A valuable opportunity for musical producers to come together, share knowledge and contribute to the sector’s recovery is presented by Musical Theatre Network’s next Producers Round Table which will be available online, from 3-4.30pm on Thursday 30th March.
This is a peer-to-peer discussion between those actively producing new musical theatre. It’s an opportunity to share insights and discuss future opportunities. How are prospects for staging new musicals evolving as we move out of the pandemic, and position shows for audiences living through financially challenging times? How is new work best selected? Is the development pipeline serving producers’ needs? Are new approaches to financing needed?
Initial thoughts will be shared by producers including Katy Lipson (Aria Entertainment), Juliet Forster (York Theatre Royal), Frankie Dailey (USA’s National Alliance for Musical Theatre), Joey Monda (Sing Out, Louise! Productions), and Rob Hartman (Fredericia Musical Teater, Denmark), and the rest of the session will be debate and peer-to-peer sharing, and an opportunity to refresh connections.
This session is free to attend for MTN members and non-members alike. To receive the zoom link to join the event, registerhere
THE FATHER AND THE ASSASSIN Image by Simon Sorted from NT website
Here’s another NT talks event you can stream live for free.
On Friday 27th May at 1.00pm BST, you can join writer Anupama Chandrasekhar and director Indhu Rubasingham to discuss their new production, The Father and the Assassin, with broadcaster and film-maker Bidisha.
If you miss the talk, you can catch up using the same link you will receive when you register for the talk.
Nicola Walker, photo courtesy National Theatre website
On Monday 23rd May at 4.00pm you can hear actors Nicola Walker and Iwan Davies reflect on the rewards and challenges of performing in Emlyn Williams’ THE CORN IS GREEN, currently at the National Theatre, in a 60-minute discussion chaired by Fiona Mountford.
If you wish to attend in person you can book here . Tickets are £10/£5 concessions.
However,there is also the option to join the discussion online for free.
And if you miss the live talk, or can’t make it at that time, you can catch up using the same link you will receive when you register online for the talk.
The National says “We have made the live-stream of this NT talk free so it can be enjoyed by as many people as possible. If you can, please make a donation to keep our events open and accessible to all. Together we can shape a bright, creative future. To donate, please visit https://tickets.nationaltheatre.org.uk/donate/q/talks-and-events or text: EVENT 3 to 70580 to donate £3 EVENT 5 to 70580 to donate £5 EVENT 10 to 70580 to donate £10 Texts cost your donation amount plus one standard rate message. UK networks only.”
photo credit: James D. Morgan (courtesy of Methuen Drama)
On Wednesday 27th April from 6.00pm to 7.30pm BST, you are invited to join an interesting free online discussion about the future directions of theatre in the UK.
Presented by Research@Central, an events creation group based at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, the online discussion will prove worth watching, I am sure.
In December of 2021, Methuen Drama published Caridad Svich’s Toward a Future Theatre: Conversations During a Pandemic, which documents theatremakers’ dreams for a new post-Covid reality in which theatre is reimagined and issues of racial and economic justice are addressed. This panel brings together five artists featured in the book to reflect upon their renewed commitment to theatre’s ability to effect and model change at a time when the arts sector finds itself in a precarious state of flux and transition.
The Panelists are, as of this writing, James Graham (playwright), Roy Williams (playwright), Jennifer Jackson (movement director), Suba Das (artistic director, Liverpool’s Everyman Playhouse), and Daphna Attias (co-founder of the site-responsive, immersive theatre company Dante or Die).
Caridad Svich is a playwright, an editor at Contemporary Theatre Review and founder of NoPassport theatre alliance and press. She received a 2012 Obie for Lifetime Achievement.
Tom Cornford is Senior Lecturer in Theatre and Performance at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, and author of Theatre Studios: A Political History of Ensemble Theatre-Making.
James Graham is an Olivier-Award winning playwright and librettist and screenwriter. His works include Ink at the Almeida, the West End and Broadway.
Roy Wiliams is a Black British playwright and screenwriter. His works include Death of England and Sing Yer Out for the Lads.
Jennifer Jackson is a British Bolivian movement director, actor and theatremaker. Her work has been seen at the National Theatre, Royal Exchange Theatre and Lyric Hammersmith, among others. She is currently a Leverhulme Arts Scholar.
Suba Das is Creative Director for the Everyman and Playhouse Theatres. A theatre director, producer and dramaturg, he was Artistic Director and CEO of HighTide. Previously Associate Director of Leicester Curve, one of the UK’s major producing houses, Das was Resident Director at the National Theatre Studio and English Touring Theatre, and has directed for the Young Vic, Theatre Royal Stratford East, Nottingham Playhouse, Northern Stage and the Roundhouse. In 2017 he made his opera directorial debut with the world premiere of Sukanya by Ravi Shankar for the Royal Opera and London Philharmonic. Suba read English at Clare College, Cambridge and trained on the Birkbeck Director Training Programme. He is a Trustee of The Sage, Gateshead, Coram Shakespeare Schools Foundation and Theatres Trust.
Daphna Attias is Co-Artistic Director of Dante or Die, a site-specific theatre company celebrating the human condition. She has directed all of the company’s works to date.
For more information, and to reserve your place, click here
During Explore Your Archive Week, on Wednesday 24 November, you’re invited to join the ABTT and the University of Bristol Theatre Archive as they host a discussion about how to care for Theatre and Live Art records, which will be useful for anyone with archival, library or record-keeping duties of any kind.
Paul Roberts, member of the ABTT’s Historical Research Committee and members of the University of Bristol Theatre Collection will all speak about how to look after your records.
Starting at 2.30pm, the free online event will cover how to preserve paper-based & audiovisual documentation as well as conversing about the Records at Risk project.
The main session will be followed by time for a Q&A session, and is scheduled to finish by 4.00pm
