Hi!

I’m Lila, a freelance theatre director, activist, and teacher. I started this newsletter because I love getting recommendations from people in the know - books from writers, recipes and restaurants from cooks, games from gamers. For some people in my life, I’m the theatre insider, and I get a lot of joy out of pointing people to shows they might enjoy.

I live in New York and work there and in DC, but as this newsletter grows, I hope to have guest writers from other cities and countries who can offer local recommendations of in-person and online theatre. Theatre can and should be local, but that doesn’t mean that a Chicagoan can’t enjoy some online work from DC or Cape Town!

Is this a covid thing?

Yes, in the sense that I probably wouldn’t have started this newsletter if the pandemic hadn’t forced some pretty drastic changes in how I spend my time. One of the surprising, positive results of the pandemic in the theatre industry has been that artists can share their work with people all across the world, even those who wouldn’t be able to make it to their in-person show. As we navigate a new kind of accessibility for theatre, I hope to be able to help audiences find work they otherwise wouldn’t have known about.

Will I like the theatre you recommend?

I don’t know! I hope to be able to offer something for everyone—free and ticketed, comedy and drama, experimental and traditional. I like plays that are theatrical (that need to be theatre—they wouldn’t work as TV or film), that have a sense of humor, that play with form, that teach me something new, and that stick with me long after they’re over. I’m not a journalist or a critic. Part of my job is seeing plays and following the work of artists who excite me, and I hope to be able to direct others to plays I think are really worth seeing. If you’re not into my recommendations, no hard feelings! I hope they inspire you to find what you do love.

I don’t really like plays.

I get it. Truly. There are a lot of plays out there, and many of them are not for everyone. If you’re willing to go out on a limb, though, I bet there’s something out there that you’d love.

Do you write about musicals?

Musicals aren’t really my thing. I see them sometimes, but I don’t know too much about that world. I hope to have some guest writers who can offer more on musicals, though!

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