The Actor’s Gang Prison Project

January 31, 2011 at 2:13 pm

After reading August Wilson,  Susan Laurie Parks and seeing Bradon Jacobs-Jenkin’s Neighbors, my imagination has been running wild with thoughts of using theatre as not only entertainment but also a forum for political discussion. This video touches on that in a way I hadn’t imagined. The notion that theatre can be an outreach for prisoners, people who very often have been silenced and pushed aside in our society, is revolutionary. Bringing storytelling to people who are ignored and silenced as a healing medium, giving them a sense of purpose and revealing their humanity to the outside world could very well write a new fate for the so called “degenerates” of our nation.

What do you all think?

http://bit.ly/g93waq

By ccrawley | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Also…

January 31, 2011 at 10:02 am

Take a look at this:

http://www.onlinecolleges.org/top-50-theater-blogs/

By Ilana Brownstein | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

A Starting Point For Finding News

January 31, 2011 at 9:12 am

Hello all,

I created the following list about a year ago. As a measure of how fast technology grows, it is now totally out of date. There's so much more out there than there was one year ago!  That said, this list is still a good starting point.  Together, let's curate a new list by the end of the term, full of all the sites you're set to discover on your own.

Best,

Ilana

...................................

To be a great artist is also to be an informed citizen of the world. One way to do this is to keep up on what's going on locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally in the realm of theatre, the arts, and culture. Here are some online publications that I check regularly. One helpful way I've found to keep track of sites like these is to create a "Daily Reads" folder on my browser's bookmark bar. It keeps useful sites close at hand, and helps me remember to check them every morning.

Tip #1: some sites ask you to register -- for free -- but if you (like me) resist giving out your email address to commercial entities if you can at all help it, you can get anonymous log-in for almost any site at BugMeNot.com.

Tip #2: How do you find blogs you might like? Once you find one blog you enjoy, check out that person's blogroll and click through to the sites they like. It's a good way to build your network outwards.

Things I check every morning:

http://www.artsjournal.com/
http://theater.nytimes.com/pages/theater/index.html
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/category/theater/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/theatreblog
http://explorebostontheatre.com/

Things I check every few days:


http://www.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/
http://www3.timeoutny.com/newyork/upstaged/
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/
http://www.backstage.com/bso/index.jsp
http://www.playbill.com/
http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/the_theater_loop/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/theatre
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/artsandliving/theater/?nid%3Droll_theater&sub=AR
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/

http://www.theatermania.com/
http://www.theatermania.com/boston/
http://www.theatermania.com/content/news_archive.cfm?int_news_cat=1&int_city_id=1
(And you can choose news, reviews, features, listings, etc, for various cities around the US)

http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=dept_main&dept=Legit
http://www.villagevoice.com/theater/

Things I check every week or every other week:

http://www.cradlearts.org/blog/
http://theguide.latimes.com/performing-arts
http://blogs.laweekly.com/ladaily/stage-news/
http://playgoer.blogspot.com/
http://feministspectator.blogspot.com/
http://chicagoplays.blogspot.com/
http://www.stagesource.org/

(Sign up for their newsletter at the top of the StageSource page)

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/theatre/
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/blogs/theatre/
http://brooklynrail.org/
http://americantheatrewing.org/
http://npdp.arenastage.org/
http://stage-directions.com/
http://www.talkinbroadway.com/
http://bit.ly/euAy0l
http://www.newyorker.com/arts
http://99seats.blogspot.com/
http://www.clydefitchreport.com/
http://robkozlowski.blogspot.com/

Blogs from Producing Theatres:

http://blog.huntingtontheatre.org/
http://www.americanrepertorytheater.org/blog
http://blog.steppenwolf.org/

By Ilana Brownstein | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

How to post to the blog

January 30, 2011 at 4:30 pm

If you're a member of Contemporary Drama, you've been added as an author of the blog. So, how do you actually write a post? Easy. Follow these steps.

1) Go to our blog's home page (you're already there if you're reading this from the blog): http://blogs.bu.edu/ilanamb/
2) Along the top of the page, find the drop-down menu called "My Blogs." Hover your cursor over the name of our blog, and a side-menu will appear with an option for "new post."
3) Choose "new post" and write yourself a post. When you're happy with it, click the "publish" button on the top right of the page.

That's it!

Ok, go to it. Everyone is responsible for posting one interesting news item per week about the theatre or state of the arts. In addition to that, you are also welcome to comment on other people's posts to further the discussion.

By Ilana Brownstein | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Welcome to the Blog

January 23, 2011 at 5:36 pm

Hello there. This is your blog. It's here as a forum for your burgeoning knowledge of the theatre world beyond Comm Ave. Starting after our next class, we'll be looking for everyone to post at least one news item per week. Details to come in class on Friday.

By Ilana Brownstein | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (2)