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  • All Blogs/ Entertainment Industry Insights: Jun. 14 2022

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New Projects - Tony Awards - Guns & Hollywood - Streaming, Broadcast & Upfronts - Honoring Black Theatre

By Abigail Hardin, June 14, 2022

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Happy Tuesday, UTD!

On Monday, Annie and I had a great time sharing our SEEKING REPRESENTATION 101 workshop with Actors Connection! It's always wonderful hearing your questions and discussing creative ways to take informed, bold, action. The Summer is often a great time to start a representation campaign. If you missed our workshop yesterday, check out our Seeking Representation 101 resource to help you get your materials in shape and start introducing yourself to talent agents and talent managers.

As you know, we are working every day at making the Up-To-Date Actor the most helpful resource possible for professional and aspiring actors. When an idea comes up we jump on it. During our workshop yesterday, questions to ask (and be prepared for) during an interview came up and we realized, that needs to be added to the Resources section! Voila! Now users with a paid subscription can find Annie's list of questions to ask during an agent/manager interview AND questions to be prepared to answer.

Next month we are piggy-backing on this momentum and discussing FOLLOW-UPS at our next free workshop. Check out more information below. And if you want to get a headstart on follow-ups, check out our Follow-Ups resource section on the Up-To-Date Actor.

As always, create a great week! ✌️

Tony Awards

This past Sunday was the 75th Tony Awards. The ceremony was the first full-blown production since the pandemic, and I for one was a puddle of emotion the entire time. I was not alone, truly 😉 Viewership was up by nearly 40% for the CBS broadcast. This is great news for what is historically the least-watched ceremony on broadcast television.

The broadcast was also a historic night for queer artists with Non-binary Toby Marlow's win for Best Original Score of SIX: The Musical (with co-writer Lucy Moss). This win made Marlow the first non-cisgender Tony winner in Tony Awards history. Check out some other takeaways from the evening and check out what the critics thought of the show.

And of course, all that matters in the end: 🏆 A full list of the winners from the evening

Theatre: out with the old, in with the new!

It is not uncommon for many shows to announce closing dates if they don't receive awards at the Tonys. But several longstanding musicals announced their Fall closing dates last week, prior to this year's Tonys. Now is your final chance to catch TINA, DEAR EVAN HANSEN, and COME FROM AWAY before they dim the lights.

Their closings are making way for the new class of shows to make their Broadway debut. As is the case with almost every aspect of this industry, the moment one event is over (hello, Tonys), we're looking ahead to what's next. Check out and welcome the 2022-2023 Broadway season. Add any of these shows to your targets on the Up-To-Date Actor and be notified of any audition opportunity leading up to and during their run!

Guns & Hollywood

The Brady organization against gun violence is calling on Hollywood writers, directors, and producers to examine onscreen gun violence and depictions of gun safety, asking the creative community to sign a pledge that's already garnered more than 200 signatures of such names as Judd Apatow, Shonda Rhimes, Damon Lindelof, and Jimmy Kimmel and more. The pledge, while noting that the "responsibility lies with lax gun laws supported by those politicians more afraid of losing power than saving lives," acknowledges that "America's storytellers" have the power to "effect change."

Streaming, Broadcast & Upfronts

After a subscriber loss sent Netflix's stock price tumbling down some in the industry are worried that the content gold rush is ending. This is just one example of a casualty of a bear market. But others, such as Executive Producer Liz Hannah, A&E Studios Head Barry Jossen, and UTA partner and Co-head of Media Rights Jason Richman, are looking to international markets to help drive the continued need for original content. "I haven't felt any letup whatsoever, which I think just speaks to the demand being high," Richman said. "There's a lot of musical chairs going across the studio landscape, but it's going to settle out. The new incumbents have to build their new slates. We look at it as opportunities to bring the artists we're representing into their lives and filling the blank space."

Variety's annual "A Night in the Writer's Room" event brought together showrunners and creators from some of the top shows. During the comedy roundtable, eleven of the TV industry's top comedy creators and showrunners came together to talk about the so-called return of the broadcast sitcom, the daunting task of reshaping and adhering to beloved IP, and why the workplace comedy is still a tried-and-true format. On the drama side, creators and showrunners discussed bringing new ideas to old properties, what it's like to write a series finale, and what it looks like to run a writers' room under pandemic restrictions.

FOX has finally released the Fall lineup, after breaking with tradition during upfronts week. The network continues to forge its own path by unveiling its fall grid along with premiere dates, becoming the last broadcast network to release its fall lineup but the first to announce premiere dates.

Seemingly at the same time, Fox Corp. and NBCUniversal have started to write early deals in TV's upfront market, a sign that networks and at least one large media buyer have started to come to terms on pricing that could govern the flow of millions of dollars of investment from Madison Avenue. The activity suggests Madison Avenue continues to place importance on TV advertising, although executives say streaming video is also occupying a great deal of advertisers' attention.

More TV News:

Shakeup at the House of Mouse

Last week, Disney shocked the industry by firing Peter Rice from his post as chairman of Disney General Entertainment Content. and naming Dana Walden, Chairman of Entertainment, Walt Disney Television, to succeed him. It was a thunderbolt move that left those around Hollywood speechless, partly for the clumsy chain of events, but also in upsetting an executive structure that worked so well. This shocking news left many wondering, why exactly was Rice fired?

It's apparent from Rice's last memo to staff that he was also in the dark that he "was not a fit for Disney's new corporate culture." Walden has since sent a memo to staff praising Rice and singling out her commitment to inclusion.

Honoring Black Theatre

The theatre community has made many strides in, as Ariana DeBose said at the Tonys, "making the Great White Way [become] more of a nickname than a how-to-guide". Continuing on the path of progress, the Brooks Atkinson Broadway theatre is being renamed for Lena Horne. This historic renaming marks the first time a Broadway theatre has been named for a Black woman.

NYU is also naming a theatre at their newly built complex after the African Grove Theatre. This partially forgotten theatre is credited for being the nation's first Black theatre, which opened at the same location on Mercer street in 1921. Read more about this wonderful piece of theatre history and how NYU is honoring this legacy.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Producers Eva Longoria and Charles D. King are tired of hearing from producers that "they looked for diverse crew members, but couldn't find any." MACRO CEO King and UnbeliEVAble Entertainment founder Longoria said they are creating a database of diverse talent they can present to studios when faced with that question. "We have to do the work," Longoria said at a keynote talk for the Produced By conference."Every time I produce something, I bring my crew list." Longoria and King said they share the list amongst each other, and with other filmmakers like Ava DuVernay. DuVernay has gone a step further, creating the Array Crew database which is also accessible by studios. If you see a void, fill it!

We often talk about the issues that still need to be addressed, and rightfully so. We must continue to shine a light on areas that need improvement. But we also have to celebrate tiny victories. Did you know all three Dick Wolf shows in the "Chicago" franchise CHICAGO FIRE, CHICAGO MED, AND CHICAGO P.D. are led by female showrunners?! This might not seem like much but it is a great stride in shattering a genre that historically has been a major part of the boy's club.

The Native American Media Alliance has announced the selected fellows for the 2nd Annual Native American Writers Seminar. This month-long intensive develops emerging writers who are new to writing for film and television, providing new access for Native Americans interested in breaking into writing for film and television. All participants chosen for the seminar will workshop an existing script with creative executives from Skydance Media and Powderkeg Media as well as established writers on current series from CBS, ABC, and HBOMax. The program provides intensive development workshops and is accompanied by rigorous writing sessions.

Kristen Stewart has opened the gates for her paranormal reality series, calling on ghost hunters and mediums to audition for the upcoming production. "I am scarily excited to announce that I'm teaming up with Scout, the producers of QUEER EYE, LEGENDARY, and THE HYPE, on the most gayest, most funnest, most titillating queer ghost-hunting show ever, says Stewart. Prospective ghost-hunters from the LGBTQ+ community can fill out a questionnaire regarding their experience with the paranormal. Read the article for more info.

Actors on Acting

As always, there is a lot we can learn from those that have gone before us. Check out these great articles from actors on acting:

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