If the Movement Is Dead, Hand Over the Keys. by Theatre Upstanders

An open letter / provocation ahead of the September 29 gathering convened by the DeVos Institute and Out of Hand Theater, and an argument for why it might be time for someone else to do the …

SOURCE: theatreupstanders.substack.com at 8:46am on September 22, 2026☆⚑

Theatre Wants Professional Artists. It Just Doesn’t Want to Employ Them. by Theatre Upstanders

American theatre built permanent institutions around temporary artists and still calls the arrangement a career.

SOURCE: theatreupstanders.substack.com at 1:32pm on September 8, 2026☆⚑

We Built Theatres. We Forgot to Build a Public. by Theatre Upstanders

The regional theatre revolution stopped halfway. What would it take to finish it?

SOURCE: theatreupstanders.substack.com at 5:46pm on August 10, 2026☆⚑

The Nonprofit Theatre Is Dead. Good. by Theatre Upstanders

The end of one institutional model and the case for building a theatre commonwealth in its place.

SOURCE: theatreupstanders.substack.com at 8:55am on July 27, 2026☆⚑

Your Values Are in the Payroll by Theatre Upstanders

Every nonprofit theatre says it values artists, education and community. Its compensation structure tells us whether that is true.

SOURCE: theatreupstanders.substack.com at 3:49pm on July 23, 2026☆⚑

Your Line Is: “Fuck ICE.” by Theatre Upstanders

People are dying. The cue has been called. Will American theatre finally speak?

SOURCE: theatreupstanders.substack.com at 9:50am on July 15, 2026☆⚑

At 250, American Theatre Cannot Be a Bystander by Theatre Upstanders

Theatre has spent 250 years becoming a public institution. Now it has to act like one.

SOURCE: theatreupstanders.substack.com at 3:50pm on July 6, 2026☆⚑

Theatre in the Age of Authoritarianism by Theatre Upstanders

We keep insisting our artform matters.

SOURCE: theatreupstanders.substack.com at 10:45am on May 22, 2026☆⚑

We Are Not Ready by Theatre Upstanders

When the Line Is Crossed, Will Theatre Matter?

SOURCE: theatreupstanders.substack.com at 12:25pm on April 9, 2026☆⚑

What We Do Counts. But That Is Not the Question. by Theatre Upstanders

Producing plays matters. But the civic power of theatre lies in how intentionally we assemble the people who gather to see them.

SOURCE: theatreupstanders.substack.com at 11:01am on March 10, 2026☆⚑

We Are One of the Last Places of Common Ground by Theatre Upstanders

TLDR: Coalition is not a talkback. It’s a casting decision. Theatre can deliberately bring unlikely stakeholders into the same room and build the relationships democracy needs to survive.

SOURCE: theatreupstanders.substack.com at 11:24am on March 2, 2026☆⚑

We Are Living Inside a Spectacle by Theatre Upstanders

And how we step out of it in the next 7 days, 30 days, 60 days, and beyond.

SOURCE: theatreupstanders.substack.com at 11:38pm on February 17, 2026☆⚑

Where Is the Leadership? by Theatre Upstanders

Rehearsal for the Revolution

SOURCE: theatreupstanders.substack.com at 8:11am on February 2, 2026☆⚑

Silence Is Not Neutral by Theatre Upstanders

In the wake of the first letter, something stark and irreversible has happened.

SOURCE: theatreupstanders.substack.com at 12:18am on January 28, 2026☆⚑

What Is Theatre For Right Now? by Theatre Upstanders

Theatre-makers, artistic leaders, educators, producers, and cultural workers—

SOURCE: theatreupstanders.substack.com at 7:28pm on January 23, 2026☆⚑