“The Supreme Court (SCOTUS) effectively struck down affirmative action last Thursday, June 29, therefore barring universities from considering an applicant’s racial background during college admissions,” said Rhea Nayyar for Hyperallergic. “The decision didn’t come as a surprise to many across the nation, which had long foreseen the conservative-skewed court’s bias against policies meant to afford those of underrepresented and marginalized racial backgrounds equal opportunities and education.”

“Online through social media posts and in real life via in-person protests, countless artists, activists, students, scholars, and others expressed that their commitments to racial equity will not be thwarted in light of this disappointing news. But many noted that this will be an uphill battle. Last week, SCOTUS also ruled that the United States government has no obligation to assist the Navajo Nation with access to potable water; blocked President Biden’s campaign promise to forgive between $10,000–$20,000 of student loan debt; and determined that businesses may refuse “expressive services” to same-sex couples or LGBTQ+ identifying individuals based on a hypothetical situation, subsequently impacting the lives of millions of American residents for the worse.”

“The SCOTUS decision will have resounding impacts on higher arts education and careers — areas that have long been regarded as luxuries for the rich and White. After the ruling was announced, several art schools such as Pratt Institute and the Rhode Island School of Art and Design (RISD) alongside universities with competitive arts programs issued statements expressing disappointment regarding the decision, noting that they must comply with the law but will continue to uphold their commitments to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility as they review their current policies and practices.”

“Some museum leaders also spoke up in response to the rulings. In Memphis, Tennessee, President Russell Wigginton of the National Civil Rights Museum said that the affirmative action decision is a ‘poignant reminder that the critical work to correct the generational impacts of our country’s long history of systemic racism is not finished.’ Over in Los Angeles, Japanese American National Museum President and CEO Ann Burroughs highlighted that in the affirmative action ruling, SCOTUS referenced the 1943 Hirabayashi v. United States case that found the implementation of curfews and other restrictions on Japanese and Japanese Americans to be constitutional after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. ‘The World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans was rooted in the same discrimination and prejudice that drives anti-affirmative action,’ Burroughs stated on behalf of the museum.”

“While my acceptance and scholarship aren’t explicitly affirmative action, they stem from the same logic — the stated aims of the scholarship were to increase the number of art students from underrepresented demographics who faced more obstacles in getting to art school and staying in the art world with the hopes of producing a more diverse art world,” Barrera said. “The creation of the scholarship acknowledged something that this ruling from the Supreme Court denies (at least publicly) — that we don’t all come into life with the same resources and we’re not all on a level playing field.”

Read the full article here.

“What is happening to America’s not-for-profit theaters? In recent weeks, several venerable organizations have announced their intention to scale back programing, reduce staff, or shutter all together. Story of the Week will look at the impacted theaters and see what their stories have in common,” said Zachary Stewart for TheaterMania. “Taken together, it looks like a bad sign of things to come.”

In April, Oregon Shakespeare Festival revealed that its 2023 season was in jeopardy and put out a desperate appeal for $2.5 million in donations, which needed to be collected within four months in order to save the season. OSF exceeded that fundraising goal by June, but has since announced that it needs an addition $7.3 million to complete the season as planned. This crucial bit of information was buried in the announcement of Tyler Hokama as new Interim Executive Director of the company. In May, the Festival’s Interim Executive Artistic Director Nataki Garrett resigned (the composite title was the result of the January departure of Executive Director David Schmitz, whom Garrett had hired). On her departure, Garrett released the following statement to the New York Times: “We are at an inflection point in our industry, where outdated business models must evolve in order for our theaters to survive.”

Earlier this month, Los Angeles’s Center Theatre Group suspended performances at the Mark Taper Forum, its second-largest stage. This immediately put into limbo the world premiere of Larissa FastHorse’s Fake It Until You Make It and canceled the touring production of Lauren Yee’s Cambodian Rock Band. The Taper will remain without a production until at least 2024. CTG also laid off 10 percent of its staff, citing increased production costs, reduced donations, and sluggish ticket sales as the three factors that prompted this action.

Last week, the board of Greensboro’s Triad Stage announced its decision to end operations after more than two decades. In an unusually candid press statement, the board pointed to reduced donations and severely depressed ticket sales as the primary culprits, “with houses averaging less than half full over the course of the first two mainstage productions.” Those productions were the world premiere of Mike Wiley Rebellious and Lauren Gunderson’s The Revolutionists.

The pandemic disrupted this model by shutting down production for over a year at most theaters, eliminating tickets sales as a revenue stream, spare the occasional online event. It also changed audience behavior, as some theatergoers settled into their couches with no immediate intention to return to the theater. Fear of Covid and confusion over new rules around masking and vaccinations undoubtedly contributed to this trend, with some theatergoers eschewing the hassle of showing up to an 8pm curtain in favor of the on-demand convenience of Netflix. Attendance at in-person events is down everywhere, including in cinemas and on Broadway.

But even though Broadway ticket grosses haven’t returned to pre-pandemic levels, the most recent weekly numbers reveal that theatergoers are still willing to shell out for shows they want to see: Hamilton ($1.95 million), Wicked ($1.99 million), and The Lion King ($2.42 million) continue to pack their houses. Meanwhile, & Juliet had its best week ever, grossing $1.4 million, with an average paid admission of $171.61. This is a show without any household-name stars (apologies to Stark Sands, Betsy Wolfe, and Paulo Szot) that is nevertheless thriving via word-of-mouth. It may not have won any Tony Awards, but it’s winning the game of Broadway.

That doesn’t mean live theater is ending, but it does mean that many of the institutions that have become the face of theater in America will close if they don’t reform immediately. It’s a horrible situation for the people who have made these theaters their life’s work. But it is also an opportunity for a new generation of arts leaders to pioneer a model that makes more sense for the realities of this century — one that isn’t so reliant on the whims of the rich.

Read the full article here.