Schedule Announcements

Elm Street Cultural Arts Center   Dogfight has been postponed (Dates TBA)

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Players' Guild @ Sugar Hill   Blithe Spirit has been moved to February

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Serenbe Playhouse has cancelled all productions and is currently reorganizing.

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New Dawn Theatre Company has decided to permanently close.

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The American Musical Theatre Festival has been postponed until Autumn 2021.

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Soul-stice Rep is coming back.  Fall of 2000 on Zoom, Spring of 2021 IRL.  Tentative Line-up:  A Raisin in the Sun, Three Sisters, Much Ado About Nothing

ACTOR'S EXPRESS PARTNERS WITH EMORY NURSING SCHOOL TO DEVELOP A REOPENING PLAN FOR ATLANTA THEATRES

Actor’s Express has led a coalition of 18 arts organizations in creating a partnership with the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University to evaluate and study performing arts operations. This evaluation will lead to the creation of a set of guidelines and suggestions on how to safely and responsibly reopen as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

Actor's Express is one of 18 Atlanta-based performing arts organizations participating in the research project, a cohort that includes, in addition to 7 Stages,  the Alliance Theatre, ART Station, Atlanta Lyric Theatre, Aurora Theatre, Center for Puppetry Arts, Dad’s Garage, Dance Canvas, Found Stages, Georgia Ensemble Theatre,  Horizon Theatre Company, Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company, Out Front Theatre Company, Stage Door Players Synchronicity, and Terminus Dance Theatrical Outfit.

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Led by three Doctor of Nursing Practice students, and a steering committee of 12 theatre staffers, the research project began in April with the creation of an in-depth assessment tool. A group of Bachelor’s Public Health nursing students interviewed theatre staffers about general theatre operations, from the rehearsal process to front of house to backstage, then analyzed the data to create safety protocols.

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The team of nurses is now working to provide each participating organization, whose budgets and performance space sizes vary, with specific guidelines based on their respective needs. The data will be released at the end of August.

Pictured: The vacant stage of The Brothers Size, which was postponed due to COVID-19. 

The 2020 Williamstown Festival Will Be Recorded and Audio-Streamed by Audible!

ABOUT THE WTF SEASON ON AUDIBLE

In an innovative collaboration devised to meet the challenges posed by the global health pandemic, the 2020 season will be the first-ever complete theatre season released by Audible, the world’s largest producer and provider of original spoken-word entertainment and audiobooks. The 2020 WTF Season on Audible will be produced in an audio-only format safe to elevate, entertain, and transform audiences from the comfort of their homes.

Our collaboration with Audible for the 2020 season presents new artistic opportunities that we are embracing head-on as we produce this work. While this season will be different, it is being made with the spirit of invention that has long been a hallmark of the Festival. We hope you will listen to the work so we can transport you into the world of Blanche DuBois in 1940s New Orleans, into a hotel in Thailand where Kina prepares for gender confirmation surgery, onto Tori McClure’s rowboat as she rows solo across the Atlantic Ocean, and so much more.

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

What is Audible?

Why Audible?

How do I get access to the 2020 WTF Season on Audible?

CLICK HERE FOR ANSWERS

WTF SEASON ON AUDIBLE UPDATE

Rehearsals and remote recording sessions have commenced for four productions as part of the upcoming Williamstown Theatre Festival season produced by Audible.

The four plays—Chonburi International Hotel & Butterfly Club by Shakina Nayfack, directed by Laura Savia; Photograph 51 by Anna Ziegler, directed by Susan Stroman; Animals by Stacy Osei-Kuffour, directed by Whitney White; and A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, directed by Robert O’Hara—will begin remote recording sessions as early as next week.

Scroll to learn more about these first four shows, and stay tuned to this page for more information and exciting updates about the WTF Season on Audible!

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CLICK HERE FOR UPDATES AND FOR DESCRIPTIONS OF THE INITIAL PRODUCTIONS

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CHONBURI INTERNATIONAL HOTEL & BUTTERFLY CLUB

WORLD PREMIERE
By Shakina Nayfack

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PHOTOGRAPH 51

By Anna Ziegler
Direction by Susan Stroman

ANIMALS

WORLD PREMIERE
By Stacy Osei-Kuffour
Directed by Whitney White

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A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE

By Tennessee Williams
Directed by Robert O’Hara
With Bobby Cannavale, Carla Gugino, Audra McDonald

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Need a "Leg Up" on turning depressing quarantine into joyous elation? 

Check Out Danny Crowe's LIFT UP ARTISTS series on You Tube

Sing the Praises of our Peers!

This project aims to assemble artists from around the country to celebrate their collaborators! Which we often forget to do! With how high pressured and rejection filled the arts industry is, sometimes we all need a little bit of a boost!

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EPISODE 1    

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EPISODE 2  (Women's History Month)

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EPISODE 3

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EPISODE 4  (Pride Month)

Atlanta Theatre Artists for Justice is a Facebook group for members of the Atlanta Theatre Community to organize support for the response to the murder of George Floyd and the BLM Movement. Use this group: - To share information about peaceful protests going on throughout the Metro-Atlanta area. - To meet up with others to attend protests as a unit and keep each other safe. - To provide assistance (providing waters, babysitting, petsitting, giving rides) if not able to attend the protests in person. - To do safety check-ins following the protests, especially if there is police intervention. I understand that there are countless issues in our community in regards to the lack of action from the institutions we work for. But please keep this group about how WE act and how WE respond. The moderators reserve the right to keep this a safe, peaceful group.

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CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO OR TO JOIN

Over 50 arts organizations (and counting!) have united to showcase online events and digital content for all you shut-ins at home who are missing your regular doses of theatre, music, dance, film and the visual arts! There are also ideas for creative ways you can engage. Keep your finger on the pulse of what’s happening at ArtBeatsATL.com! And please spread the love.

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VISIT ART BEATS ATLANTA

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ABOUT ART BEATS ATLANTA

Art Beats Atlanta (Art Beats) is a co-op of Atlanta-area arts and culture organizations with a mission to increase engagement between the public and the vibrant professional arts community of the greater Atlanta area. Originally created at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic as a space to share innovative online arts programming, the long-term goal is to continue to build Art Beats into a platform promoting Atlanta’s vibrant arts ecology.

A Letter to the Community: Local theatres respond to the coronavirus pandemic

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Below is an open letter from a group of Atlanta theatres, which was published by Atlanta InTown Paper. We'd like to share it with you.

To Our Local Theatre Fans, Friends, and Family:

Right now is an unprecedented time for our community, and the local theatre community will likely be hit especially hard. COVID-19 has caused a great deal of change, and we are all facing a tremendous amount of uncertainty. Currently, our leaders are making the hard but necessary choice to ban mass gatherings of people, and nobody is sure how long this may go on for. This directly affects theatres, as we will most likely be unable to host shows and sell tickets for an extended period of time. Theatres are facing a major loss in revenue because of this. In addition to the impact on our organizations, the performers, artisans, and administrative staff of local theatres are also likely to have personal financial struggles through the coming weeks.

We are coming to you now to ask for your continued support of local theatre, even as we
temporarily shutter our doors. There are three easy ways you can help support us through these uncertain times: make a donation, buy a gift certificate, and talk to your legislators.

Make a donation. All of the theatres listed in this letter are nonprofit organizations. That means that we re-invest any profits we make back into our mission, rather than paying shareholders. As nonprofit organizations, it also means we can accept tax-deductible donations! This is by far the best thing you can do right now to support your local theatres. A pledge for monthly support is also a wonderful way to provide sustained support as we work to recover in the coming months. Finally, if you bought a ticket to a show that gets cancelled, consider turning the cost of that ticket into a donation, rather than asking for a refund.

Buy a gift certificate. Many local theatres have the ability to issue gift certificates that patrons can use for future shows. Please check with the theatres you frequent, and inquire if they can sell a gift certificate. Treat your future self to a night of entertainment, and once life returns to normal we look forward to welcoming you into our theatres!

Talk to your legislators. In the coming weeks there will likely be bills put forth on the state and national levels for economic relief for those affected by COVID-19. Please reach out to your legislators and let them know that nonprofit arts organizations and artists should be included in these relief packages.

We can make it through this together, but local theatres need your support to help weather this storm. Even once COVID-19 passes, theatres will still be facing financial gaps and tight budgets, and will likely be asking for your donation to offset our losses. Please have patience with us. We are all dedicated to bringing you amazing theatrical experiences

We look forward to seeing you once again at our theatres. Until then, stay safe and healthy.

This too shall pass.

7 Stages
Actor’s Express
Alliance Theatre
Aris Theatre
Atlanta Lyric Theatre
Aurora Theatre
Center for Puppetry Arts
City Springs Theatre
Dad’s Garage Theatre
Georgia Ensemble Theatre

Horizon Theatre Company
Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre
Out Front Theatre Company
Serenbe Playhouse
Stage Door Players
Synchronicity Theatre
Theatre Buford
Theatre du Reve
Theatrical Outfit

LISTEN HERE AS ACTOR'S EXPRESS' FREDDIE ASHLEY DISCUSSES WITH WABE'S LOIS REITZES HOW ATLANTA THEATRE'S ARE RESPONDING

AN OPEN LETTER FROM ROB BROOKSHER

Hi folks,

Theatres and theatre artists across the country are facing a potential existential threat due to COVID-19. Most theatre artists live on a paycheck to paycheck, gig to gig basis and have to supplement their art with a second and oftentimes third part-time job.

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Many of these artists might soon find themselves out of work, and as the infection rates continue, we will, guaranteed, have members of our community under quarantine, unable to leave their house and unable to earn an income. To many ATL artists, this will be a devastating financial blow.

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I've started this campaign to do as much as I can for my friends and peers who will be affected. A lot of things are still falling into place, but the first steps of where your money goes are:

- Purchasing of food supplies for a frozen meal prep volunteering group that will create a meal train for those who are quarantined or financially in need due to being out of work, delivering nutritious food and supplies to the doorsteps of those artists who are in financial need.

- Purchasing of necessary essentials for artists in financial need (pain medications, fever reducers, electrolytes, etc)

**NONE OF THIS MONEY WILL GO TO ME, JUST DOING MY PART :) **

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Please consider donating if you have the means, and please share!     CLICK HERE TO DONATE

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If you are interested in volunteering/organizing, please visit our Facebook group:

Atlanta Artist Emergency Relief Volunteers

https://www.facebook.com/groups/199541764601434/

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Stay safe out there!