Skip to content
Log in
Become a Member
Donate

A New Cohort of Tomorrow’s Leaders Joins the TBA Arts Leadership Residency

October 27, 2021

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 More

New Legislation Aims To Aid Small Arts Organizations Struggling with AB 5

September 6, 2021
a close-up of Martha Demson smiling showing her teeth. She is a white woman with blue eyes and short blonde hair. She is wearing a blue sweater.

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 More

Theatre Advocates Mobilize in Response to California’s Gig Worker Law

February 26, 2020
a light skinned woman with blue eyes and shoulder length red curly hair. She is wearing a teal shirt and a sliver necklace.

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 More

Theatre Bay Area and AB5

January 10, 2020
Theatre Bay Area Logo. Pink circle with a gradient of pink triangles inside pointing from the upper left corner to the lower right. Meant to simulate a stage light. On the right is the word Theatre in big rounded text with Bay Area written in a smaller blocky text below it.

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 More

Headshots 101: Part Two

December 4, 2019
Theatre Bay Area Logo. Pink circle with a gradient of pink triangles inside pointing from the upper left corner to the lower right. Meant to simulate a stage light. On the right is the word Theatre in big rounded text with Bay Area written in a smaller blocky text below it.

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 More

Headshots 101: Part One

November 19, 2019
Theatre Bay Area Logo. Pink circle with a gradient of pink triangles inside pointing from the upper left corner to the lower right. Meant to simulate a stage light. On the right is the word Theatre in big rounded text with Bay Area written in a smaller blocky text below it.

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…

Read More

The Business of Show Biz – Getting Notes From A Fellow Actor

January 3, 2018
Headshot of Velina Brown. She is a black woman with short cropped hair. She is wearing a light blue shirt and standing in front of green foliage. She is smiling with her teeth showing.

by Velina Brown Q: A while ago I was cast in an AEA show with an actor who took it on themselves to give notes to their fellow actors after opening. This would happen during the fight call, in front of stage management, and when we had no choice but to be there. Once the actor…

Read More

The Business of Show Biz: Burning A Bridge

November 15, 2017
Headshot of Velina Brown. She is a black woman with short cropped hair. She is smiling with her teeth showing. She is wearing a black shirt and leaning against a wood paneled background.

by Velina Brown Q: I saw the letter you posted on Facebook regarding the show about Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings. After reading the letter I could see what you and the group of women who wrote the letter were upset about. But honestly, when I first heard about the show I didn’t see a problem…

Read More

Proposed Increases to NEA and NEH: A Letter from Brad Erickson

May 1, 2017
Theatre Bay Area Logo. Pink circle with a gradient of pink triangles inside pointing from the upper left corner to the lower right. Meant to simulate a stage light. On the right is the word Theatre in big rounded text with Bay Area written in a smaller blocky text below it.

Dear Colleagues, Advocacy works! Monday morning we received word from Americans for the Arts and other leading advocacy organizations that Congress has reached a bipartisan agreement that not only sustains crucial support for federal cultural agencies but actually increases funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities by $2 million…

Read More

Arts and Community Members Assemble at City Hall for San Francisco Arts Advocacy Day

March 21, 2017

Theatre Bay Area staff joined nearly 400 artists, arts administrators, cultural producers, and cultural ambassadors in a spirited rally to advocate for (1) policy priorities (2) a message of “No Cuts,” and (3) stories about the transformative nature of cultural and creative expression. Theatre Bay Area staff gathers with colleagues from Z Space and Yerba…

Read More