In our upcoming ATCA conference in Costa Mesa April 23-26, 2020 we won’t just be considering what gets staged, but also how and why. To that end, we’ve arranged two panels that explore the processes that lead to what you see on stage. For these...
Conference chairs Lou Harry and David John Chávez invite members to the ATCA annual meeting to Costa Mesa, California for South Coast Rep’s Pacific Playwrights Festival from April 23-26, 2020. Conference registration is open! You know it’s an official conference when a hashtag has been assigned: #atca-ppf20 For other details (now moot because of the pandemic): The...
Soraya Nadia McDonald Cornell University’s Department of English, which administers the award for excellence in dramatic criticism endowed by Cornell alumnus, the late George Jean Nathan (1882-1958), awarded ATCA member Soraya Nadia McDonald the 2019-2020 George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism. The award is given by a prize committee including...
2020 Executive Committee Meeting Minutes You can download each set of minutes as a PDF file: January 13, 2020February 20, 2020March 16, 2020April 13, 2020May 18, 2020June 15, 2020July 13, 2020 ...
Hall inductee Andre De Shields and Hall member Lynn Ahrens Bebe Neuwirth described Ann Reinking as having “oozed, slithered, exploded, wiggled and vaulted like a wondrous creature from our dreams.” “What did I do” to earn induction, asked Michael Feingold: “I just kept writing for a half-century.” And “how can you...
Herb Simpson (photo by Charles Giuliano) December 14 — On this day, family members scattered the ashes of critic Herb Simpson and his sister, Marian, in the waters of San Francisco Bay. The long-time ATCA member, longer-time critic and even longer-time theater and dance lover passed...
By Bill Hirschman Herb Simpson (photo by Alan Smason) Nov. 26, 2019 — For even those who, like me, knew Herbert Simpson only in passing, likely what they remember was his voice — usually deep and sonorous, a bit scratchy, but brimming with passion. They remember his voice...
By Maren Scriven Swensen Charles Busch and Wendy Rosenfield at Sardi’s NEW YORK — More than 60 members of ATCA gathered at the new MCC Theater complex on West 52nd Street Friday, Nov. 1, to Sunday, Nov. 3 to engage with the best and the brightest in the...
Raphaela Rose Primus came in from Israel, where she lives, to join her parents, Barry Primus and Julie Arenal Barry Primus, Leah Nanako Winkler and Rafaela Rose Primus, at Sardi’s and to make the official presentation (note the plaque; the $10,000 check was sent earlier) to Leah Nanako Winkler, whose parents...
by Lauren Van HemertPhotos by Martha Wade Steketee and Jay Handelman This summer, the top black theater companies from around the world convened in Winston-Salem, N.C. for the 16th National Black Theatre Festival. Along with them was a small contingent of American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA) members to cover...