Advice, employment, and the Minnesota Fringe

Happy post-Pride Tuesday! The GLBT and theatre communities have worked especially hard in the past year, and in one short month, marriage equality will be a reality for couples across Minnesota. With the addition of DOMA being struck down and gay and lesbian Californians now allowed to marry, this was an incredibly special Pride. Hurray, hurray, hurray! Ahem! So, while I was scoping out the parade on Sunday, I happened across the Twin Cities theatre community group as they waited to step onto crowded Hennepin Avenue. The Cowles Center needed additional people to fill out their numbers, and I suddenly found myself joining the parade along with Swandive Theatre, 20% Theatre Company, Sandbox Theatre, and many others. At some point, a shirtless guy joined our troupe (doubling the Cowles Center's original showing of two to four). We thought he would leave after awhile, but we were glad to have him and he stuck with us to the end! But as he left, he promised that he'd become involved with theatre community as soon as possible. I don't know if he'll keep that promise, but read on Parade Dude That Did Who's On First? In High School! I happened to ask Twin Cities theatre folk this very week their advice on getting involved with the Twin Cities theatre community, and what follows is their suggestions. A Guide to the Twin Cities Theatre Community 1.) Get on Minnesota Playlist. Read the articles, create a profile, browse for auditions. This was suggested several times. And look at that, you're already here. 2.) Connect with arts organizations via Facebook and Twitter. There's the Twin Cities Theatre People on Facebook and Robyn Hendrix has made an excellent list of people and organizations you can follow on Twitter. These are fantastic resources and great ways to ask any questions you might have. 3.) Subscribe to the Minnesota Fringe Newsletter (bottom of the page) for the latest shows in the community. Attend as many shows (fringe and otherwise) as possible to get a better sense of the scene. 4.) It almost goes without saying, but audition, audition, audition. Special thanks to the Twin Cities Theatre People Facebook group for helping put this together! National There is developing news that Cirque du Soleil performer Sarah Guyard-Guillot died when she appeared to slip from her safety wire and fell 50 feet to the ground in Las Vegas. It happened at the MGM grand toward the end of a performance of Ka. It's hard for me to even write about it--it's terrifying, sad, and heartbreaking. Further performances of Ka have been canceled as her death is investigated and the company mourns. International I had intended to write about this last week after I spoke with Robin Gillette about it on our yearly introduction to the Minnesota Fringe (more on fringe below), but got distracted by the wrongheaded move by Minnesota legislature. As the Guardian reported, a case was brought against a theatre company by actors. They were working under a "profit share" model, and what that comes down to typically is working for nothing because few shows working on the outskirts of the London theatre scene earn anything at all to profit share. The judge ruled that the actors should have been paid the national minimum wage because what the actors are doing constitutes, you know, work: they show up at a specific time for rehearsals and performances and do specific that people cannot simply "stand in" to do. I can see the ruling causing a lot of uncertainty in producers who may decide not to produce because they can't pay actors after the myriad other costs they have to pay--everything from keeping the lights on to the PR and marketing. I want everyone paid, but as the Guardian points out, that requires transparency and risk, and will fringe London companies be able to accommodate that? Shakespeare Covers With the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death coming in 2016, The Hogarth Shakespeare, part of Random House publishing, is commissioning novel "reboots" or "covers" of Shakespeare's plays by renowned writers. The first will be The Taming of the Shrew by Anne Tyler and The Winter's Tale by Jeanette Winterson. I've been mulling over this idea for the last several days, going back and forth between liking it and being a bit dismissive. I like the idea of following along as these novels are released and reading the play/novel in tandem, but Shakespeare adaptations are nothing new, and as the AV Club points out, Tyler is going to have a hellish time trumping Ten Things I Hate About You. I'm curious too who exactly owns the rights to the final product--the idea is extremely marketable: famous playwright with famous authors doing retellings? I'm interested. But what do the authors get? Do they get a flat payment or part of the sales? The authors aren't exactly ghostwriting--the project trades on their names just as much as Shakespeare's. And when the whole Shakespeare set is complete and Hogarth begins selling sets, do authors get a cut of that too? But I hope some of my favorite authors (Neil Gaiman, please) get involved. What play would you have your favorite author adapt? This Week in Fringe It has begun: the Minnesota Fringe Festival site is live. As always, I don't quite know where to begin, and the easiest way is to jump in and start looking through the 176 shows across 16 venues. The whole of the festival is available to make that perfect, impeccable schedule that will collapse 4 hours into the festival. If a hard schedule isn't your thing, you can make a queue and follow a show for later reference. And I've just submitted My Fringe 5--what's yours? I know you're about to be inundated with information on every fringe show by every performer you're even vaguely acquainted with, but do pay attention to the Minnesota Fringe Youtube channel in the coming weeks. phillip low will be doing interviews and retrospectives with past Minnesota Fringe staff, artists, and previous Executive Directors. Bob McFadden, the first Executive Director and founder of the Minnesota Fringe, has already been uploaded! --- And with that, we're on break here at News & Notes for the month of July as our attention turns to producing that little festival we all know and love. I'll be part of Minnesota Playlist's contingent of fringe bloggers, so tune your Google Readers... oh yes. You'll need something new to follow Minnesota Playlist. Luckily, Slate has the keys to your survival. See you out fringing!