Posts by hilary@theatrebayarea.org
After 23 Years, FoolsFURY Practices The Art of Letting Go
by Jean Schiffman “Today we are practicing the art of letting go,” said Debórah Eliezer, artistic director of FoolsFURY, at a recent public closure ceremony at the Mission Cultural Center. Her “sunset speech” marked the ensemble’s graceful withdrawal, as a company, from the local theatre scene after 23 years. Concrete symbols of that withdrawal were…
Read MoreLocal Arts Organizations Are Ready to Welcome You Back
by Sam Hurwitt Bay Area arts organizations want you to know that they’re ready. They’re ready to invite patrons back into their spaces in as safe a way as can be managed amid an ongoing pandemic. They’re ready to envelop audiences in arts experiences that challenge the mind and nurture the soul. That’s the message…
Read MoreAfter Pandemic Pivoting to Launch a Catering Business, Cindy Goldfield Returns to The Stage
by Edward Guthmann When COVID hit early last year, Cindy Goldfield was rehearsing Nine to Five at Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek. She was playing Violet Newstead, the role Lily Tomlin made famous, and feeling “very excited” about the work when Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a statewide stay-at-home order on March 19,…
Read MoreHolding The Community Together: Theatre Bay Area Searches For a New Executive Director
by Rotimi Agbabiaka When Brad Erickson announced this June that he would be departing his role as Theatre Bay Area executive director after 18 years of service, the organization was faced with the challenge of finding someone to take over the helm and steer the company on a post-pandemic course. Over the past month, TBA…
Read MoreA New Cohort of Tomorrow’s Leaders Joins the TBA Arts Leadership Residency
By Edward Guthman Four Bay Area theatre artists have been chosen in the second round of Theatre Bay Area’s Arts Leadership Residency. Virginia Blanco, Devin Cunningham, Daniel Duque-Estrada, and Julius Rea will each receive $12,000 for a 480- to 640-hour residency. The initiative was generated to redress the racial imbalance in theatre management. “We want…
Read MoreNew Legislation Aims To Aid Small Arts Organizations Struggling with AB 5
by Rotimi Agbabiaka On August 26, SB 805, or the “Save The Performing Arts Act of 2021,” a California Senate bill that aims to help nonprofit performing arts companies, with annual revenues of $1.4 million or less, pay their workers minimum wage, passed unanimously through the Assembly Appropriations Committee. The bill is now on track…
Read MoreTheatre Advocates Mobilize in Response to California’s Gig Worker Law
by Rotimi Agbabiaka Last month, California’s AB5 went into effect, requiring companies across the state to reclassify their independent contractors as employees in order to comply with classification guidelines set down by the California Supreme Court’s 2018 decision in the “Dynamex” case. The law, which was aimed at the profit-maximizing practices of tech giants like…
Read MoreTheatre Bay Area and AB5
A message from the board of Theatre Bay Area: Many in our community are asking questions about AB5, the new California employment law that went into effect January 1 and outlines new rules around classifying workers as employees or independent contractors. Aimed at the growing “gig economy,” the law extends far beyond, reaching almost every…
Read MoreHeadshots 101: Part Two
by Rotimi AgbabiakaLast Insider we received some tips from local headshot photographers about taking a winning headshot. This time around we chatted with Bay Area casting directors about what they are looking for in an actor’s headshot. LeeAnn Dowd Casting Manager, California Shakespeare Theatre What makes a good headshot? The best headshot is one that makes you feel…
Read MoreHeadshots 101: Part One
by Rotimi Agbabiaka As 2020 approaches you may be thinking, “New year, new me, new headshots?” Often an actor’s first introduction to potential employers, that 8 by 10 image can bear the weight of much anxiety and hope. To help you put your best face forward, we chatted with some of the Bay Area’s favorite headshot photographers…
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