travsd

Me and Theatre: At the Crossroads

Once again I find myself at a crossroads: but that’s what the name “Travis” means, I’m literally always “at the crossroads”

Not that it’s all that objectively significant but I’m unavoidably thinking of the attached article as the likely bookend to my time as a theatre journalist. Working on it felt reminiscent of a couple of my first major pieces: a Village Voice one about the end of the Lower East Side indie theatre scene in 2000, and an American Theatre article about the impact of Sept. 11 on the theatre community in 2001. Apparently catastrophic change is my jam. The new piece is about the impact of Covid-19 on the Chelsea theatre community. 20 years down the line; the future of both theatre and journalism are uncertain and frankly dire. Some fear a massive loss of indie theatres before the pandemic is over. As for what survives, there will be precious few platforms from which to write about it. Village Voice and American Theatre — both gone! As are many of the other publications I used to write for. Thanks Scott Stiffler for making Chelsea Community News happen!  Anyway, I wear a lot of hats, this was just one of them.   We definitely seem to be at the dawn of a new era. https://chelseacommunitynews.com/2020/09/13/their-stages-dark-chelsea-theatres-stay-in-play-online/

Published by travsd

Writer and performer Trav S.D. (www.travsd.com) is best known for his books "No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous" (2005) and "Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube" (2013). He has written for the NY Times, the Village Voice, American Theatre, Time Out NY, Reason, the Villager and numerous other publications. Trav has been in the vanguard of New York’s vaudeville and burlesque scenes since 1995 when he launched his company Mountebanks, presenting hundreds of acts ranging from Todd Robbins to Dirty Martini to Tammy Faye Starlite to the Flying Karamazov Brothers. He has directed his own plays, revues and solo pieces at such venues as Joe’s Pub, La Mama, HERE, Dixon Place, Theater for the New City, the Ohio Theatre, the Brick, and 6 separate shows in the NY International Fringe Festival. In 2014 he produced and directed the smash-hit "I’ll Say She Is", the first ever revival of the Marx Brothers hit 1924 Broadway show in the NY International Fringe Festival.