fragments inspired by stage and screen
research for productions, reports on productions, reviews of written work, distinct from critical reviews on productions.
[Selection from May 2022 report, published May 22, 2022 on the Women Count report series page.] I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: WOMEN COUNT VI, 2019/20 AND 2021/22 The Women Count project collects and publishes analyses […]
[Interview posted as part of a monthly interview series by the American Theatre Critics Association January 6, 2022.] Martha Wade Steketee New York, New YorkPrimary Outlet: urbanexcavations Basics first: where do […]
In 2021 — our year of continued recovery from a viral pandemic, from a devastating presidential term, from professional and social recalibrations — theater professionals including dramaturgs and critics have […]
On June 10, 2021, a new theater research consortium released a resource and collaboration hub to address equity and accountability in theatrical productions. The Counting Together website brings these resources […]
The Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas, one of my professional “home bases,” has run an essay and convening project during the first year of the pandemic. Dramaturging the […]
This theatrical season will always have an asterisk. The COVID-19 pandemic closed down Broadway theaters as of March 12, 2020, with an uncertain re-opening date, and Off and Off Off […]
American Theatre Critics Association’s 2020 Conference: The Next Normal What good is sitting alone in your room — when through the magic of Zoom, you can join fellow arts journalists […]
[Full article published in UrbanExcavations May 22, 2020, by Martha Wade Steketee.] I spoke with lighting designer Isabella Byrd several times in 2019, hoping to publish our interviews in several […]
[Selection from February 2020 report, published February 26, 2020 on the Women Count report series page.] EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: WOMEN COUNT V, 2014/15 THROUGH 2018/19 The Women Count report series collects and […]
My travels this year were limited compared to travel in prior years: several days in Washington DC (where i lived in the late ’90s and early 2000s), ATCA-related trips to […]
When I was 10 years old in East Grand Rapids, Michigan, I was in a class at Wealthy Street Elementary School comprised of kids selected for their smarts (maybe) and to […]
Back in 2010 and 2011 I played with a theme, a meme, of “lolling” through two of my favorite film divas Lolling served as a way for me to select among […]
I squeezed adventures in Norway, Sweden, the wilds of central Wisconsin, Georgia, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island into 2018, a year of paring, sifting and sorting of involvement on professional boards […]
Live and filmed performances, as well as readings of works in progress, filled my days in calendar year 2018. I usually attend solo, and yet often host my spouse or […]
[Selection from November 2018 report, published November 14, 2018 and updated November 26, 2018 on League of Professional Theatre Women’s Women Count project page.] EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: WOMEN COUNT IV, 2013-14 THROUGH 2017-18 Since […]
[Full article published in The Theatre Times, May 12, 2018.] GOODMAN’S RESIDENT DRAMATURG ON HOW HER WORK GIVES TEXTURE AND SPECIFICITY TO A PRODUCTION. Consider the riddle of Neena Arndt’s work at the Goodman […]
urban excavations 