Assorted ramblings from the world of entertainment:

l Youngstown Playhouse turned to one of the many talents who got their starts there as its new development director.

Kayla Boye was named to the part-time position, which was created to help the 97-year-old community theater with grant writing and fundraising.

In a news release announcing her appointment, the Warren native said, “I am so thrilled for the opportunity to return to The Youngstown Playhouse during this extraordinary time for the performing arts. As my first artistic home, the Playhouse has played a formative role in my career, and I hope I can meaningfully contribute to this period of strategic institutional advancement in collaboration with James McClellan, YPH staff and the YPH board under the leadership of Dr. John Cox.

“Together, we will ensure that this beloved cultural organization emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic stronger than before so it may continue serving the Mahoning Valley with quality performing arts through and beyond the upcoming 100th anniversary season.”

Boye recently served as a consultant for Artistic Fundraising Group, which provides fundraising strategies and resources for small- to mid-level nonprofits in Chicago. In the past two years, she has raised more than $500,000 for her clients.

In addition to her past work at the Playhouse, Boye has performed at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Drury Lane Theatre, Porchlight Music Theatre, Mercury Theater Chicago, Fireside Theatre, Capital City Theatre and Music Theater Works (formerly Light Opera Works).

The Playhouse currently has scrapped its plans for the rest of 2020 and plans to return next year with the regional premiere of the musical “The Color Purple.”

l Dana School of Music will offer a new online course starting this summer on hip-hop music.

“Survey of Hip Hop” will look at the art form’s origins, foundation and progressions; related musical genres and sub-genres; and its cultural, societal and historical intersections.

The class will be taught by Dana alum Stephen B. Harvey and will be available to Youngstown State University students as an arts and humanities elective.

According to Harvey, “As a student and lover of music, rap music has been a large portion of my listening experience growing up … It has given a pervasive view into the lives of black and Latinx populations in urban America. Study of its musical influences and aspects and weaving them into my music has been a major part of my development.”

Harvey, who earned his master’s degree in jazz studies from YSU in 2016, is a composer, arranger and musician who is member of the Harvey Allen duo, the small combo SPH8 and the Stephen Philip Harvey Jazz Orchestra.

l While most concert venues still are shuttered due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some are trying to figure out how they can reopen. Considering how quickly the state caved on amusement parks — which would seem to be the last thing that should open in a viral pandemic — maybe they should just sue the state.

Music Box Supper Club, located on the West Bank of The Flats in Cleveland, posted a nearly 4-minute-long video Wednesday outlining the protocols being implemented at the intimate concert venue. Concertgoers no longer will be seated at the same table with strangers. Only groups who purchase tickets together will be seated at the same table.

It is starting with smaller events — concerts with local acts and its Cleveland Stories lecture series — but it has several national acts on the schedule in August.

Andy Gray is the editor of Ticket. Write to him at agray@tribtoday.com.