To my great regret, I did not see the fabled flop Broadway production of Carrie The Musical in 1988, therefore I cannot offer comparative information on how the new production by MCC Theater has or hasn’t fixed any problems with the show. My only frame of reference for the musical I saw this past Saturday afternoon is Stephen King’s original novel, which I read about 30 years ago, and Brian DePalma’s terrific film adaptation, which I manage to watch every few years, though I missed its original release. But I do know the bloody history the theatrical Carrie drags along like Marley’s chains.
On the other hand, in two weeks, when I see Michael Ball and Imelda Staunton in Sweeney Todd, they will be doing battle with countless other duos I have seen as Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett, among them George Hearn & Dorothy Loudon, Hearn & Angela Lansbury, Bob Gunton & Beth Fowler and Michael Cerveris & Patti LuPone (I have seen, at least, three additional less-famous pairings, not including the film). In addition, I have the original cast recording with Len Cariou & Lansbury burned into my brain from hours of playing and singing along, so much so that I have to remind myself that I never saw Cariou in the role, even though I can easily ape his timing and inflections.
For the avid theatergoer like myself, good memory is a blessing and a curse. The blessing is that I have no trouble recalling Brian Dennehy as Willy Loman, Mandy Patinkin as Che, or Kathleen Chalfant as Vivian Bearing. The problem is also the fact that I have no trouble remembering them and they will loom over me in the coming weeks when I see Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ricky Martin and Cynthia Nixon take on these roles that were so indelibly played for me in the past. I must work, rigorously, to remain open to new performers, new interpretations, new productions.
Of course the productions are different — and of course I am different. My responses at 17 are bound to be different than my responses at 27 or 37 (and so on). The impact of seeing any show for the first time rarely can be repeated; more than once I have seen a play that I loved as a teen and wondered how I was ever so naive to like it (though I have also found plays that I’ve come to understand better and thus admire over time, such as Fugard’s The Road to Mecca). My life experiences, my theatrical experiences, inform my reactions to shows and performances. At the same time, my recollections are fallible; memory is not fixed but plastic — we construct our memories over and over again, they are oral history even to ourselves, rather than a pristine digital record.
As I have become ever more of a veteran and ever more informed, it becomes harder to thrill me, and harder for me to keep fresh as an audience member. Will I see Hamlet again and again? Yes, but whoever next plays the Dane for me is fighting with the ghosts of Christopher Walken, Richard Thomas, Kevin Kline, Ralph Fiennes and Jude Law (to name but five) and that’s to their detriment, and mine.
This challenge is surely amplified among theatre critics; I have seen perhaps 2500 productions in 34 years of earnest theatergoing, while critics probably reach that threshold in less than half the time, and are charged with not only assessing but contextualizing work as they go along. For me, although theatre has always been my profession, theatergoing remains an avocation, and save for my required attendance at Tony-eligible shows since 2003 and those shows produced at theatres where I worked, I see only what I want to see and, at certain times, what I could afford to see. I recently turned down an opportunity that offered (and required) seeing another 100 shows each year. While I may well see close to that, the compulsory aspect frightened me and, as I’ve written before, I want to insure I have time for experiences other than just theatergoing (like family, friends, travel, movies, TV and books).
To those without the opportunities I’ve had, I imagine I’m evoking little sympathy. But the fact is, I’m not seeking any. What I do look for is every way in which I can continue to approach theatre with the most open mind, without constantly analyzing, comparing and judging what I see by the standards set by other productions and performances. “Only see new plays,” you might suggest, and surely this is rarely a problem in those instances. Yet sometimes the theatrical spreadsheet in my head is an asset for new plays, as prior knowledge of A Raisin in the Sun, while not necessary for Clybourne Park, surely lends another layer of depth to appreciating Bruce Norris’ work. “Avoid the major classics,” I hear you cry. But the next Lear, the next Viola might be even better than those that came before in my experience, and I love Shakespeare too much to miss out if that’s the case.
So I’ll just keep filling up the faulty hard drive that is my brain, hoping that the accelerating rise of video won’t become so prevalent that the oral history of theatrical production I’ve cultivated for so long becomes obsolete. And I’ll fight against my own instincts and keep shaking my internal Etch-a-Sketch, entering the theatre with as rasa a tabula as I can muster. But if you ever want to hear about shows that went unrecorded that you never saw, or compare your own memories of shows to see how they check out, I have a flawed and opinionated database waiting, ready to be accessed.
You want a rant, Washington Post? Yeah? I’ll give you a rant! I’ll rant like you wouldn’t believe!
[Breathe, Howard, breathe. In through the nose, out through the mouth.]
Look, I appreciate that you’re being urged to find new ways for old-line media such as yourself to interact and engage with your readership. I’m all for it. But at what point do you starting ceding your authority? After all, you have a strong staff of arts critics and reporters, and barely two months ago you produced perhaps the single most comprehensive look at a city’s theatre scene that I’ve seen in some 30 years of poring over arts coverage. I don’t think you’re lacking for skills, ideas or perspectives.
So I can’t fathom why you have taken the tack of offering a weekly platform to anyone with, as you explicitly request, a grievance with some aspect the arts community. Isn’t that what your staff is there to do – discover, observe, opine and inform? I know some of your folks and I can say they do not lack for opinion, positive or negative.
If you want to open the floodgates I understand it and on one level, I applaud it, since it begins to model on social media, in the sense that it allows many more voices into the conversations you can start (or end). It’s not a dialogue, which would be healthier, but it is a step away from the monolithic stance that newspapers once cultivated.
My real complaint, however, is that you are only calling for negative citizen journalism. You want to know what people are cranky about, what gets their goat. Is this remotely fair? What about all of the people who want to shout from the rooftops (or the arts pages) about the good they see in the arts community? Surely the city is not a bubbling cauldron of disregard for every artistic endeavor. But if you only solicit that which harps upon the flaws, that’s the picture you’ll paint – especially since this is not an unmediated comments board, but a virtual essay contest, where you’ll reproduce the submissions you like, some in print, others online — so you’re already preparing a hierarchy of complaint as well. What will meet your criteria for worthiness: the best writing or those cavils which your editorial staff deems most valid (i.e. in line with their own)?
Has the paper sought the same kind of input in the sports pages? Are people now going to be able to vent their spleen about local businesses outside of the arts? If you can truthfully tell me this same approach is being adopted throughout the paper, then I can’t really complain, because it would demonstrate editorial consistency. But I have this nagging suspicion that only the arts are being offered up in this manner, either as test case or sacrifice.
Those of us who make our lives in the arts often struggle to make our peace with the criticisms the media applies to our work, but we do — partly because we stand with you in defense of freedom of speech, partly because you support our work by making audiences and potential audiences more aware of what we do, and partly because we know there’s little we can do about it. But we have to draw the line, and you should too. That line should stop at your offering exposure only to those who want to kvetch, unless you also provide room for those who would kvell. Put some balance into this plan before it’s underway, or you will undermine not only the arts in Washington DC and the surrounding area, but your own credibility as well.
Among the presentations, I have to say that the one which most affected me was the hip-hop editorial by Matt Sax (@MattSax), who has created and performed in the shows Clay and Venice. While I am slightly out of hip-hop’s target demo, Matt’s rhythmic commentary on his Broadway experiences past, present and future galvanized me and thrilled the audience as well (though the lack of audience miking doesn’t do our response justice). You can watch on YouTube to see his performance or view it below (he does two pieces; I’m focused on the second one), but the words alone have enormous power. Matt was generous enough to transcribe his handwritten work and give me permission to reproduce it. I suspect you may find it eminently quotable.
Bravo, Matt!
* * *
tedxbroadway – 2012
by Matt Sax
Twenty years ago I saw my first Broadway show
The Secret Garden starring John Cameron Mitchell
who would have known, twelve years later Mr. Mitchell
would give me a carwash in the 2nd row
after that first show I devoured scores day by day.
Memorized every lyric on the Great White Way
Was entranced by the majesty – whether comedy or tragedy
I’d imagine showsin my mind doing the play by play.
I knew my fate was sealed by the time I was ten
didn’t know how to begin, only knew I had to get in.
My dreams were affected like never before
wanted to put on a mask – I couldn’t sleep no more
So I trained to be an actor. A serious actor…who sings
but soon I knew I also wanted to create puppet strings
See I’m a product of a generation of entitled, impatient, apathetic,
lazy children who all feel alone… We created the internet
so we wouldn’t have to leave home. We are also brave
and process information differently
We combine multiple mediums
From rap shows to symphonies
We see music visually and hear images implicitly
We cross genre boundaries, prone to eccentricity
We’re a generation who tweets about the skeletons in our closet for recreation
We all have a voice and are prone to speak with exclamations
I AM not a hipster
or a skater
or a thug
or a hater
I AM a great creator and I love the-ator
So where is Broadway going? What is the best it can be?
I think embracing this culture is a necessity.
I hate to say this – but Broadway is looking too much like Vegas
Retreads of old movies are never going to save us.
We need to look closer at the entertainment we’re affording them
We need to get back to creating stars instead of just importing them
And I believe in the importance of critics for chronicling our theatrical history –
But it can’t be that our collective fates are only written by Isherwood or Brantley
We ALL have a voice and we’re not afraid – look
what critic is gonna argue with a million “likes” on facebook?
We’re still in the world wild west where the internet’s free
And because of this the artists have a chance to shape the industry
Its important I swear
the opportunity’s there
to be at the forefront of pop culture
instead of in the rearview mirror
If I’m a little naïve – okay – I know the dollar is important
but for the future of our business we’re alienating people who can’t afford it.
As long as we create shows for only people who can see them
we run the risk of transforming the theatre into a museum.
Today we are willing to pay but expect content for free
so I say we take our Broadway shows and stream them live for a small fee
It’ll expand our reach. A million people watching in Dubai
maybe could save us from the fate of Bonnie and Clyde
I know the finances suck. How can we create a show that sells
when the NY non-for profit houses can’t produce a musical without commercial help?
It’s a different world now and I have to say
we can have people’s ears and hearts before they or we have to pay.
and before the purists scream at me and cry out
fuck out of town, give me an internet tryout
Everyone’s online, from 90 year old jewish women to toddlers
so lets get the public’s opinion before we drop a million dollars.
And so twenty years from now, what do I imagine Broadway to be?
Well I hope and pray that future will include me.
Galinda wants to be popular and so do we. I want to hear
our songs on the radio and keep seeing them on TV
I want Broadway’s reach to expand past the nation
it’s my goal to tell stories to inspire my generation.
And I am humbled to be in the presence of all these people out here
it is an honor and a privilege to have pirated your ears.
February 24th, 2012 § Comments Off on Twitter Dialogues: Artist/Artistic Director Duality with Kwame Kwei-Armah § permalink
Continuing our now monthly Twitter conversations on theatre, Peter Marks of The Washington Post and I invited Kwame Kwei-Armah, the new artistic director of Centerstage in Baltimore to be our guest in February. A playwright and director, Kwei-Armah joined center stage after forging his career in England, and so we used the opportunity to explore the dual roles of artist and artistic director with someone who had just recently added the latter role to his portfolio of achievements. As an added bonus, Charles McNulty, theatre critic for the Los Angeles Times, joined in, just days after he’d published a much discussed critic’s notebook on the state of artistic leadership in southern California.
As before with these transcripts, they are reconstructed to the best of my ability, relying upon participants’ use of the #pmdhes hashtag for tracking, although it is omitted here. I have cleaned up some common Twitter abbreviations for ease of reading, and changed AD and MD to artistic director and managing director wherever I spotted it, but I was cautious about converting anything where I wasn’t absolutely sure about meaning; sticklers, as a result, will find some messages that exceed Twitter’s 140 character limit. Retweets of messages within the conversation have mostly been excised, unless accompanied by comments which expand upon them. Finally, the transcript is most expediently prepared (and trust me, ‘easily’ is pretty much of a misnomer) in reverse chronological order, so you’re advised to jump to the end of this post and then scroll upward for proper continuity.
* * *
ASC_Amy 1:04pm @HESherman @petermarksdrama *gleam in eye*
HESherman 1:03pm @petermarksdrama I am not having the “who wrote Shakespeare’s plays” debate with Jacobi!
Theatreontario 1:02pm @kwamekweiarmah But with seriousness – it’s where my deep gladness meets the world’s deep hunger (adap. from Frederick Buechner).
Petermarksdrama 1:01pm @kwamekweiarmah @HESherman A terrific theater convo, everyone.
Kwamekweiarmah 1:00pm Thank you all for a wonderful tweet out. It’s my first and def wont be my last! Thanks ya’ll — Kwamz
Kwamekweiarmah 12:59pm @HESherman Bless you. what fun!!!!
Kwamekweiarmah 12:59pm @AmandaThietje Nice. x
ASC_Amy 12:58pm Thanks to everyone for the great convo! @HESherman @kwamekweiarmah @petermarksdrama
AmandaThietje 12:58pm @HESherman @kwamekweiarmah Thank you much for your insights, Kwame…this was great!
_plainKate_ 12:58pm @kwamekweiarmah @petermarksdrama #HESherman Thank you, gentlemen, for the conversation.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:58pm @jabberjw Nice!!!!!!!
Kwamekweiarmah 12:58pm @petermarksdrama Love that. Another for my wall
CS_Dramaturgy 12:58pm multiculturalism: (in no order) Lydia Diamond, Lynn Nottage, Tom Gibbons, Kristen Greenidge, Lauren Yee…
Kwamekweiarmah 12:58pm RT @petermarksdrama: Why Theater? Because it saved my life. And continues to.
Jabberjw 12:58pm Why theater? Because it’s the place for a lot of the things that need to be said out loud, with an audience.
AmandaThietje 12:57pm @kwamekweiarmah Also, when it’s profoundly immediate, it’s our stories in our own voices.
Jamesholod 12:57pm @kwamekweiarmah It requires presence, engagement and constant dialogue, which for me enriches the way I view the rest of the world.
HESherman 12:57pm We seem to be winding down and it’s just about 1 pm. Let’s thank @kwamekweiarmah for being on with us today so he can slip away.
Halcyontony 12:57pm @petermarksdrama @CharlesMcNulty Gotcha, makes sense.
Petermarksdrama 12:56pm Why Theater? Because it saved my life. And continues to.
_plainKate_ 12:56pm @kwamekweiarmah Sweet!
Rebcincy 12:56pm Why Theater? More fun to spend my life with this crazy pirate crew than any group of people I ever met.
Petermarksdrama 12:56pm @halcyontony @CharlesMcNulty You mean restaurant critics? I agree with that too. I meant dance, classical music — even movie critics not as much.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:56pm @_plainKate_ beautiful. That’s going up on my wall
Theatreontario 12:56pm @kwamekweiarmah Combines enough passions in a way that astronaut and pro golfer couldn’t.
ASC_Amy 12:56pm @petermarksdrama Indeed. Although, works in reverse too. We see lots of student mat kids bring their parents back.
HESherman 12:55pm Seeing lots of (well-deserved) love for @RealEmilyMann here. We all have to join forces and get her tweeting actively.
_plainKate_ 12:55pm @rebcincy @kwamekweiarmah Steal away. That’s why I mention it.
Jamesholod 12:55pm @HESherman So true! So then, how aware is the public of the difference? Does it matter to them? Or just easier for the office?
Petermarksdrama 12:55pm @HESherman @CharlesMcNulty Not only for practitioners, but for young theatergoers as well.
Halcyontony 12:55pm @petermarksdrama @CharlesMcNulty Don’t think I agree with that. I think restaurant critics are very much expected to be market analysts.
RivierePatrick 12:54pm @HESherman @CharlesMcNulty SO true when I was Education Director at Second Stage it was all about involving kids directly with process and multigenerational work
Rebcincy 12:54pm @_plainKate_ @kwamekweiarmah Very cool, steal-worthy idea.
HESherman 12:54pm Why theatre? I was born this way. Can’t imagine doing anything else, and never really did.
_plainKate_ 12:54pm @HESherman @kwamekweiarmah @CharlesMcNulty Yes. I learned so much assisting @RealEmilyMann.
ASC_Amy 12:53pm @kwamekweiarmah Instant gratification. No other art gives you in-the-moment-of-creation connection with your audience.
Petermarksdrama 12:53pm @halcyontony @CharlesMcNulty For reasons that bewilder me, theater critics are expected to be market analysts in ways other critics are not.
HESherman 12:53pm @kwamekweiarmah @CharlesMcNulty I feel the same way about @RealEmilyMann. She’s inspiring, brilliant and passionate.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:53pm My question to you all. Why Theater?????
HESherman 12:52pm @kevinhoule You are not alone. It’s a common story.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:52pm @CharlesMcNulty @jamesholod @HESherman @petermarksdrama @RealEmilyMann Emily is awesome. Haven’t had the pleasure of others.
HESherman 12:52pm @CharlesMcNulty Mentorship in theatre (probably anywhere, but its all I’ve done) is so essential.
_plainKate_ 12:51pm @kwamekweiarmah Beginning of season, experts from all walks discuss themes of season at an event for subscribers, et al.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:51pm @jabberjw @_plainKate_ lol! This is the big challenge that lays before us.
Jabberjw 12:51pm @HESherman Would you clarify difference between season and subscription models?
Kwamekweiarmah 12:50pm RT @halcyontony: @kwamekweiarmah @rebcincy Totally, general public will never care unless we give them a reason to care.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:50pm @_plainKate_ @rebcincy @petermarksdrama @ASC_Amy Oh that’s interesting. Thanks for that
CharlesMcNulty 12:50pm @jamesholod @HESherman @petermarksdrama 3 great teachers of mine: @RealEmilyMann, Joe Papp, Village Voice editor Ross Wetzsteon.
HESherman 12:50pm @jamesholod Should make distinction between “season” (slate of plays) vs. “subscription season” (marketing model). Not always same.
Petermarksdrama 12:50pm @ASC_Amy 🙂 I expect a song celebrating that.
Jabberjw 12:50pm @_plainKate_ @kwamekweiarmah Audiences are buying a la carte and theater wants to present prix fixe menu #stretchedfoodmetaphor
Halcyontony 12:49pm @kwamekweiarmah @rebcincy Totally, general public will never care unless we give them a reason to care.
DavidGSchultz 12:49pm @petermarksdrama Walter Kerr being the classic example.
_plainKate_12:49pm @kwamekweiarmah @rebcincy @petermarksdrama @ASC_Amy Some companies, like Remy Bummpo in Chicago, hold events re ‘narrative’.
ASC_Amy 12:49pm @kwamekweiarmah That is the trick, isn’t it? How to speak & listen so that everyone cares.
Petermarksdrama 12:49pm @halcyontony Wasn’t ignoring your thought re critics. I think some of us struggle against the tide more successfully than others.
HESherman 12:49pm @kwamekweiarmah Don’t obsess about sports rules. I’ve seen well over 20 Ayckbourn plays and still know nothing of cricket or rugby.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:48pm @rebcincy @petermarksdrama @jabberjw @ASC_Amy @halcyontony We have to make them care. Or at least gently lead them there.
ASC_Amy 12:48pm @petermarksdrama How romantic of you.
HESherman 12:48pm @MichaelHHarris Soviet director had no idea that entire audience would see shows in same order, play by play.
Petermarksdrama 12:48pm @rebcincy @kwamekweiarmah @jabberjw @ASC_Amy @halcyontony Even if it’s subliminal, I love the concept. Has poetry.
Jamesholod 12:47pm @HESherman Fascinating. I’d love to learn about the origin of the necessity for a “season.” Is it distinctly American?
HESherman 12:47pm @MichaelHHarris He was intrigued. I had to explain why there had been concern about his play following Turgenev adaptation.
Theatreontario 12:47pm @_plainKate_ @DavidGSchultz Need to provide value from a subscription purchase in a way that you don’t get from a single-ticket
ASC_Amy 12:46pm @jamesholod That’s why I loved Brooklyn College – classes at night & full-time internships all day. Need that experience on the ground.
HESherman 12:46pm @petermarksdrama @kwamekweiarmah There are a million stories in Charm City…
Rebcincy 12:46pm @petermarksdrama @kwamekweiarmah @jabberjw @ASC_Amy @halcyontony WE love season narrative. Does general public care? No.
MichaelHHarris 12:46pm @HESherman @petermarksdrama @kwamekweiarmah What did he think?
DavidGSchultz 12:46pm @_plainKate_ Thinking about how theaters obviously skew programming and mission toward bankable subscription audiences that won’t be there soon.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:46pm @petermarksdrama @HESherman Yes. I’m busy trying to learn the rules of basketball and football so my characters have opinions I don’t
Jamesholod 12:46pm @JessHutchinson @kwamekweiarmah I would hope so! After all, that’s why I want to make my livelihood in theatre.
HESherman 12:45pm @jamesholod I’m not speaking against training at all, but I think my experience coming into business was different than many today.
Jabberjw 12:45pm @HESherman @kwamekweiarmah How does the artistic director tell the story of the season in other ways than full subscriptions. Multi-storied?
_plainKate_ 12:45pm @DavidGSchultz Heck, I don’t subscribe. I definitely cherry pick plays that interest me within a season.
JessHutchinson 12:45pm @DavidGSchultz @_plainKate_ Maybe it’s time to change the form to match the changing audience.
Petermarksdrama 12:45pm Hey, [we’re] trending. Very cool.
HESherman 12:45pm @petermarksdrama @kwamekweiarmah At Hartford, we had Soviet guest director, and notion of “subscription season” was alien. I had to explain to him.
JessHutchinson 12:44pm @kwamekweiarmah @jamesholod Love it – and doesn’t that build more organically, passionately connected ensembles/organizations?
DavidGSchultz 12:44pm @_plainKate_ Not sure I see audiences subscribing at the same rate in the next 20 years. Big screen HDTVs changing the game.
_plainKate_ 12:44pm kwamekweiarmah Plays that you love and people sharing joy sounds pretty wonderful!
Petermarksdrama 12:44pm @kwamekweiarmah @HESherman So is your job also a research endeavor for your writing?
HESherman 12:44pm @_plainKate_ @jabberjw @ASC_Amy I watched as 9/11 accelerated decline of subscriptions nationally. Fear of committing long-term.
ASC_Amy 12:43pm @petermarksdrama Ya gotta have both!
Jamesholod 12:43pm @HESherman @petermarksdrama @CharlesMcNulty A current student, I can say that classes are so helpful, but don’t equal practical experience.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:43pm @jamesholod @JessHutchinson That’s my aim.
Jabberjw 12:43pm @kwamekweiarmah The arc of a season tells its own story, but unbundling subscriptions breaks up story into “keywords.”
_plainKate_ 12:42pm @HESherman @jabberjw @ASC_Amy Also, fragmentation of people’s leisure time dollars contribute to more single ticket buying.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:42pm @_plainKate_ Being able to say YES when I find a play I love. Being in a building filled with people that wanna share joy daily!!!
HESherman 12:42pm @jabberjw @ASC_Amy I subscribed to a theatre for first time in my life this year. Fascinating experience. Customer service is superb.
Petermarksdrama 12:42pm @kwamekweiarmah @jabberjw @ASC_Amy @halcyontony Love “season narrative.” Way more than “mission.” !!!!
ASC_Amy 12:42pm @kwamekweiarmah @jabberjw Indeed. I’m just not sure subs are the best way to aid that consumption at this point.
HESherman 12:41pm @jabberjw @ASC_Amy Not sure if research or simply slowing of sales drove move to flexible seasons/unbundling.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:41pm @jabberjw @ASC_Amy Each artistic director attempts to create a season narrative. What ever aids that full consumption should be encouraged!
HESherman 12:40pm @petermarksdrama @CharlesMcNulty Oh, the kids today. I learned at the feet of Jim McKenzie, David Hawkanson and Michael Price.
Jamesholod 12:40pm @JessHutchinson I like to think that new members jump on board because they are inspired by the mission. They then further the conversation.
Petermarksdrama 12:40pm @kwamekweiarmah @HESherman Are you writing that play now?
Jabberjw 12:40pm @kwamekweiarmah Time for the Centerstage summer picnic in Druid Hill Park. Bring the family together.
_plainKate_ 12:39pm @kwamekweiarmah I appreciate your candor about what you’re discovering, what you don’t know yet. What do you dig about artistic directing thus far?
Kwamekweiarmah 12:39pm @HESherman Absolutely. And I’m so scared!!! My next play will be set in US with US characters. My first play in American!
HESherman 12:39pm Other voices out there following [discussion]? Please join in. Only 20 minutes left.
Petermarksdrama 12:38pm @HESherman @CharlesMcNulty I mean out of management programs.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:38pm @jabberjw Not sure I know how to do that yet.
HESherman 12:38pm @kwamekweiarmah I had a feeling that was the case, but didn’t want to assume.
Jabberjw 12:38pm @ASC_Amy I think market research drove unbundling of seasons, but it means patrons don’t follow the arc of season, just parts.
HESherman 12:37pm @petermarksdrama @CharlesMcNulty That said, younger generation is coming into biz with more training. I essentially apprenticed.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:37pm @HESherman To a degree. The UK artistic director has less beat by beat fundraising to do and doesn’t have to think about subscriptions.
AmandaThietje 12:37pm RT @kwamekweiarmah: @HESherman @petermarksdrama Hear, hear! My managing director is an artist as well in this building
ASC_Amy 12:36pm @jabberjw Do you think subscriptions are the best way to build those bridges?
HESherman 12:36pm @petermarksdrama @CharlesMcNulty How do you mean “credentialed”? Many managing directors don’t have grad school or arts management degrees (I don’t).
AmandaThietje 12:36pm @JessHutchinson @DavidGSchultz @petermarksdrama Perhaps for audiences.
JessHutchinson 12:35pm @jamesholod @RivierePatrick @HESherman If we want the work / company to be sustainable, yes. Otherwise, what happens post-founder?
Kwamekweiarmah 12:35pm @HESherman @petermarksdrama Here, here! My managing director is an artist as well in this building
CharlesMcNulty 12:35pm @petermarksdrama Definitely think that’s been a major factor. Most are excellent stewards but there needs to be a clarification of values.
HESherman 12:34pm @kwamekweiarmah Sorry to keep tossing questions but: will living/working in US provoke you to write US-set work?
Halcyontony 12:34pm @petermarksdrama @CharlesMcNulty Do critics have responsibility for that as well?
JessHutchinson 12:34pm @DavidGSchultz @petermarksdrama Giving audiences a place who didn’t have a home before, yes? Artistic homes for more than artists.
Jamesholod 12:34pm @RivierePatrick @HESherman Oh, absolutely. But having collaboration broaden our understandings is invaluable and (I think) necessary.
Jabberjw 12:33pm @kwamekweiarmah Will you focus on increasing subscriptions to un-silo audiences from their preferred genre in season?
Petermarksdrama 12:33pm @CharlesMcNulty Is the answer to the question, When did patrons turn into customers? The rise of the modern, credentialed managing director?
HESherman 12:33pm @kwamekweiarmah Do you think or find that job of an artistic director is different for US theaters than in UK?
CharlesMcNulty 12:32pm @kwamekweiarmah @HESherman @petermarksdrama They’re not but marketing has become much more pronounced. Values have changed.
DavidGSchultz 12:32pm @HESherman RIGHT. They’re not replacing Lou with another Lou.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:32pm @CharlesMcNulty @HESherman I would have to say I feel very outreach orientated. That’s why I’m a playwright. A political playwright!
DavidGSchultz 12:32pm @petermarksdrama I would argue that a great artistic director develops new audiences where none existed before.
Erauh 12:31pm I agree “@halcyontony: @petermarksdrama I think a truly visionary artistic director is able to create within the bottom line.”
ASC_Amy 12:31pm RT @HESherman: @petermarksdrama Remember that managing directors are partners with just as much commitment to being part of great work.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:31pm @petermarksdrama @ASC_Amy @AmandaThietje I think the challenge is to attempt both. I am trying to avoid that binary.
Rebcincy 12:30pm Yes MT @kwamekweiarmah The theater isn’t mine. I’m a caretaker of the seat. My gig is to ask and to lead. My choices are not only for me
Halcyontony 12:30pm @petermarksdrama Inspiring people moves the bottom line faster than the status quo does.
HESherman 12:30pm @petermarksdrama Remember that managing directors are partners with just as much commitment to being part of great work.
CharlesMcNulty 12:29pm @HESherman That has been my experience out here. New artistic directors aren’t outreach oriented. Greatest innovation: dynamic pricing.
ASC_Amy 12:29pm @halcyontony Bingo. And a truly visionary managing director helps the artistic director’s dreams come true (if perhaps on a longer timetable).
HESherman 12:29pm @petermarksdrama That attitude would either cause managing director to lose their mind or — better — work to figure out how to make project work.
Halcyontony 12:29pm @petermarksdrama I think a truly visionary artistic director is able to create within the bottom line.
_plainKate_ 12:29pm @petermarksdrama @ASC_Amy @AmandaThietje A bit of fantasy. Might say, ‘Let’s do this one show that might not sell’ but have to balance.
LeeLiebeskind 12:29pm @kwamekweiarmah @DavidGSchultz What have you noticed about my hometown (Baltimore) audiences so far?
DavidGSchultz 12:29pm @kwamekweiarmah Might that include going to other spaces in town?
Theatreontario 12:29pm @ASC_Amy @LeeLiebeskind Me too, but so much of “the art” comes from the artistic director, chosen and enabled by the board
ASC_Amy 12:28pm Not romantic fantasy. There are some that work that way. But, I’m seeing more balance with managing director & board @petermarksdrama @AmandaThietje
Kwamekweiarmah 12:28pm @DavidGSchultz i mean, what they like, where they might like to be taken, what our collective destination might be season by season
Erauh 12:28pm Truly enjoying the conversation with @kwamekweiarmah and @petermarksdrama.
HESherman 12:27pm @CharlesMcNulty Do you think the mindset has truly changed in that way? I haven’t been at producing organization since 2000, so I can’t say.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:27pm @_plainKate_ @AmandaThietje @HESherman I agree.
Petermarksdrama 12:27pm @ASC_Amy @AmandaThietje So maybe notion of a visionary artistic director — who says f–k the bottom line, let’s create — is a romantic fantasy?
DavidGSchultz 12:27pm @kwamekweiarmah What comes to mind when you say “learn about Baltimore audiences”?
Kwamekweiarmah 12:26pm @CharlesMcNulty @HESherman @petermarksdrama Are they not both? Didn’t think it was mutually exclusive
AmandaThietje 12:26pm @kwamekweiarmah @HESherman Kwame, has your role shifted at all in light of trends toward localizing work/productions/artists?
_plainKate_ 12:26pm @CharlesMcNulty Can you talk about how you perceive difference between patron and consumer?
ASC_Amy 12:26pm @CharlesMcNulty I think some artistic directors always have and some artistic directors never will.
HESherman 12:26pm @kwamekweiarmah I noticed that you are going to be doing directing in US, away from @CENTERSTAGE_MD. How does that fit in with new job?
Kwamekweiarmah 12:26pm @petermarksdrama A little. But I’m not in the UK. I certainly have a notion of what UK audiences want. But must learn about Baltimore audiences.
CharlesMcNulty 12:25pm @HESherman @petermarksdrama When did artistic directors start treating audiences as consumers instead of patrons? Move from cultivating to marketing?
HESherman 12:25pm @theatreontario I agree completely. My role here is to toss out “red meat” (aka ideas) to provoke discussion.
ASC_Amy 12:24pm @AmandaThietje And when board understands that it is the art at the heart.
LeeLiebeskind 12:24pm @HESherman @ASC_Amy Depends on the institution and what trouble they are in or not.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:24pm @petermarksdrama the theater isn’t mine. I’m a caretaker of the seat. My gig is to ask and to lead. My choices are not only for me.
@kwamekweiarmah around.
AmandaThietje 12:24pm @HESherman @CharlesMcNulty Managing director, artistic director and board relations are less frustrating when artists at helm deeply understand dollars equal production and people.
Theatreontario 12:24pm @HESherman @ASC_Amy Seems to me that would depend on the organization – not a one-size fits all matter.
ASC_Amy 12:24pm @HESherman No, the leaders are still artistic director & managing director. Board there for oversight and support.
JessHutchinson 12:23pm @kwamekweiarmah @HESherman Yes! The richness of a true home that can nurtures artists and a community – to me – comes in that diversity.
HESherman 12:23pm @ASC_Amy Not saying that, but has the balance between artistic director’s authority and board authority changed as orgs have matured?
Jabberjw 12:23pm @kwamekweiarmah Who is writing self-consciously multi-cultural plays? Plays that address multiculturalism in ideas and casting?
Kwamekweiarmah 12:22pm @petermarksdrama Hell no! Quite the opposite for me. I didn’t intend to write for Centerstage for a while until challenged and….
ASC_Amy 12:22pm @HESherman I don’t think so. Just because artistic director isn’t founder doesn’t mean vision does originate there.
Ru_ality 12:22pm @kwamekweiarmah @HESherman @petermarksdrama Got to go, but would like to know skills aspiring playwright and artistic director could focus on developing? THANK YOU!!
Petermarksdrama 12:21pm @kwamekweiarmah I wonder if expectations for you are ratcheted up because you’re from the UK – notion that you have answers we don’t?
LeeLiebeskind 12:21pm @kwamekweiarmah @HESherman @JessHutchinson Usually that one voice just echoes till you get a choir to sing with you.
HESherman 12:21pm To @CharlesMcNulty’s point, as organizations shift from founders (now pretty much complete) has the board of directors become more prominent?
MimchaelHHarris 12:21pm @HESherman @JessHutchinson Artistic home is the entire reason we started @InVioletRep. Finding time to work outside is challenge.
JessHutchinson 12:21pm @LeeLiebeskind So much truth.
Egoetschius 12:21pm Would love to participate, but #24mag calls. Suffice it to say, excited to be doing work in Baltimore with @kwamekweiarmah around.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:21pm @HESherman @JessHutchinson Yes! But one’s goal can be varied. And seldom is a singular voice diverse enough to fill a home
JessHutchinson 12:21pm @HESherman Of course – just pointing out the newest voices in that continuing conversation. Hopefully that topic never leaves us.
HESherman 12:20pm @jamesholod A completely valid point. At one time, I think idea of artistic director as center of institution was even more prevalent.
ASC_Amy 12:20pm Sure, but can produce results & be light-hearted or produce results and be stressed/finding the way @petermarksdrama
RivierePatrick 12:20pm @jamesholod @HESherman True but when you are also FOUNDING the org it is often the artistic director’s vision that drives those early days.
HESherman 12:19pm @JessHutchinson Artistic Home conversations date back to Todd London’s monograph on that topic for TCG some 20 years ago.
LeeLiebeskind 12:19pm @JessHutchinson @HESherman @RivierePatrick and you can’t serve all those masters as well as you would like.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:19pm @LeeLiebeskind it begins with the word! The idea the desire to connect words and thoughts n com those to others. The rest follows
JessHutchinson 12:19pm @HESherman To me your home’s goals need to be paramount. If you’re lucky, there’s great overlap with your own.
LeeLiebeskind 12:19pm @HESherman @JessHutchinson The inclination is to want to lift up many people to your home and expectation from others is also there.
Petermarksdrama 12:19pm @_plainKate_ @ASC_Amy @kwamekweiarmah And at same time, pressure to produce results IMMEDIATELY is intense, no?
Rebcincy 12:19pm @ASC_Amy @petermarksdrama I second that motion!
LeeLiebeskind 12:18pm @halcyontony That’s awesome. Just as Admin there are so many “Help me, help me!” that makes me want to scream back sometimes.
Jamesholod 12:18pm @HESherman I believe that the organization’s vision is greater than artistic director’s vision. Diversity in contributors equals stronger results, but artistic director’s voice is part of that!
Petermarksdrama 12:17pm @kwamekweiarmah I can see that in your play Elmina’s Kitchen. How did @CENTERSTAGE_MD and you first meet up?
Kwamekweiarmah 12:17pm @HESherman I saw Joe Turner’s Come and Gone at the Tricycle Theatre and it turned my world around. August and Muhammad Ali both walked me into manhood.
RivierePatrick 12:17pm @JessHutchinson @LeeLiebeskind @HESherman So true, and for me, I had to primarily just artistic direct; some writing but mostly grants. 🙂
HESherman 12:17pm @JessHutchinson Devil’s advocate: if you are an artist with a home, shouldn’t you be focusing on pursuing your goals through it?
Jabberjw 12:17pm August Wilson created room for black casts and stories on Broadway. @kwamekweiarmah did same in West End. Must compare.
_plainKate_ 12:16pm @HESherman @ASC_Amy @kwamekweiarmah Maybe not, but that idea: it’s process to settle into job of artistic director or managing director, finding one’s groove.
JessHutchinson 12:16pm @petermarksdrama @HESherman There’s been some great discussion @HowlRound on the advantage / responsibility of the artistic home.
ASC_Amy 12:16pm @petermarksdrama Uh oh.
HESherman 12:16pm @petermarksdrama Seductive indeed. All part of how does an artistic director balance own artistic drive with needs of institution & audience.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:16pm @petermarksdrama He showed me on the page and on the stage that you could be proud and define your culture and self through theater .
JessHutchinson 12:16pm @petermarksdrama @HESherman But isn’t it vital that you are responsible to your home, not making it a self-serving place?
LeeLiebeskind 12:15pm @kwamekweiarmah Can you expound on what you mean by writing is leadership? In traditional we understand director as leader.
JessHutchinson 12:15pm @LeeLiebeskind @HESherman @RivierePatrick The challenge there (for me) is the many masters you’re trying to serve – and serve well.
RivierePatrick 12:14pm @HESherman Yes…which is why I had to limit the acting and allow the creating to happen as artistic director, which was very fulfilling.
ASC_Amy 12:14pm @rebcincy I also stopped acting & directing when became managing director; still sing a bit on the side. Been asked if it will come back.
Halcyontony 12:14pm @LeeLiebeskind sure there’s days that happens. Same with anyone. I am way happier than when I was a freelance designer without a home
Petermarksdrama 12:14pm @HESherman I love that–must be hugely seductive, having a home to tackle serious plays.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:14pm @LeeLiebeskind Don’t know but it all feels very natural. Writing is leadership whether we call it that or not.
HESherman 12:13pm @kwamekweiarmah What was the August Wilson influence for you in England? How did it manifest?
Rebcincy 12:13pm When I became managing director, I stopped directing. I couldn’t take the pressure of being responsible for the art AND the money at the same time.
Petermarksdrama 12:13pm Can you say more about that? Was Wilson an inspiration for you? MT @kwamekweiarmah I’m here because of August Wilson.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:12pm @MichaelHHarris @HESherman @halcyontony I agree.
HESherman 12:12pm @petermarksdrama Mark Lamos, when asked if he would leave Hartford, used to say, “Who else would let me do Peer Gynt?”
_plainKate_ 12:12pm @ASC_Amy @kwamekweiarmah Oskar Eustis said to me in second year at The Public that he was ‘about a year from being light-hearted in the job.’
LeeLiebeskind 12:12pm @HESherman @RivierePatrick It is…trust me! Also try running an organization, while having to have a day job and acting/directing/anything.
Jabberjw 12:12pm RT @kwamekweiarmah: have to create a process that allows writing to be just as vital as running the day to day business of theater.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:11pm @petermarksdrama By not thinking it! By not having that attitude in my DNA I’m here because of August Wilson.
ASC_Amy 12:11pm @kwamekweiarmah I love the conviction in that statement. and the acknowledgment that these things take time.
HESherman 12:11pm @RivierePatrick I would think acting is particularly stressful. Performing at night while running organization during day. Like old-time rep!
Theshelternyc 12:11pm @HESherman: Our artistic directors and executive director are also company artists. We find it most important to focus on a collaborative development process.
Petermarksdrama 12:11pm @kwamekweiarmah I would think there’d also be a tendency to say: I get a theater to put on any play of mine I want!
LeeLiebeskind 12:10pm @kwamekweiarmah Also that you have stronger skills to explain and analyze that type of process from having to draft so much?
ASC_Amy 12:10pm @HESherman Then you definitely had a hand in its support and success. I think some discount the creativity that goes into that side.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:10pm @_plainKate_ @HESherman Yes I am trying to create that process. it being my first year I haven’t yet found that rhythm but I will.
Gregreiner 12:10pm Great conversation happening now with @HESherman @petermarksdrama and @kwamekweiarmah.
LeeLiebeskind 12:10pm @kwamekweiarmah That’s interesting. So do you feel you are in a better place to be process oriented rather then product?
HESherman 12:10pm Lurkers, please leap in & join conversation with @kwamekweiarmah.
RivierePatrick 12:09pm @HESherman As an artistic director it was tough to juggle acting/writing; often took a back seat, but it also developed tools/relations for later.
TheShakesForum 12:09pm It’s not like there’s a thousand things to focus on but every moment there’s a new thing I get to explore.
MichaelHHarris 12:08pm @HESherman @halcyontony Lots of joy in creating opportunity for others.
HESherman 12:08pm @ASC_Amy I agree with you, coming from that background. My name isn’t on AVENUE Q, but it was workshopped at O’Neill when I was executive director.
LeeLiebeskind 12:08pm @HESherman @halcyontony But don’t you also find a longing sometimes that you wish others do the same for your creative endeavors?
TheShakesForum 12:08pm I find working on the administration of our company very creative in itself.
Petermarksdrama 12:08pm @kwamekweiarmah And coming from London, how do you avoid the “I’ll show ’em how we really do it in Britain” syndrome?
_plainKate_ 12:07pm @kwamekweiarmah Do you silo your time, so that there is writing time distinct from artistic director time?
Kwamekweiarmah 12:07pm @petermarksdrama No, probably not. I think I’m looking for the playwrights that say the things I do not yet know how to say.
HESherman 12:07pm @halcyontony I’ve heard that before — that there’s an enormous sense of reward in the success of work you’ve brought to your stage
kwamekweiarmah 12:06pm @HESherman Have to create a process that allows writing to be just as vital as running the day to day biz of theater.
ASC_Amy 12:06pm @halcyontony I find that true from the managing director side as well. Creativity comes in all forms.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:06pm @HESherman Yes, I certainly am worried about that. Just finished a new play and had to write it in the cracks as it were.
_plainKate_ 12:06pm @petermarksdrama @kwamekweiarmah Yes, yes, how are you selecting work? How is it connected to your own writing?
HESherman 12:05pm I see artistic directors who work hard not to focus seasons on own work, and others who plan around what they do personally. How to balance?
LeeLiebeskind 12:05pm @kwamekweiarmah I wonder if you could talk about how your skills as a playwright have been helpful in the task of artistic directing?
Petermarksdrama 12:05pm @kwamekweiarmah Are the choices of what to produce informed in some ways by the content of your own plays?
Kwamekweiarmah 12:05pm @petermarksdrama Not really. I love the idea of being able to develop VOICES period. Like people who think differently to me.
Halcyontony 12:05pm @HESherman For me being an artistic director expanded my notions of what being creative was (i.e. my being creative also includes others’ work).
_plainKate_ 12:05pm @HESherman Will lose some creative time, but paradox also gain since all time will be in theatre.
LeeLiebeskind 12:05pm @HESherman most definitely, trying to help others artistic purists you can often times lose out on your own but very rewarding.
HESherman 12:04pm For those who are currently working artists aspiring to be Artistic Directors, are you concerned about losing creative time when you’re running an organization?
Kwamekweiarmah 12:03pm @HESherman …. meaning most ideas are drafts until someone says it’s good!
_plainKate_ 12:03pm @HESherman I’d think anyone doing the administration of being an artistic director while trying to direct or write has to juggle.
LeeLiebeskind 12:03pm @HESherman Not as an artistic director but still administration. But yes, juggling.
Kwamekweiarmah 12:03pm @HESherman By not sleeping very much. Seriously I’m loving it. I see most decisions I make through the lens of being a playwright.
Petermarksdrama 12:02pm @kwamekweiarmah Are you looking for voices that are simpatico with yours?
HESherman 12:02pm Are there others with us who are juggling their own artistic pursuits with the managerial needs of being an artistic director?
Kwamekweiarmah 12:01pm @dloehr Interesting question. It means that I read all scripts from beginning to end because I’m feel guilty if I don’t.
HESherman 12:01pm @kwamekweiarmah You’re wearing many hats now – playwright, director, artistic director. How do you balance these?
Petermarksdrama 12:00pm @dloehr asks the essential question: how does being a playwright affects your approach to being artistic director?
HESherman 12:00pm Because @dloehr couldn’t wait, we’re underway. And his question to @kwamekweiarmah was a variant of my first question.
DominicDAndrea 11:59am Oooh, this is gonna be good!
Petermarksdrama 11:59am I’m here! Great to have you, Kwame.
Dloehr 11:59am @kwamekweiarmah Early question, since I’m vanishing…how do you think being a playwright affects how you operate as artistic director, as opposed to a director?
“Can’t believe that a MAJOR theater is producing [play title redacted]. Crazy talk. Does its “non-profit” mission mandate producing community theatre?”
I know. It’s just a tweet. Let it go. But it’s emblematic of bias I read and hear constantly. It’s about time I said something.
I would like everyone to stop using “community theatre” as a punch line or punching bag.
As people with a vested interest in building and sustaining interest in theatre, pretty much everyone in the business is supportive of and in many cases evangelical for arts education. We applaud academic drama programs and productions from kindergarten to graduate school, recognizing that such programs can give voice to the next generation of artists as well as the next generation of audiences. We decry funding cuts to such programs for their impact on creative as well as intellectual development. Of late, there is also recognition that these programs may offer refuge to those who seem “different” from student bodies at large, safe havens from predatory classmates (“bully” seems a bit tame these days) among those similarly inclined, close-knit teams for those who shy away from sports.
But once school is over, those whose lives and careers take them away from the arts, but whose love of performing doesn’t abate, become part of a maligned yet integral part of the theatrical ecosystem which, when spoken of by most professionals and media voices, is summarily disparaged. Why on earth does this happen, and why is it allowed to propagate?
While I’m quite certain there are some fairly sophisticated community theatre groups, I’ll cede the point that a great deal of the work done in community theatre likely doesn’t measure up to professional, or perhaps even collegiate, standards. But that’s not the point of it. If the participants wanted to be professionals, they might be pursuing those goals; perhaps some of them did, and didn’t succeed. But I’m willing to go out on a limb and say that the majority of the participants in community theatre never sought a professional theatre career, and are happy to be teachers, dentists, attorneys, mechanics, stay-at-home parents or what have you. The fact is, community theatre is a hobby, a passion and an outlet for people who truly love theatre; it’s the bowling league, the weekly pick-up basketball game, the book group for the performance minded. The participants are, I’m willing to bet, ticket buyers at local theatres, tourists who flock to Broadway or national tours, parents who encourage creativity in their own children. In some cases they may even provide the only theatre their community gets to see. They are the people we need.
Drawing on data from the American Association of Community Theatres website, which surely doesn’t include every community group out there, we know that AACT itself “represents the interests of more than 7,000 theatres across the United States and its territories, as well as theatre companies with the armed forces overseas.” They claim more than 1.5 million volunteers [participants], over 46,000 annual productions per year, an audience of 86 million and a combined annual budget of well over $980 million. That’s a lot of theatrical activity.
Before you accuse me of being a hypocrite, I will admit to enjoying Waiting for Guffman, an at times cringe-worthy satire of community theatre and a touchstone for many in the business now for a number of years. But like other Christopher Guest films, particularly Best in Show and A Mighty Wind, Guffman is an affectionate and at times absurdist view, which celebrates the passions of its offbeat thespians just as it lampoons them. There is no such affection in the tweet quoted above, or in the often-used critical riposte that labels sub-standard professional work as approximate to that seen in community theatre.
A couple of years ago, when I worked on the American Theatre Wing’s book The Play That Changed My Life, I was struck by the fact that this collection of independently written essays ended up including several paeans to community theatre, with both Beth Henley and Sarah Ruhl writing about how their parents’ community theatre experiences informed their own theatrical lives; Chris Durang wrote of play readings held in his living room which transformed his mother and the local newspaper editor into the elegant personages of a Noel Coward play one afternoon. Surely these are not unique stories. I even had my own experience with community theatre, when at age 16 I successfully landed the role of Motel in Fiddler on the Roof (playing opposite a 27-year-old school teacher); to be a high schooler cast amongst adults was my own moment of breaking into the big leagues at that stage in my life. Community theater can matter.
Let me swerve to a corollary issue, also invoked by the opening tweet, which is the suggestion that certain plays belong solely to the community theatre repertoire (I redacted the play named in the tweet because I don’t care to debate its relative merits, but rather address the broader issue). “Community theatre plays” share a common trait with many “high school plays,” in that both often feature large casts, casts that most professional theatres would happily employ if they could afford it. But because for these groups, inclusion is essential, both in a desire to be welcoming and because inclusion can drive ticket sales, the large-scale plays common to the mainstream theatre in the 1920s, 30s and 40s, and the larger scaled musicals from across the past 100 years are staples. The value of the pieces should not be diminished because they flourish in these non-professional settings; they may not always be the most current work (though, again, I know many community groups do recent, smaller plays too), but their only opportunity to be seen may be in the community theatre arena.
Size isn’t the only issue; current tastes dismissively relegate shows to “community theatre” status as well. You Can’t Take It With You stumbled on a recent effort at Broadway, but surely Kaufman and Hart, staples in community and school theatre, are no less important because of it. Neil Simon is not in critical or commercial favor right now, so his work can be tarred with the “community” slander, but if the upcoming West End production of The Sunshine Boys, with no less than Richard Griffiths in the cast, proves revelatory, a shroud may yet be lifted from Simon’s bust in the theatrical pantheon. We’ve seen somewhat of the same thing happen recently in England with the long out-of-favor Terence Rattigan; the acclaimed David Cromer attempted Simon’s resuscitation on Broadway a couple of years ago but was undone by finances. The non-profit theatre producing a “community theatre” play should be applauded for reexamining a work not often professionally staged — at least until it opens; then judge it on its own merits, not on a collective and peremptory assumption about its worth. There’s a corollary in “family” or “children’s” theatre, where You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown and Annie are seen as staples, yet those shows weren’t written for or sold to children in their original runs any more than Wicked is subsisting solely on sales to 14-year-old girls today, as some would ignorantly suggest. This reductive labeling is detrimental on so many levels.
We are part of an industry that constantly worries about its future, but can be our own worst enemy. By slagging community theatre, we’re undercutting our own best interests and evidencing our own cultural elitism; by allowing others to do so we join the juvenile yet dangerous bullies who taunted us in high school — by doing the same to adults whose only wrong is to enjoy doing that which we’ve made our careers. Even if you’ve never uttered a word against community theatre, but merely have never given it a moment’s thought, you are doing it disservice. Is theatre so healthy that we can afford to be so blithely arrogant?
In this post, I have chosen not to name a particular show to which I allude because my thoughts pertain to a very brief moment in the production. While you may be able to identify it, I am not writing theatrical criticism and don’t want my response to perhaps 30 seconds of stage time to be misconstrued as applicable to the entire evening.
I am not often moved to anger at the theatre. I may be disappointed in a show, annoyed by a directorial concept, discomfited by a noisy patron or shallow legroom, but I don’t usually get so irate that I am mentally jolted out of the production at hand and need time to settle myself down. But it happened last week.
While the production had updated a classic musical with many assorted contemporary references, what had me seeing red were fleeting one-liners at the expense of three recent Republican presidential candidates, including Rick Santorum. Was I upset because I support that individual or his competitors? No. Haven’t I laughed at jokes about them in other circumstances? Yes. So why was I deeply incensed? I was upset by the context of the comments, namely in the midst of a family-friendly musical. I think they were probably insulting and upsetting to some in the audience. And I’d like those people to keep going to theatre, even if I don’t share their entire worldview.
I read a great deal online about various theatrical issues, audience development being one and political theatre being another, and I am personally supportive of both. I think political drama and comedy can indeed have an effect beyond theatre’s four walls. Whether it’s as explicitly political as David Hare’s Stuff Happens, as subtle (save for the title) as Richard Nelson’s That Hopey-Changey Thing, or as socially aware as Mike Daisey’s The Agony and The Ecstasy of Steve Jobs, I think the theatre is a great forum for political topics (funny how my three examples are all from New York’s Public Theater). As for audience development, I think every theatre professional must (if they are not already) be constantly thinking about the needs and interests of audiences both current and future, as our art form must gain support from both ticket buyers and donors alike, not just for today, but ad infinitum.
So why did a couple of jokes that would go unremarked if heard on The Daily Show or Saturday Night Live get me riled? Precisely because I wasn’t watching those shows and neither was anyone else in the audience. I was happily watching a show which had absolutely nothing to do with the current political or social situation in America when these random gag lines flew out from the stage, displaying utter contempt for anyone in the audience who might actually support those individuals.
This is hardly an isolated incident, as I’ve been at events where a speaker suddenly inserts this type of joke to get a laugh; I’ve seen it woven into the scripts of awards shows or deployed by recipients of those awards. Frankly, it gets me pissed off every time. I’m barraged by it on Twitter and Facebook from people I follow or friend because of their theatrical interests, rather than their politics, but there it is more akin to a comment between acquaintances, and I can always opt out of my online relationship if someone becomes overbearing.
But why do theatre people, who strive to sell tickets and build audiences, participate in these drive-by insults of some portion of their audiences? Surely they must realize that, especially when dealing with a few hundred or more people at once, not everyone follows the same political bent, no more than they should assume everyone is from the same culture or the same religion (unless they have explicitly targeted a narrowly defined audience). They’re not going to suddenly trigger an epiphany, and if the goal is to appeal to audiences, why show disdain for those who might think differently on some topics?
Theatre affords those who work in it the opportunity to weave stories that communicate emotions, ideas, concerns with artistry and skill. By tossing out topical political jokes shorn of context, we play at being witty or current but only succeed in reinforcing the stereotypes that some would throw at us: lefty, radical, socialist, elitist, godless – what have you. In those moments, we achieve nothing but a fleeting laugh and the affection of the like-minded — and perhaps the eternal enmity of some of those we otherwise claim to court.
If we believe that among the dramatic forms, theatre is the most immediate and complex; if we believe that theatre must remain vital while the electronic media continues to encroach upon our territory and our audiences – then we mustn’t sacrifice our greater interests for an easy guffaw. If we wish, we can (and should) create works which rail against the status quo or those who would seek to diminish some in our society, we can make bold (or careful) and emotional appeals on those topics which we believe to be important. But when we stoop to irrelevant one-liners we play the very game of distortion and insult that I hope we all deplore in the political arena itself, a game which is reportedly turning off the populace in droves. We are better than that and, if we’re creative enough about it, if we use the narrative and rhetorical skills that we have in abundance, perhaps we can in fact change a few minds – all the while insuring that our audiences remain willing to go to the theatre many more times.
February 8th, 2012 § Comments Off on I Never Meta-Musical I Didn’t Like § permalink
I always try to keep tabs on Broadway shows and the creative folks behind them on Twitter, so on Monday evening, I began following producer Eileen Rand and writer Julia Houston. On Tuesday morning, I noticed that Julia had followed me back and Eileen hadn’t, so I playfully tweeted that I liked Julia more. Well, Eileen saw that and, perhaps miffed, quickly followed me as well, tweeting that she appreciates what I do for the theatre community (whatever that may be).
A bit later in the day, I saw a tweet between the women, Eileen inviting Julia to meet her at Sarabeth’s, where she’d be all day. I then wrote to Eileen, saying I could be at that restaurant in minutes to speak with her about investing in Marilyn, her new show, but she begged off, contradicting her earlier tweet about hanging out for the afternoon, claiming she had to attend a performance by her niece at NYU. That’s when I knew something was up. Most producers would sell their nieces if it meant courting a potential investor.
No, I have not fallen and hit my head, projecting myself into a fantasy version of Smash. I’ve been on Twitter, where (presumably) the new Broadway-centered program has cleverly created personas for Eileen and Julia, as well as Tom Levitt and Ellis Boyd (so far). As a result, a TV program that already toys with the apparently permeable barrier between its fictional Broadway and the real thing (by casting true-life Rialto figures like producer Manny Azenberg and Jujamcyn Theatres honcho Jordan Roth) has taken a further step through the looking glass by offering fans a chance to have “real” conversations with the TV show’s characters. They’re not tweeting out explicit promos for the show; in fact I don’t recall having seen a single one. Instead, they’re interacting with each other – and seemingly with all who reach out to them – in what would so far seem to be a bit of inspired creativity from one or more knowing social media operatives. Time Out New York’s Adam Feldman has gotten into the spirit of things already: he’s expressed concern at possibly having given offense by slamming Tom and Julia’s hit musical Heaven on Earth as Heavin’ on Earth.
Certainly the Smash doppelgangers on Twitter aren’t the first fictional figures to appear on the platform. It’s awash in feeds from false versions of public figures to anthropomorphized commentary from fauna like the briefly missing Bronx Zoo Cobra or the ambitious, theatrically wise Central Park Raccoon, who as a habitué of the Delacorte, dreams of appearing more than just accidentally in Shakespeare one day (perhaps he should be auditioning for Marilyn instead). In fact, at a time when people wonder what will happen to Facebook pages and the like after their real world creators pass on, we can still find Lysistrata Jones chatting away on Twitter, apparently unaware that Clybourne Park is taking up residence where her basketball court once stood.
I’ve seen lots of discussion online about how theatre might take advantage of social media to extend the entertainment experience, as well as conversations about whether art could be created solely on social media. While it’s far too early to say whether Smash’s efforts will rise to art, they are certainly part of an extended improv that may well grow quite rich over time. In fact, aside from the tweets, you can find “program bios” for all of the main characters on the Smash website. While they careen between amusingly fictional and patently false “real world” credits (the IBDB and these bios will be at eternal odds), the artifice only extends the concept – and we can all play along.
When I offered to meet Eileen yesterday, I didn’t really expect to find Anjelica Houston at the restaurant, although wouldn’t it have been amazing if I had? I even briefly worried about how I was dressed, as I wasn’t really prepared for meetings. But of course I was testing the tweeters behind the curtain to see how they’d respond, and while I caught them out, they’ve only had two days to work up their act. My main advice to them is to not create too elaborate a fantasy that they can’t make good on, and to remember the first rule of improv: never say ‘no.’
I am genuinely looking forward to more conversation with the characters of Smash online, just as I occasionally chat with some of the show’s creative artists in the same forum, notably writer Jason Grote and actor Brian D’Arcy James. The fact that I’ve never met the former, but chat cordially with the latter when we see each other, only adds to the meta-world that’s developing. After all, how do I know that Jason Grote really is a playwright named Jason Grote and, if he’s not who he says he is in the corporeal world, then who’s getting that writing credit and being interviewed by The Washington Post?
On Twitter, the line between real and imaginary is breaking down bit by bit (wouldn’t it be brilliant if Julia, Eileen and Tom all got “verified” as being who they claim to be; conversely, this is all vastly more labyrinthine if the tweeting characters aren’t via NBC, but are creative fans). So maybe by playing along, I’ll cross over from my theatrical world into theirs at some point, just like Manny and Jordan, occupying parallel worlds like my youthful science fiction heroes, even while I stay fully entrenched in the universe of theatre. My final word on the subject? Eileen/Anjelica/Theresa: call me! I’m waiting to get Smashed.
[Update: 2/8/12 at 2:45 pm Since I posted the above at 11:15 this morning, I have heard from Jason Grote, who informs me that he is in fact fictional. In addition, the character of Ivy Lynn has joined Twitter. Curiouser and curiouser.]
February 7th, 2012 § Comments Off on TEDx Broadway: The Bloggers Speak § permalink
When I live-blogged the TEDx Broadway gathering two weeks ago, it had been my intention to subsequently write a follow-up synthesis of, and commentary on, the event. However, I found that as a result of furiously synopsizing four and a half hours of presentations about the future of Broadway, theatre, society and more, I had managed to record the event, but wasn’t truly equipped to reflect upon it, since the task had proven to be rather overwhelming.
Consequently, I’d like to make up for that lack of authorial perspective by directing your attention to some of the blogs which did emerge from TEDx Broadway, making excellent companion pieces to my original on-the-fly coverage.
If you blogged about your experience at TEDx Broadway and I’ve failed to include you here, just drop me a note with the appropriate link and I’ll update this post accordingly. The more views and accounts, the better.
I may take exception from time to time with some of what Ken Davenport has to say on his “Producer’s Perspective” blog, but he and I have somewhat similarly evangelical approaches to the stage and are therefore in pursuit of common goals. He is more commercially minded than I am, but we have come up in the business in different ways, and ply our trade in different areas; his enthusiastic drumbeating for tonight’s premiere of Smash as a vehicle for Broadway vitality should come as no surprise to anyone. In a blog post of just 185 words, he exhorts his readers that they must watch tonight’s broadcast because of what it will mean for Broadway – and mentions Broadway nine times. Just in case we missed it.
I fully intend to watch Smash tonight at 10 pm and I hope to enjoy it; I casually know lots of people involved and I wish them only the very best. While I’ve read some pieces that suggest I may find some issues (notably those raised by Rob Weinert-Kendt at The Wicked Stage, Frank Rizzo of The Hartford Courant and Kevin Fallon in The Atlantic), I will make up my own mind. I should point out that I downloaded the first episode several weeks ago, but haven’t watched it like seemingly everyone else I communicate with online; I want to see it in its hi-def glory tonight at 10, like in my youth when TV couldn’t be time-shifted.
Tomorrow by late morning, the overnight ratings will tell us if Smash had a successful first night, but no matter what’s reported, it won’t be a definitive referendum on the show. In light of the unending promotional build up, they could show grainy YouTube videos of high school musicals on NBC tonight at 10 and probably get a decent audience share; only time will tell if the audience sustains as the promotional barrage recedes. Anything less than huge numbers will set off predictions of the show’s imminent demise, but with much of the 15-week season one already in the can, NBC is likely to give the show time to find its audience, so once again, time will tell.
There’s no question that Smash can have a salubrious effect on Broadway if it succeeds, although I wonder whether there’s been a true cause-and-effect between Glee and participation in show choirs and drama clubs. I pray that, along the way, Smash doesn’t bash Off-Broadway and regional theatre in an effort to idolize the Great White Way, because countless theatre professionals do superb and varied work without setting foot on Broadway or even in New York, work that is enjoyed by and meaningful to audiences nationally. I hope that Smash’s truthful insights from its creative staff of theatre pros outweigh its dramatic license; after all, the only U.S. TV series to grapple with theatre recently were the hokey “reality” competitions to cast a replacement for Legally Blonde and the leads in the most recent revival of Grease (at least the latter launched the luminous Laura Osnes). I’m sure Smash can do better. I dream that Smash aspires to the giddy, funny and moving heights of Slings and Arrows, to this date the best television series ever about theatre, IMHO.
But must you watch Smash tonight? No. It’s not your job to be a cog in the marketing machinery of NBC, Broadway or anyone else for that matter. Frankly, if you’re reading Ken Davenport’s blog or mine, you’re already part of the core group that is taken as a given in the show’s viewership (which caused Entertainment Weekly’sKen Tucker, demonstrating that magazine’s usual respect for the stage, to observe that “the Broadway-show audience, if every ticket-holder tuned in, would probably fit into the bodice of The Voice‘s Christina Aguilera”), so you’re not going to make the difference. What will truly matter is whether the storytelling, the time slot, the marketing and all the other variables that matter on television align with the mass audience required to make a successful TV show.
Watch Smash. Don’t watch Smash. Watch Castle. Read a book. Go out with friends. Get to bed early post-Super Bowl. See a live performance. Do whatever you like at 10 tonight. Perhaps Smash will become “appointment viewing.” But god forbid it’s seen as “assignment viewing.” That’s the fastest way to take the fun out of anything. And I’m really hoping that Smash is a lot of fun, instead of just good for business.
I contemplated titling this piece “On The Objectification of Theatre Artists,” but decided against it for two primary reasons. First, because it is not my graduate thesis, and second, because people might choose to approach it more seriously than it perhaps deserves. I will say that I do not fundamentally support the idolization of men or women for their physical appearance, however as one who works in entertainment (with a particular background in marketing and public relations), I know that for all of the enlightenment our society has achieved over the years, we are still drawn in by attractiveness — it is both celebrated and idealized throughout the media. Lecture over.
Among the deluge of tweets, updates and posts I see every day, I have been amused, and at times startled, by the comments of two young women who communicate under the unified nom de plume of The Craptacular. They are avid theatergoers, but they express their enthusiasm most emphatically when they see what I can only refer to as “a hot guy”; they deploy much more colorful expressions, I assure you. I find their slang rhapsodizing over a variety of stage heartthrobs distinctive because, for the most part, what I see otherwise are die-hard fans debating the artistic skills of various performers, say comparing and contrasting various divas (including some long dead), rather than ever speaking of earthier appeals. Save for the ad campaign for Chicago, which has long celebrated the forms and figures of the countless performers who have done that show, I rarely see Broadway, or any theatrical production, for that matter, relying on something that we have been told, ever since the Mad Men era, is a surefire marketing tool: sex.
This certainly contrasts with the movies, which in so many cases are all about appearance. For decades, people have become screen stars based first and foremost on their physical attributes. In film and television, the emphasis on attractiveness can be a curse (I should be so stricken): actors like George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Michelle Pfeiffer and Angelina Jolie and many others have had to work extra-hard to prove that they are more than just pretty faces and bodies. But in the theatre, talent almost without fail comes first; attractiveness is sometimes the bonus. I generalize, of course, but you get the idea.
That’s why I think the women at The Craptacular are on to something (I so want to call them gals, but I’m walking on eggshells here). Maybe theatre shouldn’t be afraid of flaunting it now and again, especially if we genuinely seek to be part of the mainstream of entertainment and not relegated to the backwater known as “the arts.” The fact is, whether you are male or female, gay or straight, theatre is not just a feast for your mind and your ears, but for your eyes as well. In theatre, talent can make the unconventional unexpectedly attractive, just as it endows more conventional beauty with more depth than your average movie ingénue.
There have been a few occasions when theatre folks, usually because of their work in other mediums, have drifted into the range of media that emphasize physical appeal. I recall Kristin Chenoweth’s FHM appearance and Laura Benanti’s Playboy showcase in particular, because a) I know both women and b) I never believed I’d ever know women who appeared on the covers of those sorts of magazines. I suspect theatre-centric actors have similarly graced female-oriented publications, but my gaze tends not to linger on that part of the newsstand; I leave it to you to recall examples that support me. Kristin and Laura may not have been chosen for these platforms primarily because of their remarkable skills as performers, but once they are put upon a pedestal, they reflect the spotlight back on the stage.
Jerry Mitchell tapped into the sex and Broadway link years ago when he created “Broadway Bares” for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS; he took an underused asset – the sexiness of so many performers – and put it to great use, raising money for an essential cause. It has become a tradition within the community; it’s frankly a shame that the annual extravaganza can’t last for more than a handful of shows and reach more of the general public, harking back to The Ziegfeld Follies, yet conceived for the age of Maxim. Certainly if Ben Brantley is to be believed, the runaway success of Hugh Jackman’s recent Broadway stand had less to do with the guy’s overwhelming talent and charm and more with his status as a figure in countless sexual fantasies.
I’m not proposing that theatre aspire to burlesque (even as that particular form of entertainment makes a comeback). All I’m suggesting is that in our relentless effort to court those attuned to higher aspirations of art and talent, we may be burying a valuable asset that was once unashamedly part of theatre’s fabric. Theatre is where the devil’s assistant Lola gets what she wants through “feminine wiles”, where Adelaide endlessly fronts a girlie show until she can settle down into domestic bliss, where Gypsy emerges from the chrysalis of Louise Hovick – and where the women who play those roles become stars. As I ponder this, I regret that the male characters who are physical ideals are all comic figures, villains or both: Miles Gloriosus, Gaston, even Kodaly. What’s up with that? Maybe some form of envy by their creators?
Sex sells, sexiness sells, beauty sells and theatre’s got all of that. Just as Las Vegas learned a lesson when it tried to rebrand itself as a family friendly destination, maybe theatre, and Broadway in particular, needs a makeover, needs to rough up its image, needs more leather and lace — just like Sandy at the end of the movie Grease.
