HowlRound: Jonathan Mandell on the shifting definitions of “amateur”,  “professional theater” and “theater professional.” “Given the economic reality, don’t we have to come up with a definition of ‘theater professional’ that doesn’t exclude people who make their living in other ways?” http://bit.ly/1I3Dytg  

THE STAGE: Phil Willmott writes why a new generation of directors is too scared to make theatre –  “I’ve had people contacting me in tears for advice after being bullied by the very union they, like me, have always supported.” http://bit.ly/1Ii6aUY

LA Times: L.A. small theater hit “Louis & Keely: Live at the Sahara” is back on its feet after a six-year interruption and is headed for the Geffen Playhouse and Laguna Playhouse this winter in what’s billed as a new production that includes Taylor Hackford as director and Vanessa Claire Stewart as pop singer Keely Smith. http://lat.ms/1JKFfAn

L.A. Weekly: In Lyle Kessler’s The Great Divide, director David Fofi’s final production before departing the Elephant Stages, a father and two sons enmeshed in a lifetime of resentment and abuse replay their rancor in the presence of a one-armed psychopath and his sister. http://bit.ly/1N8z7Rs

American Theatre:  Why do we spell it ‘theatre’? As with many questions of language, there’s a simple answer but not a ‘right’ one.  http://bit.ly/1Jt3EGd

AMERICAN THEATRE: Every month, American Theatre wants YOUR input. We post up a new cartoon and you, readers, are invited to write a caption to it. This month caption this image and win a copy of Young Jean Lee’s new play. http://bit.ly/1MfTgrp

BBC News: A group of actors lose an employment tribunal case after claiming they should be paid the minimum wage for appearing in a fringe theatre play. http://bbc.in/1KaIW3q

First, it took the sitcoms. Now the Netflix pay model is seeping into theater culture. Finally. Third Rail Repertory is the first Portland company pitching a monthly membership subscription pricing for its shows. http://bit.ly/1K8Wexx

HuffPost: Maybe it’s the summer doldrums, but an uneasy quiet has settled in on the Western Front wars between Actors’ Equity and LA’s 99-seat theater movement. The  hiatus is understandable, but still troubling. http://huff.to/1K2ACmm

the Guardian: When was the last time you went to a new theatre show you knew nothing about? In a venue you had never been to before? Where you read the blurb, looked at the image and decided to buy tickets, despite having never heard of the company or the show, or read any reviews of it? ARC’s Pay What You Decide gets a 6 month trial. http://bit.ly/1HSW6Sc