In the News: Ben Platt and Cynthia Erivo Join Forces With The Trevor Project, SoloChicago Hit The Unfortunates Available for Streaming, More | Playbill

Industry News In the News: Ben Platt and Cynthia Erivo Join Forces With The Trevor Project, SoloChicago Hit The Unfortunates Available for Streaming, More Plus, the new initiative Beyond the Stage Door will offer BIPOC students the opportunity to learn about theatre management and receive financial support while doing so.

Read on for some recent theatre headlines and videos you may have missed.

Tony Winners Honor National Suicide Prevention Month With PSA
Tony winners Cynthia Erivo and Ben Platt partnered with The Trevor Project to create a PSA during National Suicide Prevention Month, which ends September 30. The Broadway alums are promoting C.A.R.E., an acronym that stands for connect, ask, respond, and empower, which lays out the steps to help someone in need. Sometimes it’s just a small gesture from someone close that can help a person out of the crisis they’re in. Check it out above, and for more information visit TheTrevorProject.org.

Broadway Theatre Management Program Launched for BIPOC Students
Baseline Theatrical has unveiled new education initiative Beyond the Stage Door to offer BIPOC students the opportunity to learn about theatre management and receive financial support while doing so. The four-week program, planned for June 2021, will provide round-trip tickets to NYC, housing, food stipends, transportation, and subsidized theatre tickets as they study alongside industry leaders. “Getting an internship in theatre in NYC can come with an enormously stressful financial burden,” says Andy Jones, founder and CEO of Baseline. “It is our hope that by significantly mitigating personal costs to the students, Beyond the Stage Door will allow them to focus on the experience of learning first-hand, expand their network, and set them up to succeed in a career that benefits from, and frankly needs, more diverse voices.” Applications will be available in December. For more information, click here.

The Unfortunates Now Available for Streaming
SoloChicago Theatre’s hit production of Aoise Stratford’s The Unfortunates is now available for viewing. Performed by Jeff Award nominee Gail Rastorfer, under the direction of Kurt Johns, the play was a hit at the 2013 New York Fringe Festival. Set in Victorian London, The Unfortunates follows Mary-Jane Kelly, a down on her luck "unfortunate." One night she encounters a stranger alone in her local tavern. Will this mysterious gentleman buy her safety for the night or turn out to be Jack the Ripper? To stream the production, priced $10 for 24 hours, click here.

Lineup Set for Voices International Theatre Fest
Jersey City Theater Center's 10-day Voices International Theatre Fest will kick off October 16 with a Zoom performance of Shoes and Coups from the South Africa-based Palesa Mazamisa. The festival, now in its second year, explores the human experience amid injustice in various parts of the world. Additional works include presentations from three theatre companies in Belarus in the wake of nationwide protests: Burning Doors from Belarus Free Theatre (co-created by Nikolai Khalezin and Natalia Koliada and performed by Pussy Riot’s Maria Alyokhina); Nobel Prize winner Svetlana Aleksievich's Second Hand Time from Mogilev Theatre; and Oleg Zhiugzhda and Larisa Mkikina-Probodyak's puppet theatre piece Poem Without Words. In all, the festival will showcase 23 productions from a total of 20 countries. For tickets and more information, visit JCTCenter.org.

TDF Presents Autism-Friendly The Magic of Kevin Spencer
TDF will host The Magic of Kevin Spencer October 4 at 1 PM and 2 PM ET on Zoom, to engage with children and adults with sensory sensitivity who have attended TDF’s autism-friendly performances. The 30-minute show, which features illusions and the chance to try a trick at home, are free for patrons of TDF’s Autism-Friendly Performances. On October 10, magician Spencer will also lead multiple 30-minute Magic Camp sessions for this community. Children and adults with sensory sensitivity will have the opportunity to learn tricks in a small, virtual group setting. Since 2011, TDF has presented autism-friendly performances of Aladdin, Cats, Come from Away, Elf: The Musical, Frozen, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Kinky Boots, Mary Poppins, Matilda, My Fair Lady, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, SpongeBob Squarepants, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, The King and I, The Lion King, The Phantom of the Opera and Wicked, as well as Disney Jr. Live on Tour. The October performances are currently full, but to hear about future TDF autism-friendly events, sign up for TDF's e-blast list at TDF.org/autism.

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