If you're a frequent reader of Playbill On-Line, you may have noticed that our International News section has recently blossomed with stories from all over the globe. In addition to increased theatrical coverage in Brazil, Great Britain and Canada, we now include stories from Australia, Mexico, China, France, Austria and Spain.
The new correspondents are as follows:
Carter Witt -- Japan Correspondent: is a freelance journalist and founding Editor of The Alien, a nationally published arts, entertainment and humor magazine in Japan (www.the-alien.com). He has lived in Japan and England for ten years and still suffers a bit of culture shock when wearing shoes inside the house. He is experienced in graphic arts and layout and regularly designs posters and promotional material for music and theater groups in Japan.
Ashley Herman -- U.K. Correspondent: Ashley Herman has worked in the British theatre since 1972. He began by sweeping the stage at the Wimbledon Theatre for the London Transport Players' production of Oklahoma! ( a production as incongruous at it sounds) and within two years became Assistant Stage Manager at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane for Billy- the British musical that shot Michael Crawford to fame. In 1982 he set up Applause, which grew to become a major ticket sales and marketing organisation. Since Applause joined up with First Call, the UK's leading credit card booking agency which also owns Space Time Systems - a company that provides computerised box office services, First Call and Applause have become Europe's largest independent ticket agency, and Space Time System's technology produces over 55 million tickets a year. Ashley still occasionally produces shows in the U.K. and U.S.A., and enjoys acting as Playbill's U.K. correspondent.
Peter Kemp -- Australia Correspondent: Peter Kemp comes from a family of Australian journalists, and has been writing columns about the arts in various publications for years. Recent publications include the Australia wide magazine STAGE WHISPERS, the Leading Newspaper group (12 local suburban papers part of the Rupert Murdoch Group), and two monthly Australian papers. He also has a morning show on community radio. Bernd Freimueller -- Austria Correspondent: Bernd Freimueller received a masters degree in Communications/Journalism at the University of Vienna, where he also studied translation. He is currently a performing arts free-lance journalist for (among others): KURIER - Austria's second biggest daily, Take-Off - a Travel magazine, Business Travel - for the Lifestyle & Culture section, Vienna Reporter - an English language weekly, SAT1-a German TV-station, and MUSICALS, a German musical magazine.
Mira Friedlander -- Canada Correspondent: Mira Friedlander is an established freelance writer in Canada, and is a regular contributer to several publications including Variety (Torotnto Theatre Correspondent) and Financial Post. Mira's radio journalism includes a performing arts spot twice daily on CFMX, and she is the theatre commentator for Ontario Morning State of the Arts and more on CCBC. She has won several awards for her work as a theatre journalist.
Wang Ling -- China Correspondent: Wang Ling is the founder of the recently disbanded Chinese National Theatre of the Deaf, which participated in the First Tokyo International Theatre Festival. He has edited a national prize-winning television series Flying to the Sky and was the playwright and editor of the 10-series TV musical Friends from the Kingdom of Flowers. He currently serves as the Secratary in the Foreign Liaison department of the Chinese Theatre Association, where he has organized several symposiums and festivals.
Stephane Ly-Cuong -- France Correspondent:Stephane Ly-Cuong is a free-lance writer for several monthly publications, writing articles on musical theater, pop music, culture and entertainment. He has written and translated interviews of film, theater, music and literary personalities including Patti LuPone, Armistead Maupin, Boy George, Felice Picano, Tran Anh Hung (Academy Award nominee for The Scent of the Green Papaya), Fabienne Guyon (the original Cosette of Boublil & Schonberg's Les Miserables), Corine, and Blue...Groupe Illico.
Claudio Carrera -- Mexico Correspondent Claudio Carrera has been a great fan of Playbill On-Line since its inception. Although he has a degree in business, his passion for live theatre has driven him to become involved with all aspects of culture in Mexico City. His knowledge inspired him to approach Playbill On-Line with the idea of becoming the Mexican Correspondent.
Carlos Lorenzo -- Spain Correspondent Carlos Lorenzo is currently in his fourth year studies of Civil Engeneering at the Polytechinic University of Madrid. He has designed the following websites: La Maja de Goya, official homepage of the most recent Spanish musical (http://lamajadegoya.home.ml.org), Pedro Ruy-Blas Homepage, the official website of the famous Spanish musical performer who starred as Jean Valjean in Les Miserables, Goya in La Maja de Goya and Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar (http://pedroruyblas.home.ml.org) , and Asociacion Cultural Atair, a cultural group of Madrid , dedicated to show musicals (http://asociacionatair.home.ml.org). In addition to becoming Playbill On-Line's Spanish Correspondent, Carlos is scheduled to design a website for Fernando Arbex, a famous Spanish composer and Andreas Pritwitz, a jazz saxophonist.
More correspondents will be contributing soon. Please visit them all in the International News section of Playbill On-Line!
--By Blair Glaser
Director, International Correspondents
