atcachicago2012 Tag

Charles Giuliano on ‘Eastland’ and the ATCA website

Charles Giuliano reviews “Eastland” at Lookingglass (click here) and then responds to the ATCA website: Overall the Chicago conference was rich and insightful. Johnathan did a great job of organizing theatre and panels. I enjoyed meeting and interacting with other critics. It would have been better to have that...

Poetry and Ferocity, or the Dare of the Page

Caridad Svich Chicago, June 15 — In response to being honored at the 2012 ATCA annual conference for winning the 2011 Francesca Primus Prize, playwright Caridad Svich delivered a poetic evocation of “the dare of the page.” She began with thanks to ATCA, the Francesca Ronnie Primus Foundation, Isabel Allende...

Chicago schedule, final day

June 17, Sunday     - 10AM-Noon, continental breakfast, final General Membership Meeting, Silk Road Rising, 77 W. Washington Street, lower level. NOTE: the Chicago Temple Building houses a church in which services will be going on as we meet; please enter quietly and take the stairs or elevator down...

Survive and thrive

The conference so far has gone off without a major hitch and conference chair Jonathan Abarbanel deserves kudos and awe. In addition to the worthy productions we’ve seen, there has been a great deal to be learned talking with artistic directors discovering what they have...

Chicago conference stages African-Americans

Lou Harry, Indianapolis: By accident rather than design, the first three plays of my current Chicago theater jag (where I’m participating in the American Theatre Critics Association conference) focused on (and, in two cases, were created primarily by) African-Americans. And while the results were mixed, collectively,...

Terry Teachout delivers 20th anniversary Perspectives in Criticism address, ‘The Power of Enthusiasm’

Chicago, June 15 — In a series extending back to 1992, Terry Teachout, Wall Street Journal theater critic, delivered the Perspective in Criticism talk at the ATCA annual conference. Its success could be measured by the many conversations (and arguments) it occasioned. “Terry Teachout may be America’s...

Chicago Schedule, Day 4

Scroll down for news about 2013 conference in West Virginia and award of 2012 Primus Prize to Tammy Ryan. ALSO: read about this ATCA conference on the ATCA Blog (see link at top of page). New ATCA members enjoy their first conference: left to right, Jack Lyons (Desert...

ATCA heads to West Virginia in 2013

Chicago, June 14 — The American Theatre Critics Association voted today to hold its 2013 conference at the Contemporary American Theatre Festival in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. The festival will be offering two commissioned productions and several other new works and staged readings, to be announced later in the...

At the tower, around the world

After our five hours of O’Neil last night, I delighted in the cool air and bright sun as I walked to our morning meeting in what was designed to be “the most beautiful office building in the world.” In 1922 the Chicago Tribune held a...

You oughta be here

If you not here in Chicago with the ATCA conference, you’re missing a terrific time. Gorgeous weather, yes. Good food, sure. But what great theater Jonathan Abarbanel has lined up. Last night, a four hour and fifty minutes (including three intermissions) production of The Iceman Cometh at the...