I hope you're reading this next to a fan or air conditioner! As I write this on Tuesday afternoon, it's like a sauna outside. It feels like the heat is all the way up in terms of local, national, and international news as well. I break some of it down in my piece about how SEPTA cuts will affect our arts scene (and what to do about it), and if you need some encouragement to call Congress to make your voice heard on other important issues, we're here for you.
Review-writing classes are back!
This week, we're excited to officially announce that our review-writing webinars are back in July! We launched Intro to review-writing in late 2023, and BAD REVIEWS: How to write them and why we need them about a year ago. They were popular with the BSR community, so we're bringing back updated sessions for 2025. Intro to review-writing (register here) is coming up on Wednesday, July 16. BAD REVIEWS (register here) is coming up on Thursday, July 17. As an added bonus, everyone who registers for a session will get an invite to our private meetup IRL the following week, to meet the editors and current BSR writers. We hope you can join us! (And remember, our monthly donors, starting at $5/month, attend BSR events free. Hit the button below and join the readers who keep us publishing.)
This week's reviews
On to this week's stories. We have some well-timed museum coverage, because a temperature-controlled gallery is a pretty good place to be when it's 100+ degrees outside. Plus, the Brandywine River Museum in Chadds Ford and Doylestown's Michener Art Museum are both nice summer daytrips. We're also bringing you the details on PlayPenn's 20th anniversary New Play Development Conference. I've already gotten my free tickets to a reading; don't miss out! Plus: a notable dance performance celebrates Juneteenth.
Stay cool and stay focused on all the positive things our community has to offer, even when the bigger world is chaotic and frightening.
Alaina Johns
BSR editor-in-chief