Since the dawn of time, theatrical creatives have coaxed audiences out of reality and into fantastic worlds with gripping stories through the magic of stagecraft. In order to help the audience suspend their disbelief and get caught up in a story, theater-makers use symbols that represent the real world. A symbol is something that stands in for something else in the real world. A symbol can be a flag that represents a nation, or a stoplight that is a stand-in for commands, or a dove that represents peace. On stage, a costume is a great symbol that helps give you [...]

Opera creatives face the perennial challenge of pushing the art form forward and making it resonate with new audiences. Companies can approach this challenge using three different strategies. The first and most common strategy is to present European canonic operas but change the original setting. This challenges the original form and simultaneously brings new truths inherent in the work that might be more relevant to a contemporary audience. Examples include Calixto Bieito’s Carmen set in late 1970s Spain and the Metropolitan Opera’s recent Rigoletto, set in 1940s Las Vegas. Shakespeare’s plays, written over 400 years ago, are often set in [...]