June 14, 2021 -- The Theater Hall of Fame, for which ATCA members compose the majority of the electorate, announced today the 2021 class of inductees. The 2021 cohort includes playwright Lynn Nottage, actor-playwright Anna Deavere Smith, composer Alan Menkin, set designer Bob Crowley, actor...
Karen Topham Chicago areaPrimary outlet: ChicagoOnStage Karen Topham How many years were you a high school drama teacher? Overall 37 years. I taught drama in one way or another for most of those years. I always taught units on performance because it made for an interesting switch from just...
Soraya Nadia McDonald The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center has announced that Colman Domingo, Riccardo Hernández, Soraya Nadia McDonald, Genia Kaplan Quinn, and Madeline Sayet have been newly elected to its sizable and active Board of Trustees. McDonald was a National Critics Institute Fellow, a reporter at The...
Jeffrey Eric Jenkins. Photo: Darrell Hoemann/News-Gazette. ATCA's own Jeffrey Eric Jenkins was named as President of the International Association of Theatre Critics at its 29th General Assembly on May 15, 2021 held over zoom and hosted by Aristotle University in Thessaloniki, Greece. Dr. Jenkins is the...
Diep Tran New York criticOutlets: American Theatre; Broadway.com Diep Tran What made you decide you wanted to become a critic in the first place? I've kind of fallen into this career. When I was young, I wanted to be a dentist. I have no idea why; I really liked...
Edward Medina Edward Medina died Wednesday evening April 28 following complications from heart transplant surgery in Fall 2020. Despite having a career that defies easy summary, several long term colleagues attempted to try. One of his outlets, Theater Pizzazz, captured him in this way: "The very definition...
NEW YORK -- The American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA) has selected five finalists for the Harold and Mimi Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award, recognizing playwrights for the best scripts that premiered professionally outside New York City during 2020. “Top-quality work was staged prior to...
August Wilson and Chris Rawson. Kennedy Center, Nov. 13, 1991. Photo by Carol Pratt. When interviewed in 2017 for a series on critics reflecting on criticism, ATCA historian, twice ExCom chair, new play prize champion, and Theatre Hall of Fame board member Chris Rawson...
The American Theatre Critics Association’s Conference & Event committee will hold a virtual event on nonprofit arts journalism Tuesday, April 27, 2021 starting at 8 pm EDT / 5 pm PT. As arts coverage continues to dwindle in daily newspapers and mainstream media — a situation...
Kelundra Smith Atlanta criticOutlets: American Theatre, Atlanta magazine, ArtsATL Kelundra Smith You've been incredibly active in your career, and hustle like nobody's business. Where do you get your drive and motivation? I think there's a competitive part of me that wants meritocracy to be real. I like proving that...