But for foreign artists and the American producers who are looking to work with them, these changes are beginning to wreak havoc. Last week, the Under the Radar theater festival in New York announced it had canceled an event, just days before its intended presentation, that was expected to be one of its highlights this year: “12 Last Songs,” an immersive performance by the British troupe Quarantine, which the festival was presenting in cooperation with La MaMa and the Working Theater.
The group’s visas have not been approved. Tommy Kriegsmann, the festival’s co-producer, said in an interview that no explanation had been given, but the festival’s lawyer believed it was because two crew members — both British citizens and passport holders, Kriegsmann said — were born in Nigeria. That could have triggered the agency pause, since Nigeria is one of the countries with partial restrictions by the administration.
Under the Radar spent a year planning Quarantine’s performance, and its cancellation will cost the festival $150,000 to $200,000, which it cannot recover, Kriegsmann said.
“It’s an unbelievable mess,” he added, “and no one can provide an answer.”
Problems like these were the talk of the Association of Performing Arts Professionals conference in New York last week. Each January, thousands of agents and presenters gather there to book their annual calendars and share intelligence about the climate, which has been shaky for years but is now, many said, in a state of crisis.
Matthew Covey, a lawyer who specializes in immigration applications for performing artists, told attendees in a speech that he expects a 30 percent decline this year of international performers coming to the United States, compared to 2024.
In a subsequent interview, Covey called that figure a rough estimate based on information from his firm, CoveyLaw. For many of the artists he represents, he said, touring in the United States has long been expensive and cumbersome, but in the last nine months or so, he said, there has been “a collapse of the system.”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.nytimes.com ’
