The Playgoer: Monday Roundup

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Monday, December 21, 2009

Monday Roundup

-No Summer Play Festival in 2010. The six-year-old annual offering of new plays by new writers is citing the unavailability of space at the mid-renovation Public Theatre as reason for hiatus.

-Chairman Rocco announces recipients for his first round of NEA grants. The big theatrical winner is DC's Arena Stage, who gets to administrate the $280K New Play Development program.

-Speaking of state funding, New Jersey's new incoming Republican Governor has already (somehow) ordered a freeze in all "discretionary spending"--which, according to NYT means, "$12 million for about 200 arts groups — including grants of up to $600,000 for 26 local theaters that are crucial to their financial health."

-Steven Soderberg is trying his hand at the stage. In Sydney, Australia of all places. (Thanks to an invite from the AD there, someone called Cate Blanchett.) According to statements: "The show, 'Tot Mom,' is a mixed-media work with 10 actors in multiple roles. A mirrored backdrop forces the audience to watch itself watching the media frenzy whipped up around the case of Caylee Anthony, the Florida toddler who went missing in June 2008 and was later found dead." Of course, one could argue this is not his first foray on the boards...

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