American Theatre Magazine turns 25 years old

Today we tip our hats to the Theatre Communications Groups's publication Ameican Theatre and it's 25th anniversary. The magazine is one of the leading periodicals on American Theatre and we reference it ofter here at Ghoslight Chicago.

When they first stated publishing back in 1984, they asked the president of TCG's board to make predictions for theatre over the next five to fifty years. Most of the ideas didn't come true and we are still dealing with many of the same problems. In fact, we may even have it worse in some respects:

"decrying President Reagan's call for an $18-million cut in federal arts funding (the National Endowment for the Arts appropriation that year was $162 million, a figure that significantly outclasses Congress's base allocation of $145 million in 2008.)"

For their 25th year celebration, they asked 25 theatre artists to make their own predictions for the furture. A couple of Chicago-ans were asked to weigh in as well. While some accounts seem more satirical that others, some are very poingnant and try to tackel some of the harder questions facing our art today.

What predictions do you have for the next 25 years of American theatre? What are some of the toughest challenges facing us today? What needs do are theatres need to server in our society?


Happy Birthday: Zach Braff (b. 1975)