Thursday, July 13, 2017
Best Theatre Cities in the U.S.
Theatre :: Lists :: Paste: Listen, New York is pretty great. The Empire State Building: very tall. Times Square: so many screens. The Holland Tunnel: a great tunnel. But, at least when it comes to theatre, it sometimes feels that because the highest profile theatre is usually on Broadway, actors, directors, playwrights, and designers feel like New York is the only city where you can make a living as a theatre artist. That’s a bummer for the rest of the country, where great theatre also exists but often goes overlooked. So here at Paste we wanted to give some love to nine great theatre cities (that aren’t New York), and the amazing performances they have to offer.
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4 comments:
As a student looking to enter the world of theater, it's really interesting to read an article about how New York isn't the only place with theaters. I mean, of course there are theaters everywhere but anybody in theater's dream is to work on Broadway. Thinking about it, and reading this article has reminded me about how there are so many great, beautiful theaters that exist even just an hour and a half from where I live (Boston). I truly underestimate the quality and reliability of Boston's theaters. I find the traffic to be a serious pain but Emerson's 5 theaters, The Huntington, etc. must be worth the trouble. There are a few theaters in Providence just 15 minutes from my High school but I've struggled to find ways to get involved with them. I hope to apprentice/shadow under a stage manager there this upcoming season, but anyhow, I do tend to under appreciate local theater and put broadway over them.
I agree with Jack in that as a Student looking to go into the theater industry that this article is really helpful. As someone from Philly I know all of the theaters that we mentioned. I love the Arden and the shows that they put on. I have been thinking about where I want to go after school is over. I don't really want to go to New York and I have family in Boston but until this article I was not to sure about how great the theater scene was but I am glad to know that it's strong. I also really like how it talked about other cities like Chicago, Washington D.C. and Atlanta. I really had never even contemplated any of these places, but now that I know they are here I will definitely look into them. I also looked at Emerson and as Jack said, they have 5 theaters but I'm not sure how much I like the lack of a campus because their version of the cut is a public park across the hall.
Growing up living just outside of New York City, I never really knew about other cities that had a major theater presence. I only thought that theater was in New York and nowhere else. After reading this article, it really helped to broaden my perspective on theaters across the country. I always used to think that everyone from around the U.S. would only go to Broadway to see shows and never anywhere else. I grew up looking to Broadway and thinking that it was the most amazing and extravagant place in the world, but it's only as good as other people made it out to be. Throughout middle school, I looked to Broadway as my endgame. It was where I wanted to be if I continued to work in the theater at my school, but 4 years later, I would be okay with working at any of the other theaters mentioned in the article.
Looking at this list, i was somewhat surprised to see a few of the cities on the list. When I think of the places in america with great theatre I think of Chicago, Illinois; New York, New York; Los Angeles, California; San Francisco, California; and Ashland, Oregon. Though other cities have fantastic theatre, i don't think of them as "hubs". I was most surprised to see Louisville, Minneapolis, and Atlanta on the list. It also Surprised me that Los Angeles and Ashland were not on the list. The Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles, in my opinion, should have put Los Angeles on the list alone. Also, I think the Oregon Shakespeare Festival should have been included.
On a more personal note, this article made me consider looking into more schools to apply to. If I end up choosing to study theatre, which is what I am planning on, I want to be in an area in which I can work and create working relationships.
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