Lea Salonga Talks Once On This Island and Her New Album "Bahaghari"
Lea Salonga Talks Once On This Island and Her New Album "Bahaghari"

Lea Salonga is a household name, at least in my home. Growing up she was basically the only Asian leading lady I saw in Broadway shows. She was also the first ethnic Disney princess I was exposed to. To this day Jasmine is still my favorite princess. She also won Best Lead Actress in a musical in 1991 for Miss Saigon. She has since had an incredible career and is still killing it!

Ms. Salonga is currently performing in Once on this Island on Broadway as Erzulie. Go see it. This show is beautifully staged and the performers are fantastic storytellers.

Read More
BroadwayChristopher Peterson
Theatre Majors: Surviving Finals
Theatre Majors: Surviving Finals

Finals for a theatre major isn’t as easy as people outside of the theatre world may think. We may not spend hours in a lab trying to perfect an experiment, but we spend hours in the theatre trying to perfect that monologue for class. We spend hours in the library trying to research classic works. We try to power through the common core classes when we drive to find more creative ventures than memorizing scientific formulas. In reflecting on this semester’s finals week and the past finals in my last few years as a college student, here’s how I survived this semester’s finals

Read More
College TheatreChristopher Peterson
A Community Theater Board of Directors' Letter to Santa...
A Community Theater Board of Directors' Letter to Santa...

Dear Santa,

We, the Board of Directors of Anywhere, USA's Players' Club Community Theater would like, this year, to make something of a special request. We've been quite happy over the past few years to have a few of our technical requests granted. The digital light board is working fine, and those new fixtures (I think the 'techies' call them 'instruments') just make everything on stage look great. I'm not sure our patrons are noticing, but we are.

Read More
EditorialChristopher PetersonSkip Maloney
Why Children’s Theatre Shouldn’t Be Afraid to Tackle Important Issues
Why Children’s Theatre Shouldn’t Be Afraid to Tackle Important Issues

We live in bizarre times.

I don’t think I need to tell people that for them to know, but I think it bears reiterating just how bizarre things truly are. In recent years, more of us who create and produce theatre have been contemplating the question of how to respond to the current social and political climate, and what can artists do in these times to try and make the world a bit better, as many of the issues we face continue to leave us divided and uncertain about the world we will leave for future generations. Yet there is one demographic that should especially be considered, when thinking about this topic.

Read More
Christopher Peterson
Monday Motivation: A Short Dive into Three Positive Pieces of UK Theatre News.
Monday Motivation: A Short Dive into Three Positive Pieces of UK Theatre News.

Chicago is coming back to the West End!

Just in time for Chicago turning 21 in 2018, the spectacular production is coming back to the West End, and will be playing at the Phoenix Theatre from 26th March. Featuring iconic showtunes like All That Jazz, Cell Block Tango and Razzle Dazzle, Chicago's jazzy songs and seductive storyline have made it one of the most popular musicals of all time. Casting for the production will be announced next year, and I already can't wait.

Read More
Christopher Peterson
Casting Disabled Actors Leads To Better Shows
Casting Disabled Actors Leads To Better Shows

This summer, The New York Times published Alexis Soloski’s article “Actors With Disabilities Are Ready, Willing and Able to Take More Roles[NG1] ,” which is about another facet of the diversity in theater issue. The surge in colorblind casting is perhaps the most important theater trend of the year but Soloski points out that true diversity on stage means more than skin color. Increasingly, disabled actors are being showcased, whether portraying a character written with a similar condition in mind (like having Gregg Mozgala, an actor who has cerebral palsy, play a CP patient in the Williamstown Theater Festival’s production of “Cost of Living”) or casting a disabled actor in a role that wasn’t written specifically for one (like casting paraplegic Ali Stroker as Anna in “Spring Awakening,” making her the first wheelchair-user to perform on Broadway and at the Tonys). We’re seeing this on a smaller scale outside the theater too. Deaf model Nyle DiMarco recently won “Dancing With The Stars” and Hollywood is starting to wise up the issue, albeit slower. [NG2] Much, much slower. [NG3] 

Read More
Broadway, Community Theatre, College TheatreChristopher Peterson
Being & Surviving: Performing with High-Functioning Anxiety
Being & Surviving: Performing with High-Functioning Anxiety

There is a huge misconception that exists around the identities of performers - be it of a singer, dancer or actor of any kind. The generalization that is most commonly held is that we are all, of course, inherently confident and self-assured individuals who function exceptionally well under pressure. Right? Wrong. Well, at least, in my experience, this assumption does not, contrary to popular belief, hold true for a significant, and largely unspoken, group of individuals that exists within the performance industry. This isn't to say that there aren't individuals who inherently thrive in the spotlight, without much of a thought about nerves or the like, there are. And, honestly, I envy them. But I'm here to talk about a career in performance from a lesser known angle. 

Read More
Christopher Peterson