November play of the month: DETROIT by Lisa D'Amour
I read a lot of plays, not only for pleasure and storytelling but also because i'm always on the lookout for potential future Jakespeare...
Jake Lewis
- Oct 26
- 4 min
Don't forget the lyrics!
Picture it: You've grown up listening to the cast album of a musical, memorizing every word and vocal inflection to be heard, and then a...
21 views0 comments
Jake Lewis
- Oct 10
- 3 min
Is Broadway over the overture?
Take a look at almost any musical written in the past decade, and you'll notice that the overture -- that instrumental "settling music"...
15 views0 comments
Jake Lewis
- Jul 19
- 3 min
Closing the curtain on virtual theatre -- for now
In just a few weeks, Jakespeare Virtual Theatre Company will cease operations for the foreseeable future. I made this difficult decision...
225 views0 comments
Jake Lewis
- Jun 17
- 3 min
The curious case of Jason Robert Brown
In my mind, Stephen Sondheim and Jason Robert Brown are the two most interesting Broadway composers of all time. That doesn't mean, mind...
54 views0 comments
Jake Lewis
- Jun 10
- 4 min
What community theatre is and isn't...
One thing I've been hugely surprised by since starting my own theatre group is how many people do not seem to understand what "community...
159 views0 comments
Jake Lewis
- Jun 5
- 6 min
Are movie-musicals a thing of the past?
(Editor's note: A "movie-musical" refers to a film based on a work that was originally produced for the stage, as opposed to one written...
28 views0 comments
Jake Lewis
- May 31
- 3 min
Must the show go on?
I can't imagine a worse feeling in theatre than letting down your castmates, crew, and audience. But that is likely the emotion coursing...
47 views0 comments
Jake Lewis
- May 18
- 5 min
My theatre role model
When I was eight years old, my mother signed me up from a summer theatre workshop at our local civic league downtown; she knew I was a...
45 views0 comments
Jake Lewis
- May 1
- 4 min
The rent is too damn high!
In my family, talking about money was never a taboo subject as I came to discover is the norm in many other households. The idea of...
46 views0 comments
Jake Lewis
- Mar 19
- 4 min
To NOT be continued: sequels to plays and musicals
I think it's pretty safe to say that theatre is the only place where sequels never work. Think about it: Can you name one sequel -- or,...
37 views0 comments
Jake Lewis
- Feb 23
- 4 min
Don't yuck somebody's yum
I recently had a conversation with a new theatre friend about what their favorite musical(s) is/are, and I said something that I...
85 views0 comments
Jake Lewis
- Feb 12
- 4 min
How did you fall in love with theatre?
When I first tell people I meet that I love theatre (and musicals in particular), they always ask me the same question: How did you first...
28 views0 comments
Jake Lewis
- Jan 14
- 4 min
Actor shortages and under-representation
Ever since I began doing theatre around the age of 10, I never had any problem getting cast in shows. At the time, it made me think that...
108 views0 comments
Jake Lewis
- Dec 20, 2021
- 3 min
Christmas plays that aren't done every year
It's the same every year: theatre companies often producing plays (and sometimes musicals) that are Christmas-themed. You'll likely find...
41 views0 comments
Jake Lewis
- Dec 3, 2021
- 3 min
How to write a one-minute play
Attention spans being what they are these days (short), one-minute plays are the latest fad in theatrical performances. Covering an...
300 views0 comments
Jake Lewis
- Nov 19, 2021
- 2 min
The hallmarks of choosing a good virtual play
Are you thinking of producing a virtual play, but you don't know what show would translate well to the Zoom (or any other streaming...
31 views0 comments
Jake Lewis
- Nov 2, 2021
- 3 min
The plays and musicals that are done to death
Nothing against them, but if I never have to see Grease! or It's A Wonderful Life: The Radio Play again, it'll still be too soon. In...
340 views0 comments
Jake Lewis
- Oct 17, 2021
- 2 min
The radio play revival
Radio play (noun): a staged drama (often serialized) that uses voices, sound effects, and music to convey a story to its audience through...
37 views0 comments
Jake Lewis
- Oct 1, 2021
- 2 min
What virtual theatre can do that traditional theatre can't
Virtual theatre is by no means the same as attending a show in person with an audience all around you (hopefully), but there are several...
76 views0 comments