ATCA’s recommendation of Boston’s Huntington Theatre Company for the Regional Theater Tony Award was accepted and it will be awarded (probably pre-show) June 9. Every year we watch to see if the winner thanks ATCA (not that critics expect acknowledgment, but still … ). Seriously, many congratulations to the Huntington, a worthy winner! For background on the award, click here.
Note the picture of Francesca Primus on the page for the Primus Prize, which memorializes her. Do any ATCA members have other pictures? If so, contact Chris Rawson.
“Jobbing in artists, short rehearsals, top-down administration, black history month diversity, chatting with a guest artist on the first day of rehearsal and again at the cast party, choosing the project or playwright the Times singled out last season—these are not the same as putting our methodology where our mouth is, believing that the way we work, the structures we create, the means to fulfilling our missions are as value laden, as important, as artistic, as what lands on our stages.” — Todd London, “One for all and all for one and every man for himself,” HowlRound, 3/27/13
RFor the recent John Lahr-Charles McNulty (et al) debate, read here, with relevant links.
* Previous Pull Quotes are ASSEMBLED HERE.
ATCA members: Send us material for the Members’ Milestones page.
2013 ANNUAL CONFERENCE
CATF, Shepherdstown, WV
July 17-21 — Details here
Tim Treanor, Chair
2013 WEEKEND CONFERENCE
Indianapolis, Indiana
March 21-24, 2013
Lou Harry, Chair
2012 WEEKEND MEETING
Colorado New Play Summit
Denver Center Theatre Company, Feb 10-12, 2012
2011 ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Ashland, Oregon July 6-10, 2011
Chris Rawson, Chair
2010 ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, Waterford, Conn.
Chris Rawson, Chair 
Playwright and critic
Check out: ATCA Blog — scroll back for accounts of ATCA/Ashland, ATCA/O’Neill, more on the Pulitzer controversy, also from Humana and Denver festivals
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Wednesday, February 23, 2011 at 1:02AM 
ATCA members will soon vote (very confidentially) on a recommendation to the Tony committee for the 2011 Tony Award for regional theater. Watch your snailmailbox.
Monday, February 14, 2011 at 2:22PM At the recent New York weekend conference, playwright-director-artistic director Emily Mann, one of the Perspectives in Criticism panel (along with playwrights Adam Rapp and Richard Nelson and artistic director Tim Sanford), preemptively set a high initial bar for all us critics by reading aloud Howard Clurman’s 1964 “The Complete Critic’s Qualifications.” Clurman outdid Moses by issuing 12 commandments — and as someone immediately said, no one but Clurman ever met them all. See if you agree.
Thursday, February 10, 2011 at 3:26AM Feb. 7 — The Francesca Primus Prize is an annual
2010 Primus winner was playwright Michele Lowe $10,000 award honoring outstanding contributions to the American theater by an emerging female theater artist who has not yet achieved national prominence. Artists nominate themselves. For details, click here.
Monday, January 31, 2011 at 5:47PM Feb. 1 — The previously announced Bartlett Sher is out, but playwrights Richard Nelson, Adam Rapp and Emily Mann, plus Playwrights Horizons artistic director Tim Sanford are in. As previously announced here, both the Friday and Sunday sessions are at the Baruch Performing Arts Center, entrance at 25th St. between Third and Lexington Aves., south side of the street. For the latest schedule …
Saturday, January 29, 2011 at 11:36AM Jan. 31 — The long-stale membersip list has been updated. Under “About Members” (above), click “Membership Roll.” If your name is misspelled, or you think it’s missing in error, or you want to restore a lapsed membership, contact ATCA administrator Barry Gaines.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011 at 10:09AM Jan. 27 — Monday saw eight new names join more than 400 
Charles Strouse and Fritz Weaver
others
Charles Strouse and Fritz Weaver in raised gold letters on the walls of the Gershwin Theatre, the 2010 class of the Theater Hall of Fame: actors Brian Dennehy, Linda 
Linda LavinLavin and Fritz Weaver; director Michael Blakemore; playwright Caryl Churchill; music director Paul Gemignani; director-librettist James Lapine; and,posthumously, director-actor-playwright Joseph Chaikin. Presenters included Hal Prince, Roger Berlind, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Robert Falls, Alexander Gemignani, James Houghton and James Nicola. Jeffrey Eric Jenkins, speaking for the Hall’s
Previous inductes Willa Kim and William Ivey Long Veterans Committee (made up of several ATCAns), inducted four more notables: Alice Childress, Henry Irving, Philip Moeller and Florence Reed.
Click here for more about the inductees;
here for snapshots of the post-induction party;
and here for a full Pittsburgh Post-Gazette report on the ceremony.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011 at 1:28AM Jan. 22 — Normallly our Perspectives in Criticism speakers are critics; but at our N.Y. conference, Feb. 4-6, they will be playwrights and directors.
Upload Registration Form here.
Latest schedule follows.
Sunday, January 16, 2011 at 4:00PM Jan. 20 — Stacy Keach (Other Desert Cities), Dana Ivey and Paxton Whitehead (the improbable lovebirds in The Importance of Being Earnest) are the latest participants in the Brunch with Stars at Sardi’s (Feb. 5), joining Linda Lavin, Lily Rabe (Portia opposite Al Pacino in The Merchant of Venice), Colin Quinn, Andre De Shields, Dan Lauria (title role in Lombardi), Judith Light and Jeffrey Wright, already announced. Scroll down for registration info for just the Brunch or the whole ATCA weekend, or get directly in touch with Barry Gaines (bjgaines@unm.edu; 505-856-2101).
Friday, January 14, 2011 at 2:47PM Jan. 18 — Leonard Jacobs has a juicy take on the “Spider Man” situation in the Jan. 17 Huffington Post (it’s rich in links). He writes of “the anach-ronistic kabuki of theatre journalism,” compares protests to “dinosaurs roaring in denial about the asteroid that detonated in their feeding ground” and laughs at the idea that we’re gatekeepers: “The gate is wide open.” This fits right into the panel on The Digital Critic that he’ll be on during our Feb. 4-6 NY Weekend Conference (see below.)
Sunday, January 9, 2011 at 8:04AM Jan. 9 — New participants or other details will be added every few days. Following are schedule and registration form.
Friday, January 7, 2011 at 7:07PM Co-chairs Sherry Eaker and Ira Bilowit announce the “Perspectives on Criticism” panel will feature two directors and two playwrights. Already interested is Marsha Norman, with some other big names in our sights. (Hint: Read the lively remarks by a well-known playwright a couple of items down on our Criticism in Controversy page.)
The acting teachers’ panel now includes Olympia Dukakis and Joanna Merlin, joining Bill Esper (William Esper Studio), Sabra Jones (Actors Studio, co-founder of NY’s Mirror Repertory Co.) and Terry Schreiber (T. Schreiber Studio).
The Friday location will be the Baruch Performing Arts Center (Baruch College) on E. 25th St. between Lexington & 3rd Aves. The location for Sunday’s session on the digital critic is still to be announced; ditto the stars for the Saturday brunch at Sardi’s.
HOTEL: The marvelous discount at the midtown Milford Plaza Hotel is still available, but only by phone, not online. Call 888-352-3650 or 212-869-3600. “The reservation clerk couldn’t have been nicer,” says one Florida critic.
DISCOUNTS: Sherry knows of some winter theater discounts, too complex to list here; contact her at 212-254-5161 or sherry.eaker@gmail.com.
More info to come. Register now. FOR THE LATEST SCHEDULE and REGISTRATION FORM, see preceding Home Page item, or contact ATCA administrator Barry Gaines (505-856-2101; bjgaines@unm.edu).
Friday, November 26, 2010 at 4:25PM 
At last summer’s ATCA/O’Neill Theater Center conference, the necktie sporting both versions of the logo of our Daumier critic and playwright Eugene (with and without the seagull), quickly 
sold out. Now we have a limited new supply in time for the holidays. Just send a check for $50 made out to Foundation ATCA to ATCA Tie, 1516 Shady Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15217. (Send any email queries here.)