What does American theater need to do to survive, post-COVID? | BrandeisNOW

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American theater artists need to resist capital and business language. The theater is not a production line, and the theater manufacturer is not a gear in a money-making machine. The pandemic shows that if there are no major changes, American theaters are unsustainable. If we want to influence change after the pandemic, we need to get rid of the trap of neoliberalism, which conceives theater as a performance factory. 

This is not the first crisis facing American theaters. In the 1960s, a large number of bold theater producers challenged the status quo of mainstream theaters, inspired by countercultural spirits. They formed the regional theater movement and revolutionized the American art form. 

The movement provided a much-needed alternative to the economics and aesthetics of commercial theaters in the country. However, by the beginning of the 21st century, the regional model itself became rigid, and its communities, artists and audiences lost their lives. 

Many regional theaters are not responsive enough to the socio-cultural and economic changes that have taken place. Today, we still live in that failed landscape. We are out of sync with innovation and practice in other parts of the world. If you want to prove how the international community views American theater, check out the list of major international theater festivals. In these cases, there is actually no American theater. 

Today, we need to take our own radical campaign to revitalize American theater. We must try content and aesthetics. We need to examine the assumptions about the typical theater production process. 

For example, requiring artists to produce fully staged works within three to four weeks (a common rehearsal in American theaters) is not only insulting to the relevant personnel, but also a bad artistic formula. The focus must shift from Broadway and mid-region companies to organizations that have the will and ability to disrupt things. 

Among these institutions are American universities, which are ideally located to accommodate dynamic incubators to achieve outstanding performance. Donors and philanthropists who care about the future of American theaters need to support university programs that engage in profound theater innovation.

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