Sign in

Lauren Halvorsen

@halvorsen.bsky.social
885 followers 439 following 152 posts

dramaturg & writer of newsletters washington, dc she/her nothingforthegroup.com

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Lauren Halvorsen
Sam Adams @samadams.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
the Washington Post effectively blew up its arts section today, dismissing its books, TV, music, and theater critics, features writers, and several editors. (I'm also guessing the vacant film critic position will stay that way.) Just an insane loss of talent and a huge self-inflicted wound.
17536123
Reposted by Lauren Halvorsen
lauren @elledeejo.bsky.social · 02/01/2026
shout-out to @halvorsen.bsky.social, whose newsletter remains indispensable, and is how I learned about at least 3 of these shows.
111
Reposted by Lauren Halvorsen
Becky @braines.bsky.social · 29/09/2025
This week marks 4 years out of the theater industry for me and @halvorsen.bsky.social’s Nothing for the Group hit me hard.
052
Lauren Halvorsen @halvorsen.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
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...
a mood board of multiple images paired with the following text: The first step of the rebrand process was assembling this chaotic mood board of conflicting design impulses. This collage doubles as a map of my niche cultural obsessions: Icelandic durational performance art, the title sequence of Jackie Brown, my go-to strength training music, nonfiction about ‘the oceanic depths of longing’, my favorite museum, a Norwegian movie I’d avoided watching for three years because I knew I would simultaneously love it and be emotionally destroyed by it. (I was right—and I also immediately planned a trip to Oslo, like a true sicko.)
070
Reposted by Lauren Halvorsen
Tristan Willis @tristanbwillis.bsky.social · 11/07/2025
@halvorsen.bsky.social in today’s Nothing For The Group 🔥🔥🔥 nothingforthegroup.substack.com/p/the-week-o...
Little Bear Ridge Road will move into the Booth Theatre, currently home to John Proctor is the Villain. Kimberly Belflower's play is a primal scream of teenage ferocity and tenderness, examining how systems of power perpetuate themselves and ultimately asserting that we must take care of each other because institutions exist primarily to protect themselves.

The irony of this succession is not lost on me, nor on anyone else paying attention. It's simply irrelevant to an industry that has mastered the performance of accountability, moving seamlessly from critiquing abusive power to rehabilitating its most prominent practitioners, all while congratulating itself on its commitment to progress.
141
Lauren Halvorsen @halvorsen.bsky.social · 11/07/2025
wrote about the Scott Rudin rehabilitation tour in this week's newsletter: open.substack.com/pub/nothingf...
A quote in brown text on a purple background, that reads: I can’t shake how all every defense of Scott Rudin always cite the financial and creative triumphs—the revenue, the awards, the capital-A art—without considering the invisible losses. Rudin harassed and bullied people over decades, and you can't tangibly measure the impact of that behavior: the careers derailed, the ambitions quashed, the opportunities lost. He’s lauded as a champion and cultivator of theatre, but all I can think about is the potential art he destroyed.
0258
Reposted by Lauren Halvorsen
lauren @elledeejo.bsky.social · 01/07/2025
"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...
121
Reposted by Lauren Halvorsen
newmethos @newmethos.bsky.social · 07/06/2025
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...
substack.com
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...
101
Reposted by Lauren Halvorsen
Peter Baker @peterbakernyt.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
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...
nytimes.com
After Trump Takeover, Kennedy Center Ticket Sales Fall Sharply
1791774377
Reposted by Lauren Halvorsen
The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 15/05/2025
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.
wapo.st
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.
1551797
Reposted by Lauren Halvorsen
Amanda Mull @amandamull.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
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.
31659
Reposted by Lauren Halvorsen
Hari Kunzru @harikunzru.bsky.social · 03/05/2025
*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...
docs.google.com
NEA GRANT TERMINATION TRACKER
6133134
Lauren Halvorsen @halvorsen.bsky.social · 01/05/2025
seven nominations for John Proctor is the Villain. truly wild & surreal. so thrilled for the whole company. 😭 playbill.com/article/tony...
playbill.com
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.
0150
Lauren Halvorsen @halvorsen.bsky.social · 29/04/2025
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
030
Reposted by Lauren Halvorsen
Dave Infante @dinfontay.com · 25/04/2025
Man, this is a pretty fucking gross move from Amazon, huh? Good on @bookshop.org for not mincing words, though:
Every April, we celebrate Independent Bookstore Day to remind us how vital indie bookstores are to our communities and society. It’s a day of joy and solidarity, and significant financial impact for these bookstores.

This year, Amazon is undercutting that with a “Book Sale” on the same day—a calculated move by a company that has already put half the bookstores in the country out of business, controls over 60% of the market and sells far more books than all indie bookstores combined. The people at Amazon responsible for the timing of their "Book Sale" should be ashamed, but they are shameless.
8773523300
Reposted by Lauren Halvorsen
Lauren Groff @legroff.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
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.
6051532185
Reposted by Lauren Halvorsen
Micah @rincewind.run · 22/04/2025
Trans Lifeline is a good place to direct resources if you’re looking to help here fuck everyone involved with this decision
translifeline.org
Home - Trans Lifeline
Radicalcommunity care Trans Lifeline provides trans peer support for our community that’s been divested from police since day one. We’re run by and for
5542732656
Lauren Halvorsen @halvorsen.bsky.social · 22/04/2025
this is straight up eugenics www.cbsnews.com/news/rfk-jr-...
cbsnews.com
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.
130
Reposted by Lauren Halvorsen
annegmorgan.bsky.social @annegmorgan.bsky.social · 18/04/2025
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...
tdf.org
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
0152
Reposted by Lauren Halvorsen
lauren @elledeejo.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
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...
These layoffs represent another chapter in America's ongoing brain drain, following the federal government's systematic defunding of scientists, researchers, and academic institutions. Authoritarians target artists and intellectuals because creativity, knowledge, and expression foster dissent. These regimes identify the voices challenging power structures, then dismantle their platforms under the guise of efficiency or economic necessity.

Artists envision new worlds and invite others to do the same. Imagination is profoundly dangerous to those who benefit from the status quo. It’s not surprising that the Kennedy Center’s first sacrifices were the artists tasked with expanding the circle of who gets to participate in American cultural life.
022
Lauren Halvorsen @halvorsen.bsky.social · 11/04/2025
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
170
Lauren Halvorsen @halvorsen.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
entered the delusional stage of life where i think having a paper planner will solve all of my problems
150
Lauren Halvorsen @halvorsen.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
the hotel guests of White Lotus Season 4 better include an undercover reporter
070
Reposted by Lauren Halvorsen
Micayla @mithsp.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
“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
062
Reposted by Lauren Halvorsen
tamaraneo @tamaraneo.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
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.
1187
Lauren Halvorsen @halvorsen.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
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.
070
Lauren Halvorsen @halvorsen.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
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...
nothingforthegroup.substack.com
bills, bills, bills #35
A week in the life and wallet of a production shop head who left the industry eight years ago
030
Lauren Halvorsen @halvorsen.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
The NYT asked me to give some sage advice for a timeless question: www.nytimes.com/2025/03/31/a...
nytimes.com
My Friend’s Show Was Kind of Terrible. What Do I Say When I See Them? (Gift Article)
You can always consider telling the truth, but it may not be advisable in this case.
191
Lauren Halvorsen @halvorsen.bsky.social · 30/03/2025
finally encountered one of these in the wild
a gray city sidewalk with "WE SAW GOODY PROCTOR WITH VILLAIN TICKETS" spray painted in yellow on it
0120
Reposted by Lauren Halvorsen
jb❌👑 👻👩‍🦰🛁 @bennyjennett.bsky.social · 30/03/2025
TERRIFIC play I finally got to see tonight, after hearing its dramaturg @halvorsen.bsky.social tweet about it in the beforetimes. JOHN PROCTOR IS THE VILLAIN, by Kimberly Belflower, dir by Danya Taymor. What a great night at the theatre! #GoSeeAPlay #GoSeeANewPlay
A hand holds a Playbill in the mezzanine of the Booth Theatre in NYC. Sadie Sink in a green sweater sits on a desk in a high school classroom in the image on the Playbill. Text on both the Playbill and the projected on the curtain is JOHN PROCTOR IS THE VILLAIN. The play is by Kimberly Belflower
041
Reposted by Lauren Halvorsen
jb❌👑 👻👩‍🦰🛁 @bennyjennett.bsky.social · 29/03/2025
I always appreciate reading @halvorsen.bsky.social , and her dramaturgy of the doings at the Kennedy Center this week is a great example of why. the week of march 28 - april 3, 2025 open.substack.com/pub/nothingf...
open.substack.com
the week of march 28 - april 3, 2025
nothing for the group text
031
Lauren Halvorsen @halvorsen.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
in this week's newsletter i wrote about the kennedy center laying off its social impact team and how it aligns with our horror show government's agenda to rewrite our national cultural history: nothingforthegroup.substack.com/p/the-week-o...
nothingforthegroup.substack.com
the week of march 28 - april 3, 2025
nothing for the group text
030
Lauren Halvorsen @halvorsen.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
The social impact program received permanent funding from a donor last year. It was paying for itself. What a horrific brain drain of some of the smartest, hardest-working artists in DC.
045
Lauren Halvorsen @halvorsen.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
does she need a dramaturg because I know one that just made her Broadway debut www.broadwayworld.com/article/Carl...
broadwayworld.com
Carly Rae Jepsen Is Writing A Musical; Ann Harada Shares Look Inside Reading
Carly Rae Jepsen is writing a musical, seemingly confirmed by her former Cinderella co-star Ann Harada. In a new social media post, Harada shared a photo from the reading, revealing that she is in the...
0120
Lauren Halvorsen @halvorsen.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
always chuckle at how New Yorkers marvel at the Metro's cleanliness and it only takes three seconds on MTA for me to understand why they do
010
Reposted by Lauren Halvorsen
Jonathan L. Fischer @jonfischer.bsky.social · 19/03/2025
Maria Manuela Goyanes is leaving Woolly Mammoth Theatre to join Lincoln Center. Read @naveenkumarnyc.bsky.social's exit interview www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...
washingtonpost.com
Maria Manuela Goyanes is leaving Woolly Mammoth to join Lincoln Center
“D.C. has such an amazingly diverse group of theaters that create work and support each other. I’m really excited to bring that abundant mentality to Lincoln Center,” Goyanes said.
021
Lauren Halvorsen @halvorsen.bsky.social · 18/03/2025
the number of times i have googled "when does mercury retrograde end" in the last three days is telling
010
Lauren Halvorsen @halvorsen.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
going to run for office on a platform of abolishing fixed backward seating on Amtrak
1140
Lauren Halvorsen @halvorsen.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
over/under on Tracy Letts showing up on a epiode of White Lotus this season
230
Reposted by Lauren Halvorsen
I Travel Like Sound Dog @chadstanton.blacksky.app · 14/03/2025
People also need to understand this isn’t federal money, this is DC money collected through DC taxes. They’re openly stealing from the city with the intent to immiserate the people living there because they resent the idea they should be allowed to govern themselves.
262234859
Reposted by Lauren Halvorsen
Emily @sadcypress.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
Lauren Halvorsen, folks!!! YES.
Screenshot which reads: “Victory Gardens is no longer a theatre company. It’s an art installation about institutional failure. All that remains is a hollow stage where "dialogue" means amplifying voices that dehumanize communities the theatre used to uplift. The only meaningful civic change happening here is the transformation of a once-progressive institution into a monument to cultural regression.”
062
Reposted by Lauren Halvorsen
lauren @lauren.rotatingsandwiches.com · 14/03/2025
linkedin post that's going to drive me insane all day: "so it is fine for private sector employees to be laid off, downsized, etc but federal employees cannot? something is very wrong with this scenario" like they are so, so close to getting it
23116672
Lauren Halvorsen @halvorsen.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
this week's newsletter: the NEA lawsuit, the atlantic & iatse reach a deal, victory gardens returns...with a david mamet play (I have some thoughts on the latter) substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com
the week of march 14-20, 2025
maine folk heroines, spelling bees, d*v*d m*met
030
Reposted by Lauren Halvorsen
Mark Joseph Stern @mjsdc.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
The absolute devastation that @chuckschumer.com is about to inflict on D.C. by supporting the GOP’s continuing resolution is hard to overstate. Massive cuts to schools and law enforcement. Teachers laid off en masse. Basic city services may grind to a halt because we *cannot spend our own money.*
6136521080
Reposted by Lauren Halvorsen
rev. howard arson @theophite.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
schumer needs to lose a primary
2161573
Lauren Halvorsen @halvorsen.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
made the switch to a kobo a few months ago and zero regrets, opting out of any aspect of the bezos monopoly feels like a win
062
Lauren Halvorsen @halvorsen.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
my parents live in florida and recently went to a dinner where they met some MAGA retirees who were *salivating* when they learned I live in DC, gleefully asking, "did she lose her job??" because they assume everyone here works for the federal government. we're a cruel, callous, atomized country.
141
Reposted by Lauren Halvorsen
Jess Zimmerman @jesszimmerman.com · 12/03/2025
Hey you know who else is good at creative writing
621226
Lauren Halvorsen @halvorsen.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
downloaded an app that turns my phone into a brick at key moments of the day which today serendipitously lined up with me spinning out with despair over the latest news cycle
010