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Theatre Auditions Back - Production Footprint Expansions - Diversity Report

By Abigail Hardin, April 05, 2022

It seems the news cycle took a breather last week after the large push leading up to the Oscars. On the flip side, Spring has always been the season of Regional Theatre auditions and it is so refreshing to see this cycle once again in full swing after a two-year hiatus. With AEA announcing a return to in-person auditions last week, the audition notices have been flooding in with a mix of virtual and location-specific auditions.

To help you navigate this Theatre Season, we're offering our BOOKING THEATRE WORK POST-PANDEMIC workshop next week. Register with Actors Connection for this free workshop. Come learn about the state of theatre post-pandemic and, more importantly, how you can get ahead of the casting notice and book more theatre work wherever you are located.

• April 12, 2022 @ 3:00 PM EST — BOOKING THEATRE WORK POST-PANDEMIC with Actors Connection

Spring has sprung! 🌷 Make the most of this energizing season!

Production Footprint

The film and TV markets in New York, Toronto, and the UK are growing at an impressive rate in the last few years, but Los Angeles still holds the top spot for most soundstage space in the industry. FilmLA, the city's permit office for filming, found that LA's 5.4 million square feet of sound stage real estate still edges out places like the UK at 4.7 million and New York at $2.4 million. Expansion, however, is occurring much quicker in New York, Ontario, and the UK, with these regions coming in at 33%, 43%, and 34% since 2019, respectively. Legislators in Georgia defeated a proposition that would have placed a $900 million annual cap on the state's robust film and incentive program last week, giving the state continued free reign to gain ground on other competitors vying for film business in the years ahead.

Industry Intel

After a recent aphasia diagnosis, Bruce Willis has made the decision to step away from acting in order to spend more time with his family and focus on his health. A cognitive disorder that affects motor function and speech, aphasia is typically caused by brain damage and can hinder the ability to communicate as well. "This is a really challenging time for our family and we are so appreciative of your continued love, compassion, and support," Willis' daughter Rumer wrote in a joint statement. "We are moving through this as a strong family unit, and wanted to bring his fans in because we know how much he means to you, as you do to him."

The most recent West End production of LITTLE WOMEN is set to stream via BroadwayHD starting on April 21st. The show was filmed at the Park Theatre in the UK and will receive its exclusive premiere on the streaming service. Hooray for accessible theatre! 🎭

Media ratings giant Neilsen has officially been acquired by a private-equity firm for $16 billion, after a rocky last year that left many wondering about the future of the company's once-golden stamp on content. Execs from studios and ad groups have raised questions over how Nielsen had been tallying viewership under digital strategies, and are now scrambling to work with other rating companies ahead of this year's upfront presentations in May.

Have you been thinking about whether or not you should be building your own website, updating your existing one, or just sticking with a solid Actors Access page? Not to fear, Actors Connection guest writer and website designer Kristina Horan has a checklist just for you!

NYC indie film fans received a big win last week with the opening of Kim's Video Underground, a new spin on the once well-traveled Kim's Video that closed in 2014. Thanks to a new venture from Alamo Drafthouse, Kim's lives once more as a movie rental business with a library of over 55,000 VHS tapes and discs in Lower Manhattan, as a part of Alamo's new downtown location. "Today is a homecoming. Kim's Video is part of New York's historic film and indie culture," NYC Office of Media and Entertainment Commissioner Anne del Castillo said.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Following the release of this year's Hollywood Diversity Report from UCLA, advocacy group FWD-Doc is demanding that the survey's creators make strides to expand its range and include representation for members of the LGBTQIA+ and disabled communities. "UCLA's report that stands for promoting diversity is an egregious case of exclusion and perpetuates the misconception that people with disabilities do not exist in the entertainment industry," FWD-Doc co-founder Jim LeBrecht said. The report, now in its ninth year, serves as a benchmark for measuring representation for women and people of color in roles in front of and behind the camera in Hollywood.

The 2022 Concordia Fellowship recipients were announced last week, giving four up-and-coming filmmakers a slew of professional and artistic resources to chart out a future for their new projects. Created by Concordia Studio, which just came off an exciting award-season run for producing SUMMER OF SOUL, the fellowship seeks to empower creators from diverse backgrounds by providing them with career guidance, financing, and access to Concordia's facilities. Congrats to this year's class of fellows - Alice Gu, Christine Turner, Giselle Bailey, and Shalini Kantayya.

Elliot Page took to Twitter last week to announce that his UMBRELLA ACADEMY character, Vanya Hargreeves, will come out as transgender in the show's upcoming third season. Page posted a first-look photo of Viktor Hargreeves on his page last Tuesday, ahead of the new season dropping on June 22nd ☂️

The industry marked the annual Trans Day of Visibility last Thursday and Trans Week of Visibility and Action with an outpouring of love and support on social media - check out Playbill's wonderful video featuring Yael "YaYa" Reich, Ada Westfall, Hennessy Winkler and more! Ariana Grande also announced plans to donate $1.5 million to a handful of organizations that support and empower transgender individuals, in response to the rise of anti-trans legislation currently being debated in state governments throughout the country.

Oscars Fallout Continues

Will Smith continues to navigate rough waters after slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars in late March, issuing the comedian an apology this week and saying he was "out of line" in his actions. Social media continues to be ablaze with opinions on the incident from across the industry, with a growing cohort of comedians coming to Rock's defense - "Now we all have to worry about who wants to be the next Will Smith in comedy clubs and theaters," Kathy Griffin tweeted. Smith has since announced that he is resigning from the Academy ahead of a full disciplinary investigation hearing on April 18th, after both the Academy and SAG-AFTRA publicly condemned the behavior last week.