(by Rebecca Bromels on My Extra Hour)

(by Guy Patrick Cunningham on The Millions)

On 2AMt, Travis Bedard spins a story of a theater system where fringe festivals do the raw research, indie theaters do the development, large local theaters handle the trial level, and large regionals are the product level:

There is no system in the theatre ecosystem. Every branch of this ungainly beast is trying to perform every function. Without enough resources to go around we need to improve communication and eliminate redundancies….My platonic ideal of this system rests on a foundation of dynamic local creation.The larger theatres in a given town, having a relationship with the local creators, curate their second spaces with shows that they love. The indie and fringe companies get a longer run to bash out problems in the text or production, broader exposure and they get to build a following of their own. The audience gets a chance to see more locally created theatre. The larger theatre get a low cost production in their second space that didn’t eat up all the available man hours of their staff. And the world gets a play with a history, ready for bigger things.

(by Laura Axelrod on 2AMt)

Playwright Rajiv Joseph has won the prestigious Will Glickman Award for “The North Pool,” which received its world premiere with TheatreWorks in March 2011. Joseph and TheatreWorks will receive awards as part of Theatre Bay Area’s 35th Anniversary “35 Years, 35 Faces” event on April 30, 2012 at Z Space in San Francisco. In addition, Joseph will receive the award’s $4,000 purse.

(by Craig Lambert on Harvard Magazine)

(by David Dower on HowlRound)

HowlRound has kicked off their City Series — exploring theater scenes in cities around the country — with San Francisco. You can read articles and blog posts from:

• Deborah Cullinan
• Octavio Solis
• Sean San José
• Brad Erickson
• Dan Wolf
• Rebecca Novick
• Carey Perloff

(by Aditi Kapil on HowlRound)

But my friend Ian Walker over at Second Wind has kind of an interesting program going, and I thought that some of the #2amt folks might find it worth digging into — and that some of the plain old theater-goers who read this blog might want to check out.

It’s called the “Elite Pass,” and it opens up the whole process of making theater to anyone with a pass, essentially turning you into a “member” for several months. Besides some of the usual premiums theaters offer — a ticket to the show, half off concessions, additional tickets at a discount — there’s some pretty cool stuff like:

• Free workshops led by members of the crew. An in-depth look at “the narrative of stage design” with the director; a free movement class with the choreographer.
• Free returns to see the show a second time, and a free pass to bring a youth along to the show.
• Exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes footage on a special web page, including videos of the rehearsal process.
• An Elite Pass forum where you can ask questions and engage in discussion about the show.

It strikes me as a pretty innovative way to get audiences involved. I don’t know what it will do about butts in seats, but I figure I ought to throw that in one more time.