<< All Blogs

New Projects - Broadway Mask Mandates - Awards & Festivals - Disney & Anti-LGBTQ+

By Abigail Hardin, March 08, 2022

After some unseasonable days, it's beginning to feel like Spring here in the Northeast 🌷 Regardless of weather, Spring rejuvination is in the air. As mask & vaccine mandates are finally being shed I can't help but feel like a bear coming out of hibernation. You can feel this charged energy reflected in the industry as well. Fingers crossed that COVID numbers will remain low as we all get comfortable in the world post-mask-mandate. 🤞

There has been a lot going on behind the scenes here at UTDA and we are excited to be getting to a point to share a bit with you. Stay tuned for a big feature announcement in next week's email!

Don't forget to register for our free workshop this Friday with Actors Connection! This is our first SEEKING REPRESENTATION 101 workshop of the year. It is a common trend for talent agents and managers to look at adding to their roster at the completion of pilot season. As most pilots have been cast and are beginning to shoot, now is a great time to ensure your marketing materials are in tip-top shape for a Spring representation campaign. Our SEEKING REPRESENTATION 101 workshop will help you prepare your materials and build a targeted list of Agents & Managers to start your campaign.

Lastly, folks at the workshop this Friday will get a sneak peak at our upcoming feature 😎

Create a great week!!

International Women's Day

We're so excited and thankful to once again celebrate Women's History Month throughout March, and International Women's Day today!

Filmocracy and Sony Pictures are teaming up with several organizations later this month to present the 8th annual Women's Voices Now Film Festival. The March 24th virtual event will promote and empower female filmmakers and narratives, celebrating the stories of the fight for women's rights across the globe and distributing $10,000 in prizes to the night's winners. "We must spread awareness, spark dialogue, and inspire action to prevent the rollback of hard-earned women's rights in these challenging times," executive director Heidi Basch-Harod said. "The medium of film and its ability to generate empathy is the most powerful tool we have to keep women's rights issues front and center."

Updates on Broadway: Mask Mandate Remains, Cort Theatre Renamed

As cities around the world slowly begin to lift mask and vaccine restrictions, Broadway has elected to err on the side of caution and extend its COVID policy for all houses through at least April 30th. Leaders from The Broadway League and other entities are set to revisit the decision on April 1st, as NYC mayor Eric Adams' told reporters that while city-wide mandates expired yesterday, "Broadway will make their determination and we'll respect that."

And while you're planning your next Broadway trip, why not enter for a chance to win orchestra seats at HAMILTON, and a VIP seat to a screening and talk-back for THE GREATEST SHOWMAN, hosted by Lin-Manuel Miranda and his family! A donation of $10 or more to the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance is all you need - the contest closes on March 22nd! 🎟

The Cort Theatre will be officially renamed to honor the life and legacy of James Earl Jones, a fitting tribute from the Shubert Organization to commemorate where Jones made his full Broadway debut in 1958. "For me, standing in this very building 64 years ago at the start of my Broadway career, it would have been inconceivable that my name would be on the building today," Jones said. "Let my journey from then to now be an inspiration for all aspiring actors."

Looking to binge a little theatre content this week? Check out where to watch some of the most anticipated on-screen work from Broadway stars past and present this month! 📺

The newest slate from industry insider organization The Business of Broadway was announced last week, geared towards all things producing and developing works from a business perspective. The group also detailed a new partnership with Theatre Producers of Color, which will give access to the classes and seminars to individuals from underrepresented communities. "We hope to inspire a generation of artists and producers who together want to use shared knowledge, values, and experiences to reimagine and rebuild how the commercial theatre industry looks and operates," the leadership team wrote.

Got plans this Friday? The New York Public Library will be streaming a rare 1974 interview with Fred Ebb, John Kander, and Liza Minnelli at 5:30 PM EST about the trio's long-standing record of collaborations on iconic shows like CABARET and LIZA WITH A Z. Need I say more? Registration is free! 📽

Kristen Chenoweth's Broadway Boot Camp is back in-person this year! Students in grades 8-12 will have a chance to work with Chenoweth, along with a host of other Broadway professionals, in the star's hometown of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. "My most important mission in this life is to inspire—always inspire," the WICKED star said. "And I can promise you that is what we are going to do once again at camp." Are you suuuure only high school students are allowed to go? 😉🙏

Awards & Festivals

Looking for all things Oscars-coverage in the weeks leading up to this year's ceremony? Variety's Contenders Film Series broke down all the hottest races with some of the nominees themselves last Saturday. It was a great opportunity to listen to some of the best in the business speak candidly about how they prepared themselves for their Oscar-nominated performances, and what may be next for them. Check out Variety's social channels for all the coverage from last weekend's event!

The kick-off for this year's SXSW festival is slated for this Friday, and the festival just announced its final round of keynote speakers for the event 🎤 The 36th annual gathering of some of film's brightest up-and-coming stars will feature addresses from TED LASSO's Brett Goldstein and Brendan Hunt, director Ron Howard, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and more! The event will run in-person for the first time in three years - a sobering fact that marks the length of COVID's grasp on our industry as we enter the third year of the pandemic - but with lots of encouraging signs ahead 🤞

The 60th New York Film Festival will be back in person this fall, showing off some of the most highly-anticipated movies from around the world September 30th through October 16th. Once again filling seats for the historic Film at Lincoln Center venue in NYC, the festival also welcomed two promotions for Eugene Hernandez as Executive Director and SVP of Film at Lincoln Center, and Dennis Lim as the festival's first Artistic Director. Bring on in-person festivals once more! 🎬

International Production

A group of powerful women are leading the charge to develop new content throughout Africa in the next few years, setting the tone for streamers like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+ to begin workshopping content centered around African narratives. Originally from Kenya, former venture capitalist Dorothy Ghettuba was tasked with leading Netflix' African Originals department in 2019, and is continuing to workshop where the company's content will be headed in the years to come. "The time is now," Ghettuba said in a recent interview. "These are voices that need to be heard." CEO of South African media company MultiChoice Yolisa Phahle agrees with Ghettuba: "We don't have equality, but we really do have increasingly improved representation, and we've got to continue to fight for that."

Netflix is also giving a boost to a handful of other content from around the globe this year. Series from Taiwan, Japan, and Australia all received the green light from the streaming giant this past week, as the company makes good on its promise to continue to diversify its offerings on a global scale. Hooray for more voices coming to the big screen! 📽

Disney Under Fire for Funding Anti-LGBTQ+ Florida Politicians

The backlash for Disney continues amid reports of its implicit support of Florida's horrendous "Don't Say Gay" Bill, passed by the statehouse in late February and currently headed for debate in Florida's Senate. The House of Mouse recently put out a statement in support of the LGBTQ+ community, a hollow gesture considering the company's long-standing support of the politicians advocating on behalf of the bill that would ban the discussion of gender and sexuality in Florida classrooms.

Family namesake Abigail Disney blasted the company's positioning on the issue, taking to Twitter to say that she "could not be more unhappy with [Disney's] political activities, both in terms of whom they fund and how they lobby." The company is set to host the "Reimagine Tomorrow" conference later this month to discuss "issues of concern to our LGBTQ+ colleagues," along with a broader "Reimagine Tomorrow Global Summit" in April that will gather employees from around the world to discuss the company's plans for expanding its DEI initiatives.

Industry Intel

As the grim stories coming out of Ukraine of the last few weeks push more and more companies to take action in sanctioning Russia, a growing number of streamers are reevaluating their current business practices in the country to show support for Ukraine. Netflix is the latest company to take a definitive stand against the Kremlin, ceasing all service in Russia in protest of its unprecedented invasion of Ukraine. Netflix joins the likes of Apple, Disney, and Microsoft to halt business in the country amid the ongoing conflict.

For the second time in just a week, a Netflix set has been the subject of a robbery, this time targeting French series LUPIN (ironically, a series about heists 👀). An estimated $330,000 worth of equipment was lifted from the set, just a few days after Netflix stalwart THE CROWN was victim to a similar incident that saw nearly $200,000 worth of antiques disappear. There's a streaming bandit on the loose!

We believe it's so important to take some time to read stories of actors currently working in the industry and learn how they came to land the roles and careers that we know them for today. After earning degrees in English and government from Cornell, Justin H. Min jumped the tracks from a career in journalism to pursue acting full-time. Min credits a full slate of classes in part for his success: "I just knew that I wanted to be at a level where I could feel confident in the room and could put my best foot forward." Everyone has to start somewhere!

Some regional houses announced changes in their leadership teams last week:

• Barbara Gaines will end her 36-year stint as artistic director of the Chicago Shakespeare Theater next year, punctuating a run that included 60 directorial credits, over half of which being works from Shakespeare's cannon 📚
• American Repertory Theater has officially found its next executive director in Kevin Dinkins Jr., effective June 1st. The former Yale Rep general manager and David Geffen School of Drama assistant dean and acting chair of theatre management shared that he sees "great capacity to expand our approach to equitable and sustainable practices, broadening access, and building intentional partnerships that will help the mission to thrive." 🎭

It's worth noting that a handful of podcasts have been making a jump to the screen in the last few years, and there seems to be no sign of that trend slowing down. MODERN LOVE, HOMECOMING, THE DROPOUT - all at one time highly streamed casts in their own right have now received full series treatments on streaming services. Keep an eye on those episodes you're listening to during your commute every morning - you never know what's going to be casting next

NBC announced that ORDINARY JOE would not be receiving a third season last week, ending a two-year run for the show that explored how lives can change based on who and how you love. "Couldn't be more proud of the writers, actors, the directors and the uber-talented craftsmen and women who all came together as a family and made a truly beautiful show," co-creator Garrett Lerner wrote on Twitter. "Thank you all."

New Works Ahead

It's full-steam ahead with the creation of Harvey Fierstein's Theatre Lab, a $2.5 million venture that will build out from New York Public Library for the Performing Arts' Billy Rose Theatre Division. Tony-winning designer David Rockwell, who previously created sets for KINKY BOOTS and HAIRSPRAY, will lead the design process for the Theatre Lab over the next few years. "Harvey's vision of creating a new home for the next generation of theater artists is a vital part [of] the Library for the Performing Arts' mission to inspire and support creativity," Rockwell said. The space will house classroom units, acting studios, and more, with the overall goal to benefit high school and college students and teachers.

It was a busy week for the Billy Rose Theatre Division last week, as the organization also announced the creation of the Theatre and Technology Fellowship, which will provide funding and living expenses for one individual interested in digging deeper into the Division's sprawling archive of theatre artifacts. The parameters of the fellowship are intentionally broad - applicants can explain their interest in any of the pieces in the collection, from lighting design to virtual reality development, which will then be presented in a public showcase at the end of the year. Applications close on April 15th!

A new production of HAMLET from StageWest in Massachusetts is pushing the boundaries of what the Bard's historic works can look like onstage - a fact that I imagine, the Bard would be more than happy to see still being explored centuries after his original staging. Utilizing the teachings of the famed Suzuki method, developed by Japanese mentor Tadashi Suzuki, director Eric Hill's production tugs at the intersection of gender, identity, and sexuality, starting with the casting of Kelly Maurer in the titular role. "Today we live in the jet age," Hill said in a recent interview. "Actors have to be top-gun pilots, flying over the Pacific, turning right angles on a dime. Now we experience enormous emotional shifts in a split second. Chaotic experiences crowd our consciousness, and our world, like Hamlet's, is falling apart at the seams." Say yes to more experimental theatre in 2022!