People don’t want to sit in the dark for three hours and watch reenactments of family dramas. This was my biggest take-away from travelling to four different cities over the course of a week and talking with non-profit theatre administrators. As traditional patrons and subscribers age, younger audiences aren’t taking their place since theatre is often seen as a stuffy, uninspiring event. Here on Massachusetts’ south shore, Artists from Suburbia is changing that perspective by combining community and fringe theatre elements. Our work with community members from a wide range of experiences is most visible during our audition process. We make our auditions as stress-free as an audition can be so that anyone can engage in south shore community theatre. Keeping these three principles in mind during our audition process ensures that we’re taking the stuffiness out of theatre:
2. No Time? No Problem. We encourage south shore actors to audition in-person, but we understand that isn’t always possible with work schedules, family matters, and other commitments. Engaging the community means accommodating hectic schedules, so if one of our three audition nights doesn’t work, we accept video auditions. We’re also upfront with rehearsal commitments. With our Suburban Summer Theatre Surge, we created rehearsal schedules of varying intensity so there’s a project for every south shore community member. 3. All Artists Welcome We take our commitment to creating opportunities for marginalized artists seriously, so in addition to choosing works that represent marginalized voices, we actively recruited queer and disabled actors to work with us on pieces reflecting those experiences. Theatre doesn’t always make room for these voices, so we ensure engagement through specific outreach. We’re also careful with the wording in our casting calls - instead of wondering whether Artists from Suburbia fosters an inclusive creative space, we want potential performers to be sure of this from the moment they see a posting. Given our successful turn-out this week at the East Bridgewater community TV station, we think we’re in good shape to flood Massachusetts’ south shore with affordable, professional-quality theatre during the Suburban Summer Theatre Surge. Call-backs are this week, so expect our official casting announcement soon! In the meantime, get your free tickets to the first reading of “Les Nuls” on June 15 and our second evening of original one-act plays on June 9. Space is extremely limited for both events, so be sure to sign up now! Tickets for other events during the Suburban Summer Theatre Surge will be available soon. Gavin Damore is a cofounder of Artists from Suburbia and oversees communications.
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AuthorBlog posts are written by various members of Artists from Suburbia's productions and staff. Archives
July 2017
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