Lauren Halvorsen
@halvorsen.bsky.social
dramaturg & writer of newsletters
washington, dc
she/her
nothingforthegroup.com
washington, dc
she/her
nothingforthegroup.com
Reposted by Lauren Halvorsen
This week marks 4 years out of the theater industry for me and @halvorsen.bsky.social’s Nothing for the Group hit me hard.
September 29, 2025 at 9:32 PM
This week marks 4 years out of the theater industry for me and @halvorsen.bsky.social’s Nothing for the Group hit me hard.
today is the newsletter's official fifth birthday so I wrote some bts content about the recent rebranding process as a treat: open.substack.com/pub/nothingf...
July 17, 2025 at 3:31 PM
today is the newsletter's official fifth birthday so I wrote some bts content about the recent rebranding process as a treat: open.substack.com/pub/nothingf...
Reposted by Lauren Halvorsen
@halvorsen.bsky.social in today’s Nothing For The Group 🔥🔥🔥 nothingforthegroup.substack.com/p/the-week-o...
July 11, 2025 at 2:30 PM
@halvorsen.bsky.social in today’s Nothing For The Group 🔥🔥🔥 nothingforthegroup.substack.com/p/the-week-o...
wrote about the Scott Rudin rehabilitation tour in this week's newsletter: open.substack.com/pub/nothingf...
July 11, 2025 at 3:02 PM
wrote about the Scott Rudin rehabilitation tour in this week's newsletter: open.substack.com/pub/nothingf...
Reposted by Lauren Halvorsen
"I've learned that paying people for their time and labor is how we build the world we want to live in, and the world I want to live in is one where creative work is valued." - @halvorsen.bsky.social, re: 5 years of a must-read newsletter
nothingforthegroup.substack.com/p/five-years...
nothingforthegroup.substack.com/p/five-years...
July 1, 2025 at 10:05 PM
"I've learned that paying people for their time and labor is how we build the world we want to live in, and the world I want to live in is one where creative work is valued." - @halvorsen.bsky.social, re: 5 years of a must-read newsletter
nothingforthegroup.substack.com/p/five-years...
nothingforthegroup.substack.com/p/five-years...
Reposted by Lauren Halvorsen
Yo, I didn't realize David Cromer directed of Good Night and Good Luck. I wish I could see it tonight on the livestream but I've got an opera opening (h/t @halvorsen.bsky.social for the link in #NothingForTheGroup) substack.com/redirect/517...
How To Watch CNN’s Special Presentation of George Clooney’s “Good Night, and Good Luck” on Saturday, June 7 at 7pm ET
CNN will broadcast live the penultimate performance of Good Night, and Good Luck from Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre on Saturday, June 7 at 7pm ET across CNN and CNN International and will stream th...
substack.com
June 7, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Yo, I didn't realize David Cromer directed of Good Night and Good Luck. I wish I could see it tonight on the livestream but I've got an opera opening (h/t @halvorsen.bsky.social for the link in #NothingForTheGroup) substack.com/redirect/517...
Reposted by Lauren Halvorsen
Ticket sales and subscription revenue at the Kennedy Center have fallen sharply since Trump made himself chairman. Single-ticket sales were down roughly 50%. Subscriptions revenue down 82% for theater and 57% for dance. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/03/a...
After Trump Takeover, Kennedy Center Ticket Sales Fall Sharply
www.nytimes.com
June 3, 2025 at 10:23 PM
Ticket sales and subscription revenue at the Kennedy Center have fallen sharply since Trump made himself chairman. Single-ticket sales were down roughly 50%. Subscriptions revenue down 82% for theater and 57% for dance. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/03/a...
Reposted by Lauren Halvorsen
Breaking news: Staffers at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts said that they plan to form a union in response to several waves of layoffs and what they describe as a lack of transparency from leaders at the arts institution, which President Donald Trump took over in February.
Kennedy Center employees announce plans to unionize
The organizers cite a lack of transparency from current Kennedy Center leadership and several rounds of layoffs following President Donald Trump’s takeover.
wapo.st
May 15, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Breaking news: Staffers at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts said that they plan to form a union in response to several waves of layoffs and what they describe as a lack of transparency from leaders at the arts institution, which President Donald Trump took over in February.
Reposted by Lauren Halvorsen
I subscribe to like a zillion newsletters and pay for almost all of them (indie podcasts, too) and every time I’m like “maybe this has gotten out of hand…” I look at the list and I’m like, no, actually, I value all of these and get my money’s worth out of them.
don’t put it in the newspaper that NYT got mad at the people eating their lunch.
How Much Are We Paying for Newsletters? $50, $100 … How About $3,000 a Year.
www.nytimes.com
May 13, 2025 at 3:23 PM
I subscribe to like a zillion newsletters and pay for almost all of them (indie podcasts, too) and every time I’m like “maybe this has gotten out of hand…” I look at the list and I’m like, no, actually, I value all of these and get my money’s worth out of them.
Reposted by Lauren Halvorsen
*please repost or forward* Here’s a sheet where arts orgs can record information about their NEA grant termination. Annie Dorsen is collecting this info as a first step towards coordinating a response docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
NEA GRANT TERMINATION TRACKER
docs.google.com
May 3, 2025 at 7:04 PM
*please repost or forward* Here’s a sheet where arts orgs can record information about their NEA grant termination. Annie Dorsen is collecting this info as a first step towards coordinating a response docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
seven nominations for John Proctor is the Villain. truly wild & surreal. so thrilled for the whole company. 😭
playbill.com/article/tony...
playbill.com/article/tony...
2025 Tony Award Nominations: Buena Vista Social Club, Death Becomes Her, Maybe Happy Ending Lead the Pack
Sarah Paulson and Wendell Pierce will announce this year's nominees for Broadway's top honors beginning at 8:30 AM ET.
playbill.com
May 1, 2025 at 1:42 PM
seven nominations for John Proctor is the Villain. truly wild & surreal. so thrilled for the whole company. 😭
playbill.com/article/tony...
playbill.com/article/tony...
in all seriousness: go see Julia Masli's ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. It's my favorite kind of theatre: weird, communal, droll, ephemeral, delightful
April 29, 2025 at 7:12 PM
in all seriousness: go see Julia Masli's ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. It's my favorite kind of theatre: weird, communal, droll, ephemeral, delightful
Reposted by Lauren Halvorsen
Man, this is a pretty fucking gross move from Amazon, huh? Good on @bookshop.org for not mincing words, though:
April 25, 2025 at 8:39 PM
Man, this is a pretty fucking gross move from Amazon, huh? Good on @bookshop.org for not mincing words, though:
Reposted by Lauren Halvorsen
Fellow authors, I love you, and I know it feels like we don’t have a choice, but B&N and Am*zon both scheduled sales this week to preempt Independent Bookstore Day, a hugely vital source of income for indie bookstores. Please don’t promote their sales; please promote your local indie this week.
April 23, 2025 at 11:52 PM
Fellow authors, I love you, and I know it feels like we don’t have a choice, but B&N and Am*zon both scheduled sales this week to preempt Independent Bookstore Day, a hugely vital source of income for indie bookstores. Please don’t promote their sales; please promote your local indie this week.
Reposted by Lauren Halvorsen
Trans Lifeline is a good place to direct resources if you’re looking to help here
fuck everyone involved with this decision
fuck everyone involved with this decision
April 22, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Trans Lifeline is a good place to direct resources if you’re looking to help here
fuck everyone involved with this decision
fuck everyone involved with this decision
this is straight up eugenics www.cbsnews.com/news/rfk-jr-...
RFK Jr.'s autism study to amass medical records of many Americans
The autism study is planning to link confidential data "with broad coverage in the U.S. population" in one place for the first time.
www.cbsnews.com
April 22, 2025 at 6:04 PM
this is straight up eugenics www.cbsnews.com/news/rfk-jr-...
Reposted by Lauren Halvorsen
I love that celebration of this article, which is a celebration of
@halvorsen.bsky.social's dramaturgy work, has the LMDA Listserv more alive than its been in ages.
#dramaturgy #newplays
www.tdf.org/on-stage/tdf...
@halvorsen.bsky.social's dramaturgy work, has the LMDA Listserv more alive than its been in ages.
#dramaturgy #newplays
www.tdf.org/on-stage/tdf...
The Dramaturg is the Hero of 'John Proctor is the Villain'
Playwright Kimberly Belflower and dramaturg Lauren Halvorsen on how their collaboration paved the way for Broadway's hit new play
www.tdf.org
April 18, 2025 at 7:51 PM
I love that celebration of this article, which is a celebration of
@halvorsen.bsky.social's dramaturgy work, has the LMDA Listserv more alive than its been in ages.
#dramaturgy #newplays
www.tdf.org/on-stage/tdf...
@halvorsen.bsky.social's dramaturgy work, has the LMDA Listserv more alive than its been in ages.
#dramaturgy #newplays
www.tdf.org/on-stage/tdf...
Reposted by Lauren Halvorsen
in which @halvorsen.bsky.social gives it to us straight (& not just about the state of American theater)
nothingforthegroup.substack.com/p/the-week-o...
nothingforthegroup.substack.com/p/the-week-o...
April 17, 2025 at 3:46 AM
in which @halvorsen.bsky.social gives it to us straight (& not just about the state of American theater)
nothingforthegroup.substack.com/p/the-week-o...
nothingforthegroup.substack.com/p/the-week-o...
my punishment for not planning my JPITV opening night outfit more than three days in advance is now I have to go to a MALL in VIRGINIA on a SATURDAY
April 11, 2025 at 5:14 PM
my punishment for not planning my JPITV opening night outfit more than three days in advance is now I have to go to a MALL in VIRGINIA on a SATURDAY
entered the delusional stage of life where i think having a paper planner will solve all of my problems
April 9, 2025 at 2:45 PM
entered the delusional stage of life where i think having a paper planner will solve all of my problems
the hotel guests of White Lotus Season 4 better include an undercover reporter
how many suspicious deaths can one luxury hotel chain have before some intrepid travel journalist starts investigating
April 7, 2025 at 3:48 AM
the hotel guests of White Lotus Season 4 better include an undercover reporter
Reposted by Lauren Halvorsen
“give yourself the uncomfortable luxury of changing your mind about the shape your career, because over time your priorities and desires will shift in ways you cannot anticipate” is the thing I want to scream from the mountain at every single theater professional I still talk to. It is LIFE CHANGING
this month's anonymous money diary is a real banger -- from a former production shop head & designer who left the theatre industry eight years ago: nothingforthegroup.substack.com/p/bills-bill...
bills, bills, bills #35
A week in the life and wallet of a production shop head who left the industry eight years ago
nothingforthegroup.substack.com
April 2, 2025 at 5:04 PM
“give yourself the uncomfortable luxury of changing your mind about the shape your career, because over time your priorities and desires will shift in ways you cannot anticipate” is the thing I want to scream from the mountain at every single theater professional I still talk to. It is LIFE CHANGING
Reposted by Lauren Halvorsen
I'd like to see arts funders ask potential funded orgs what their staff's workloads break down to on an hourly basis as part of the decision process. Because I can tell you, too many orgs are "balancing their budgets" by requiring a shitload of unpaid labor.
April 2, 2025 at 1:30 AM
I'd like to see arts funders ask potential funded orgs what their staff's workloads break down to on an hourly basis as part of the decision process. Because I can tell you, too many orgs are "balancing their budgets" by requiring a shitload of unpaid labor.
I don't live & work in a rural area like Anne, but after spending so much time in NYC for rehearsals & previews lately, I really value the distance I have living in DC, even though we have our own rich theatre scene. NYC theatre is all-consuming like no other, I felt like I lost all sense of time.
Great "Bills, Bills, Bills" from @halvorsen.bsky.social this morning. Thinking about how leaving the industry geographically (which I have done to some extent) has afforded me a perspective and balance that feels similar to what the author describes in leaving the industry professionally.
April 2, 2025 at 3:37 PM
I don't live & work in a rural area like Anne, but after spending so much time in NYC for rehearsals & previews lately, I really value the distance I have living in DC, even though we have our own rich theatre scene. NYC theatre is all-consuming like no other, I felt like I lost all sense of time.
this month's anonymous money diary is a real banger -- from a former production shop head & designer who left the theatre industry eight years ago: nothingforthegroup.substack.com/p/bills-bill...
bills, bills, bills #35
A week in the life and wallet of a production shop head who left the industry eight years ago
nothingforthegroup.substack.com
April 2, 2025 at 1:06 PM
this month's anonymous money diary is a real banger -- from a former production shop head & designer who left the theatre industry eight years ago: nothingforthegroup.substack.com/p/bills-bill...