sector February 5, 2024 Regionally, a few new leaders in high profile positions across the country - including Nicole A. Watson at Playwrights Center, Megwyn Sanders-Andrews at at Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, and Geneé Coreno at WAM. In the UK, a new union agreement for Equity and the ITC, and in Toronto, a tale of haves and have nots in the recovery. Industry Pro Newsletter: GALA Made Whole, Tony Eligibility, Royal Court Might Make Job Cuts January 29, 2024 This week, the NEA announced $32 million in grants to institutions across the country, and while these grants are going to be vitally important to the groups that received them, it is just a drop in the bucket to the economic impact that arts organizations have on their local communities. Industry Pro Newsletter: Baltimore Center Stage Announces Layoffs, League President's Abrupt Departure Raises Questions January 22, 2024 January is often a rough month in the theater industry - there are fewer shows running, audiences are reluctant to venture out into the winter weather, there is typically a slate of Broadway closings, and companies are taking stock of their financial situation following the closure of (typically) popular holiday productions. Industry Pro Newsletter: Suburban Theatre Audiences Are Still Missing in NYC and Beyond January 16, 2024 Cara Joy David explores the concerning trend that suburban audiences are less willing to travel into the city center to see shows due to a perceived increase in crime in the city, leaving audiences feeling less safe getting in and out of shows. In the UK, funding cuts force theatres to innovate in ways to stave off closure and grow their audience. Industry Pro Newsletter: Hopes for 2024, National Theatre Wales 100% Funding Cut January 8, 2024 Cara Joy David looks at the stage door experience at the musicals currently running on Broadway, we check in with various insiders hopes for Broadway in 2024, and we look at Dallas and Denver - where the recovery has taken different paths. Across the pond, the National Theatre Wales deals with a complete funding cut from their arts council. Industry Pro Newsletter: 96% of US Counties Received Pandemic Arts Funds, Broadway Audiences Getting More Diverse December 18, 2023 A few exciting data points to close out the year - the first being that Broadway audiences this past season were younger and more diverse than in seasons past. This is a bright spot in a season that saw a bumpy box office. A new study from SMU DataArts also looked at the amount of funding that went out to arts organizations during the pandemic. |
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