Contemporary Theatre (Theatre in the United States) After 1990, one of the most controversial issues involved subsidization of the arts. Since the 1960’s, subsidization had played a major role in the increase in theatres. The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has always been the focus of this controversy. The NEA received small annual increases until 1992. In 1990, NEA grants went to four artists (called the NEA Four) who openly treated topics considered by many to be indecent and counter to community standards. A law was passed to ensure that grants were only approved for artists who took into account “general standards to decency and respect for the diverse beliefs and values of the American public.” It was upheld in the Supreme Court in 1998. The NEA has been a source of controversy since the 1990’s. Image: NEA.org 1

Contemporary Theatre (Theatre in the United States) The NEA’s budget was substantially cut by 2000, and individual artist grants were discontinued. Some state, municipal, foundation, and corporate financial support helped to offset this loss of funding. The Theatre Initiative helps support the country’s nonprofit theatres. This support remains slight in comparison to support given to the arts in European countries. The NEA budget in 2007 was $124.4 million, about 2/3 or what it had been in 1992. The NEA faces elimination under the current administration’s proposed budget. Just a few of the theatre projects that were initially funded by the NEA, and went on to achieve great success (including lots of Tonys). Image: Various 2

Contemporary Theatre (Theatre in the United States) About 350 not-for-profit theatres in the U.S. are affiliated with the Theatre Communications Group (TCG). Though they decline federal support, many of these theatres are solidly established and consistently break even in funding. For example, the League of Chicago Theatres includes famous groups like Steppenwolf, Victory Gardens, and Second City. The Washington, D.C. area is anchored by the Kennedy Center, Arena Stage, and Shakespeare Theatre. We have nearly 100 professional theatre companies! Las Vegas is a major site for new theatre construction thanks to Cirque du Soleil. Arena Stage here in Washington, D.C. is one of the many theatres associated with the Theatre Communications Group. Image: http://dc.about.com/od/theaters/a/ArenaStage.htm 3

Contemporary Theatre (Theatre in the United States) One of the most admired modern directors is Julie Taymor. She became internationally known for her Broadway production of The Lion King, for which she became the first woman to win a Tony Award for directing a musical (1998). She not only directed, but also designed the costumes and masks! Her background includes mime and puppetry. She received the MacArthur Genius award in 1991. Much of her later work has been focused on opera. Her production of The Magic Flute in 2007 was broadcast to movie theatres in the U.S, Canada, Britain, Japan, and Norway! Her most recent Broadway credit was Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. Julie Taymor with a variety of the costumes and masks she designed for The Lion King. Image: https://www.ascap.com/playback/2015/03/radar-report/radar-report-julie-taymor 4

Contemporary Theatre (Theatre in the United States) One of America’s most controversial directors is Anne Bogart. She often uses the “play within a play” framework with existing scripts. Example: setting South Pacific in a clinic for emotionally disturbed war veterans. In 1993 she co-founded (with Tadashi Suzuki) the Saratoga International Theatre Institute (SITI). She is noted for her rejection of the Stanislavsky system, and instead favors Viewpoints. Viewpoints favors “sampling” – juggling many dramatic techniques and combining them with any aspect of contemporary culture. She argues that since we live in a fragmented world, acting itself needs to be fragmented. Anne Bogart, founder of the SITI company. Image: http://www.bam.org/artists/2012/anne-bogart 5